Age of Bronze, Ironheart

Last new thing from the week:

Ironheart 5

The story’s fine, as Ironheart rescues a bunch of kids from a Fagin-type character.  But as with Jeremy Whitley’s Nadia Van Dyne over in Unstoppable Wasp, it’s Eve Ewing’s characterization of Riri Williams that I’m tuning in for.  As with the latest Wasp, Riri has an inherent decency that I respond most favorably to.  Just occurred to me: The original generation of Marvel brains were predominantly men - Bruce Banner, Reed Richards, Tony Stark, Hank Pym, Hank McCoy.  Now, all the geniuses are women: Nadia, Riri, Moon Girl, Shuri, and all the other ladies of G.I.R.L.. It’s awesome.

So fun.

Age of Bronze 1-33

An in-depth, meticulously researched retelling of the Trojan War?  I’m in. Eric Shanower has taken his time in releasing his magnum opus (it started in 1998, and no new issues have come out since 2013.  Though issue 34 comes out this year, I think), but I’ll keep buying the trades whenever he puts them out.

There’s no questioning the skill and effort that Shanower puts into this comic.  It’s drawn with amazing craft and detail, every one of the characters comes across with a distinct personality, and no relationship, however big or small, is ignored.

And yet, when I look back on my time reading this, most of my thoughts lean more towards the problems I have with Age of Bronze than the things that I liked.  Paris is an insufferable asshole.  The sprawling cast sometimes makes it difficult to keep track of what’s going on, especially during battles.  Did Shanower really need to spend so much time on the saga of Troilus and Cressida?

Perhaps unfairly to this work, I’d also read David Gemmell’s Troy trilogy of novels since these issues first came out.  Gemmell’s interpretation of the Trojan War absolutely blew my mind with its creative deviations from the traditional epic.  It reads as if it were the original series of events from which the myths of today are derived. I highly recommend it.

Anyway, I can’t help but compare the two works, and Age of Bronze comes up short in the race.  It’s also unfair that I’m comparing a completed trilogy with an unfinished work that’s got three more trades to go.  Shanower hasn’t even gotten to the Iliad yet.

Some things that I liked:

There’s a remarkable amount of emotion in the depicition of Iphigenia’s sacrifice.  Agamemnon’s despair, his craving for power, Clytemnestra’s grief, Iphigenia’s resignation and nobility - they all shine through on the page.

Shanower’s interpretation of Kassandra’s curse stunned me.  In the version that I’m familiar with, Apollo curses Kassandra after she refuses to sleep with him.  She already had the gift of prophecy, but now no one will believe her.

In Age of Bronze, Kassandra’s curse comes after she’s raped.  “No one will ever believe you” becomes a chilling, horrifying taunt that magnifies the tragedy of the tortured woman in a way I had not imagined was possible.

Shanower plans to release two new issues a year, which means it’ll be at least five years until the next trade shows up.  I hope he’s successful.

Huh.  Now that I’m giving my ratings, I’m quite certain that I wouldn’t buy this again.  Clear contradiction of my desire to buy the next trade. Hrm. I’ll have to remember that when this comes out.  

Regret buying? No

Would buy again? No

Would read again? Yes

Rating: Nice

Randomly, here are two Batgirl variant covers by Joshua Middleton that I just discovered and love:

Issue 23

Issue 34