Week 13: Reconsidering the Superhero

I've never really taken much interest in superhero comics. The reasons being essentially what we have discussed in class: plots are seemingly endless, character development is constantly reset, and death has little weight as the heroes will always come back somehow. I've also always known that if I were to read a hero comic, I would look for a female lead, and preferably one that is not simply the "girl" version of a male character, i.e. Batgirl or Supergirl. That's why the name "Promethea" caught my eye on the course resource page, so I decided to read the first volume.

Despite not being particularly long, the first volume of Alan Moore's Promethea does a wonderful job of establishing the lore of the the series in an interesting way. I love the idea of a reincarnated heroine that has survived throughout the centuries in the form of powerful women. Moore obviously pulls a lot of influence for Promethea from ancient Egyptian and Greek culture. The two combine and create a stunning character design. The futuristic city that the new Promethea, Sophie, lives in is also very visually interesting. The concept of cars that hover in the air rather than use wheels in not entirely original, but I felt that it worked quite well with the aesthetic design presented here.

Overall, I found this first volume to be a very good hook, and I could certainly see readers being excited for all of Sophie's future adventures as the new Promethea. I really appreciate that Alan Moore wrote such a powerful female hero in a series that would appeal to all types of people, not just female comic fans.