Comics / Comic Reviews / DC Comics

Arrowsmith # 1

By Kevin Scott
July 21, 2003 - 14:11

 

When I heard the premises for this book, I was intrigued. What would the war have been like if magic had been involved? Just think about it, would it have been worse, would it have lasted longer? So many interesting things could potentially come from this book, but then again it could just be a haphazard attempt to look different. Well, now it's time to see!

This is the first thing I've read from Kurt Busiek, but after hearing about his great work on Avengers and other books, I was looking forward to peeping his work for myself. The story is set in 1915 and this did come across. Hey, maybe I couldn't place an exact date on the dialogue but it did feel like it would have fit in, in the past. Once, I felt that something was out of place (conversation between Fletcher and Jonathan), which isn't too bad. Busiek manages to explain a lot in this one issue. We are given an insight into the war and it's origin. We are given a feel for sentiments toward it and we learn how magic comes into the mix. For an opening chapter Busiek sets things up nicely.

Carlos Pacheco, never heard of him before to be honest, but I like what he's done. The opening scenes of the war are great. You feel like you're in the trench with the soldiers. He also combined the magic nicely with everything else. The one thing that kinda irritated me was the fact that Fletcher and Jonathan both had that Superman look to them (solid jaw line, all American, perfect look). This is only a minor though and probably I'm the only one who's bothered. The colouring is perfect and helps relay the fact that this story is set in 1915.

This isn't the First World War. This is something different, but it is definitely interesting. I like what I've seen an can't wait to find out what comes of everything. Is there more to this war? Find out for yourselves!

Report Card – C+ (For a first issue this has got me intrigued enough to want to know what happens next)

Last Updated: November 29, 2025 - 16:51