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Panthea Obscura #2

By Philip Schweier
Nov 18, 2007 - 8:36:11 AM

Title: Panthea Obscura #2
Publisher: Glow in the Dark Radio Comics
Writer: Mike Luoma
Artist: Juan Carlos Quattordio

SPOILER ALERT!!! With character introduction accomplished in issue #1, our gods-turned-heroes seem to have won the admiration of the people. After being welcomed in issue #1, their demonic nemesis Troy instigates a tragic hostage situation in #2. The drama builds, zigging and zagging appropriately to build toward a tragic conclusion which leads to the question of "What kind of hero are you if everyone dies?"

Unfortunately, the artwork by Juan Carlos Quattordio continues to diminish an interesting story. In one scene, the heroes inadvertantly frighten off a pizza delivery guy. Quattordio chooses to place the pizza guy in the foreground, but blur him as if he were out of focus, while other characters interact in the background. I feel a more effective solution would be to either A) keep Mr. Pizza in focus and present the background characters as either faded or in silhouette, allowing their dialogue and the pizza guy's fleeing to carry the moment; or B) present the heroes in the foreground and the delivery man's comedic mad dash in the background, perhaps in silhouette.

Regardless of what I might think of the art (some might consider it reminiscent of the underground comics of the 1970s), the story itself ihas become very intriguing. I am curious to see how it eventually plays out.