MEDUSA
Recap
Everything you know about Medusa is a lie.
Forever cursed to be remembered as a monster, this ageless yet very mortal hero has spent millennia saving humanity from the horrors of legend.
But now, today, in Scotland, she has met a foe that makes even the gods hide in fear. Armed with unwavering resolve, will the mighty Medusa be able to save mankind one last time?
Review
I love the subversion of a good myth. Most people never look past how Medusa was portrayed in Clash Of The Titans. A snake headed monster that turned her victims to stone cursed by the gods for an affront that was in fact ,depending on the interpretation you subscribe to, a direct result of lecherous intent of a male god. Regardless, writer and artist Tony Parker asks the question, what if that wasn’t what happened at all? What if Medusa was humanities greatest defender, but because of her past actions in protecting humanity from the bloody intents of old Greek gods she was cursed to never be acknowledged by the very people she protected, All her heroism forever doomed to be hidden from humanity because of an old gods last spiteful benediction. There’s a whole bunch of analysis to be done on the idea of the patriarchal sins of the Greek Pantheon of Gods but that’s for smarter people than me. Parker does however use this idea in several allusions along the way in the story. Medusa’s origin is never completely fleshed out but rather Parker gives you some bones and some connective tissue to assemble her alternative history yourself. It’s a smarter far more interesting way of storytelling than endless narrative exposition explaining everything and everyone on the page. Rather Parker puts his trust in you the reader to do some of that building in your own head with alluded to and implied unknown histories between characters. This adds to both the mystery of it’s central ageless protagonist and also leaves the door open for more stories about her in the future which I would love to see.
The story is set in Scotland and Parker incorporates several Scottish and Irish Gods, legends and mythical creatures into his tale such as the Dagda, his son, a Bananach and others as Medusa comes face to face with a threat that could overwhelm a destroy everything. There’s plenty of wild action that show of Parker, Bonvillian and Esposito’s talents as a creative team but I’ll talk more about the art later. Medusa is once again called on to save humanity from their own folly. There are no real villains here. There are only consequences of mankind’s own folly come back to haunt it and only an ageless cursed warrior chooses to stand between us and oblivion. What’s really striking about Parker’s Medusa is that despite her very alien and monstrous appearance, she is the most human element of the book. All the other God’s and mythical beings in the book are very much set apart from the concerns of humanity as shown by Persephone and others attitude toward us. It’s Medusa’s undying compassion for humanity that sits at the center of this book for me and drives all of her actions. She is tireless, despite being infected with the curse herself, in her defense of us because she truly believes in our right not to have to suffer the terror our ancestors did. Medusa isn’t without fault either and learns a harsh lesson about her own misguided actions in the story that also manages to grow the character in the as well. It’s an exceptionally well put together tale that pulls together traditional myth and fantasy elements from various cultures and blends it with a modern hero sensibility that reminds me of the more serious parts of Mignola’s Hellboy but is still very much it’s own unique world.
The art in this book is magnificent. Tony Parker is an exceptional artist. Every page is a sumptuous detailed feast of scale, movement, or close interpersonal interaction. Having a main character who wears a mask constantly would challenge a great deal of artists but Parker makes it work and sells Medusa through her movements, hand gestures and cleverly framed, paneled shots of her face that use other elements to communicate or allude to her emotional state along with her dialogue. Parker mixes it up with fantastically dynamic movement and creative paneling throughout the book. The physical confrontation scenes are eyepopping. The splashes are marvelously grandiose and worthy of the creatures of legend shown on them. There’s a wonderful scale to everything Parker draws here. These beings feel larger than life, leaping off the page. Tamra Bonvillian then takes Parkers rich line art and infuses it with marvelous celtic blues, cursed deep reds for the threat Medusa faces or gorgeous gold for Hephaestus’s hammer. I lack the vocabulary to capture the alchemy of Parker’s line art and Bonvillian’s colors but rather urge you to experience it for yourselves. It does however make for a beautiful, gorgeous comic that is to be experienced and read multiple times to take in all the marvelous detail of the art on page. Esposito adds some very interesting touches in the lettering. God’s and old mythical creatures of legend for example are given their own font, whereas Medusa’s dialogue font is singular and unique to her marking her as different form all the creatures she finds herself surrounded by in the story.
Final Thoughts
MEDUSA is a flawlessly executed, marvelous reimagining of the Medusa myth that mixes in multiple mythologies with a modern hero sensibility. Absolutely astoundingly beautiful art combine with a smart storytelling style that trusts the reader to use their own imagination in combination with the page to page narrative making for one of the best comics you will read this year! It will have you cheering for it's central protagonist who's monstrous appearance is beautifully contrasted with her incredible bravery and deeply human compassion. An Absolute triumph of creative passion from all involved.
MEDUSA OGN: A Story of Ageless Compassion
- Writing - 10/1010/10
- Storyline - 10/1010/10
- Art - 10/1010/10
- Color - 10/1010/10
- Cover Art - 10/1010/10