DARK HORSE COMICS – @DarkHorseComics
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Neil Gaiman
SCRIPT: P. Craig Russell
LAYOUTS: P. Craig Russell
ART: Scott Hampton; P. Craig Russell
COLORS: Scott Hampton; P. Craig Russell
LETTERS: Rick Parker; Lovern Kindzierski
COVER: Glenn Fabry
VARIANT COVERS: David Mack; Dave McKean
28pp, Color, $3.99 U.S. (March 2017)
American Gods is a 2001 novel from author Neil Gaiman. The novel won several fantasy-literary awards and is currently the subject of a television adaptation by Starz Media. This fantasy novel blends ancient and modern mythology with Americana to tell the tale a man caught in a war between the gods of the Old World and the new American gods.
American Gods is also a comic book thanks to an adaptation by frequent Gaiman collaborator, P. Craig Russell. Russell wrote the script adaptation of Gaiman's novel and provided the layouts for the art. American Gods the comic book is drawn and colored by Scott Hampton and lettered by Rick Parker. The first issue of American Gods also includes a four-page back story that is an adaptation of particular sequence (involving the succubus, Bilquis) from American Gods that is written, drawn, and colored by Russell and lettered by Lovern Kindzierski.
American Gods #1 opens in an unnamed prison where we meet the protagonist, Shadow Moon. Shadow is in the third year of his six-year prison sentence and is nearing parole. Being so close to getting out of prison has made Shadow anxious, and he feels that something bad is coming towards him. Everyday he thinks of returning to Eagle Point, Indiana and his wife, Laura. However, the world of the supernatural is what actually awaits Shadow... and a man calling himself Mr. Wednesday.
I did not read American Gods upon its original release in 2001, but five years ago, I did read the tenth anniversary edition which featured a longer text – the author's preferred edition. I loved it; well, I don't think “love” is a strong enough word. I consider that edition of American Gods to be life-changing in terms of my life as a writer.
I was happy to hear that Dark Horse Comics would be publishing a comic book adaptation, because I believed that, as they have always done, the people of Dark Horse take their comic book adaptations of other media seriously (Alien, Predator, and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” to name a few). They always seem determined to produce something of high quality, and I knew they would not want to fuck up Neil Gaiman's storytelling.
So far, I like P. Craig Russell and Scott Hampton's American Gods because it feels true to Neil Gaiman's storytelling and text. The only thing that I don't like is waiting a month for the next issue. It's that simple: Russell and Hampton done good. Plus, I have to say I wondered if anyone could visualize the part of the novel in which Gaiman introduces Bilquis, and Russell, one of the great visualists in the history of comic books, pulls that off. [By the way, David Mack's variant cover for the first issue is also quite visually striking.]
So set aside your four bucks for each issue. We have in American Gods a comics adaptation of a novel that may end up being on the short list of great comic book adaptations of a prose novel.
A
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2017 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog for reprint and syndication rights and fees.
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now calls himself “Sebastian.” A decade ago, he had an army of men ready to take down the modern world. Now, an assortment of pills and medications have taken him down. Sebastian is married to Marla Singer, his former co-revolutionary, and they have a son, “Junior.” All is boring, but an old friend, Tyler Durden, is back.
lets loose a stellar cover painting. Yes, there is an element of menace in these covers, but much is left to interpretation because we control our destiny because we don't control our destiny... and Tyler is watching. I don't know why people aren't making a huge freaking deal about this comic book instead of worrying about what Marvel Comics or DC Comics are going to do to or with their precious faux universes.
