The Adventures of Luther Arkwright

Rating:
Summary: Too ambitious for its own good
Review: It's hard to fault someone for trying something ambitious in comics, but this just didn't work out right. It's a story of alternate realities, with the title character able to shift between them. Someone or something is threatening the whole of it, and Luther Arkwright works to save the day(s). The artwork is entirely black & white and seems to shift between a smooth, clean look and one that is almost pointillistic. The real problem, though, is the writing: not that it's bad, just that sometimes there isn't nearly enough to make sense of what's going on, and other times a page is almost entirely prose. Ultimately, the numerous shifting realities leave the book disjointed, and the writing doesn't help the reader catch up to the changing perspective. My recommendation: there is a later series called Heart of the Empire which should makes its way to the graphic novel format. Pick that up when it does, and if you want some more background information, then pick this up.

Rating:
Summary: Too ambitious for its own good
Review: It's hard to fault someone for trying something ambitious in comics, but this just didn't work out right. It's a story of alternate realities, with the title character able to shift between them. Someone or something is threatening the whole of it, and Luther Arkwright works to save the day(s). The artwork is entirely black & white and seems to shift between a smooth, clean look and one that is almost pointillistic. The real problem, though, is the writing: not that it's bad, just that sometimes there isn't nearly enough to make sense of what's going on, and other times a page is almost entirely prose. Ultimately, the numerous shifting realities leave the book disjointed, and the writing doesn't help the reader catch up to the changing perspective. My recommendation: there is a later series called Heart of the Empire which should makes its way to the graphic novel format. Pick that up when it does, and if you want some more background information, then pick this up.

Rating:
Summary: Intricate, entangling and irresistable
Review: The other reviewers are right - you should read the sequel "Heat of the Empire" before this one, not because it's easier to understand than AoLA (which is true, by the way), but because the earlier series has so much more to offer. Even if you plunge into the series in the middle (which is how I discovered) and haven't a clue as to what's going on, who's who (and why?), you'll still find a mammoth epic you can't put down.

Luther Arkwright is essentially a super-being, bred to psionic perfection in an alternative universe, or a parallel. We soon learn that existence is filled with so-called parallels (a misnomer since parallel lines maintain the same direction while the alternative universes here maintain some interesting differences; the fun is trying to identify how any of the parallels resembles our own earth, only to have Talbot yank the carpet from under our feet and show us the distinctions). Two of the parallels take the focus of the story - 00, being the home of a technologically and psionically advanced civilization which tries to maintain order throughout the parallels, and 072, a parallel in which the major imperial powers of Europe remain in power through the 20th century. Using an almost sentient computer called Wotan, 00 learns of another force that shares their power to cross the multiversal divides, but does not share their benign aims. Called disruptors, the enemy searches for an ancient weapon, one that will destroy all of existence. Only Luther, whose powers and origins remain a mystery to everybody, can stop the destruction. On 072, where England remains under the rule of the fascist and theocratic puritan dictatorship led by a descendent of Oliver Cromwell, Luther meets his greatest challenge. Cromwell, we soon learn, is the disruptor agent for that parallel; Luther must maneauver to secure victory for the anti-puritan royalists without giving too much power to the royal's imperialist backers. The challenge manifests itself when Luther discovers both the limits of his powers and the signs that others like him inhabit the parallel.

The dense plot guarantees that you'll be re-reading AoLA repeatedly, that you'll be piecing it together, and that you'll soon find its BW artwork superior to the color of the sequel.

Rating:
Summary: An oft overlooked classic of the comics medium
Review: This novel is massive: not in terms of length, but in terms of breadth. Talbot weaves a complex tale that requires some work by the reader to fully appreciate. Mysticism, alternate realities, and geo-politicial struggles all play into this story of a man realizing the responsibilities the universe expects of him. I must add that this is not a good selection for someone who has not read a few graphic novels in the past. My suggestion is to first read the sequel to this book, HEART OF EMPIRE: THE LEGACY OF LUTHER ARKWRIGHT, and then read this. The two may share some narrative elements and characters, but structurally this work is denser and requires more attentive reading.

Rating:
Summary: An oft overlooked classic of the comics medium
Review: This novel is massive: not in terms of length, but in terms of breadth. Talbot weaves a complex tale that requires some work by the reader to fully appreciate. Mysticism, alternate realities, and geo-politicial struggles all play into this story of a man realizing the responsibilities the universe expects of him. I must add that this is not a good selection for someone who has not read a few graphic novels in the past. My suggestion is to first read the sequel to this book, HEART OF EMPIRE: THE LEGACY OF LUTHER ARKWRIGHT, and then read this. The two may share some narrative elements and characters, but structurally this work is denser and requires more attentive reading.

Rating:
Summary: The pinnacle
Review: We are told at Warren Ellis's website that Talbot knows nothing of comics history and yet made one of the best. It's true. There are certain stylistic faux-pas's both in the story and illustrations. Nonetheless, Talbot has single-handedly created the only comic I've ever read that was as exiting as Star Wars I. Everything is in place: Absolute Good (God) versus unthinkable Evil (Arkwright); references to traditions known from childhood done in a lyrical and hypnotic way; a bare bones plot with even barer characterization; and a refrain from a Rob Zombie song, before the particular refrain was made. (How's that for future anterior?)

If you enjoy comics, you're cheating yourself if you don't give this one a look over.