"Ronn Karr", one of the guys on Jo and Terri-Anne's message board, had this to say:
Overall I enjoyed it. My favorite parts were about the animal characters, like when the spider helps the minotaur. That was really fun! The artwork is mostly good, if unconventional (which is fine by me). I would have liked to see the women generally look a little more feminine and less masculine, even the ones with wings and claws, but that's me. I'm not sure how much that was in the penciling and how much it was maybe in the inking. You kind of have to exaggerate female features and tone down anything masculine (like strong chins) to make women read as feminine in comic book art. More half tones thrown it would've been cool too, but would've meant more work and more time I guess. Anyway, you're definitely a talented guy. If you ever want to go more mainstream I think maybe you could do a graphic novel telling the mythology straight up based faithfully on the source material. I think there's a market for that sort of educational stuff. What you did is good though... really unique and interesting... you should definitely be proud of it. One of the cool things about the book is that it does relate to the original myths, and (in my case anyway) gets you interested enough to get on Google (or the Wikipedia links on your website) and look stuff up that you either forgot over the years or just never learned before.
-- Edited by Jim Gallagher on Saturday 30th of July 2011 01:39:21 PM
Even if this book were bad--which it's not, so stop worrying--I would be impressed just by its existence. Everyone talks about writing a book, but you've actually done it. I've never tried to create a graphic novel, but I think I have a realistic view of how complicated and difficult it is. You deserve major kudos for sticking with it and seeing it through to the end.
Clever idea, creating a new band of Argonauts based on the signs of the zodiac. Pretty ingenious, the way you found real figures from Greek mythology to fill each of the roles and tied them all together. Right from the start, you've got three of them as a family unit (more or less)--Themis (Libra), Prometheus and Epimetheus (Gemini), and the Nemean lion (Leo). Jason, Chiron, Pan and the Minotaur are perfect choices to represent Aries, Sagittarius, Capricorn and Taurus. Most of the others fit nicely. I like the way you rewrote mythology a bit to get Arachne in there. Circe attempting to use her magic in reverse and only half succeeding makes so much sense that a reader unfamiliar with Greek mythology would never know you made that up. The only one you really had to stretch for was Iphicles as Cancer. But you did what you could with what the Greeks gave you.
Given the large cast and relatively small space you had to work with, I think you did a very good job of imbuing at least some of your characters with distinctive personalities. My favorite is Celaeno the Harpy. Selecting her to represent Virgo (the Maiden???) was a strange and inspired choice. I love her odd speech pattern and nasty sense of humor. The feminist from Hell, with arrogance to spare and the chops to back it up. My least favorite is Niobe, but that's not your fault. The eternally weeping woman works in prose, but visually, she's problematic. Seeing panel after panel of her with tears streaming down her face, I just wanted to smack her upside the head.
Nice to see some inter-Argonaut relationships. I only wish there were more time to develop them. The bond between Arachne and the Minotaur is touching. Epimetheus's attraction to Niobe makes her seem less annoying. Jason and Iphicles--jeez. they moved fast. Would it kill them to go on a couple of dates first?
At first, I found the whole ye-thee-thou style of speech to be rather off-putting. But it grew on me, and by the end, I was loving it. When written by someone who knows what they're doing (as you clearly do), it reads like poetry. In retrospect, I don't think the story would have worked as well without it.
The artwork is generally very good. You've got your anatomy down for sure. I'm deeply envious of your ability to draw clothing wrinkles--I've always struggled with that. Great attention to detail in the costumes and backgrounds. Ronn makes some valid points about the artwork. The drawing and inking styles used here would work better with color. In black and white, the drawings sometimes come off as kind of flat. More shading, as Ronn suggested, might help with this. Maybe thinner lines. I'm trying to remember the black and white artwork from the Eerie and Creepy magazines. I think the artists who fared best were the ones with a scratchier, more old-fashioned style. Reed Crandall immediately comes to mind. I'm also thinking of John Tenniel of Alice in Wonderland fame.
As for the women not looking feminine enough, Ronn has a point there, too. But I know how hard it is to draw feminine-looking women. Many comics artists have trouble with that, including some of the best (Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Will Eisner, to name a few). We can't all be Legion Lad! One trick, I think, is to use fewer lines, especially in the faces. In general, stick to gentle curves and avoid sharp corners.
The only other criticism I have about the artwork is that sometimes the people look a little stiff in the action scenes. I don't really know why. Wally Wood always drew very stiff-looking action poses, and I could never figure out what he was doing wrong. I think the only way to overcome this is to experiment. See what works and what doesn't. And study the artists who excel at action poses. Perhaps not coincidentally, I immediately think of the same three artists I listed above...Jack Kirby, Steve Ditko and Will Eisner.
So, to sum up...excellent job! I enjoyed it thoroughly. You should be proud of yourself. Do a sequel and I'll buy it without hesitation.
Wow! What a great review! Thanks so much for your time and effort, Madscrawler! I can only hope that the rest of my readers enjoy it as much as you did.
I've got some pictures I need to get posted from my book-signing. I had another one last night as part of a local Pride Festival and sold 17 more copies.
Going into your review in more depth, I thought the back story on Iphicles and the crab worked pretty well to make him represent Cancer, and I love the instances of mistaken identity between him and Heracles. The poor guy is always getting attacked because nobody can tell him apart from his twin. LOL!
Regarding Jason and Iphicles: You must not know too many gay men. We typically have sex first and then try to figure out if we're compatible afterwards. I might get criticized for this relationship. Gays and straights alike might balk at Jason changing his stripes so quickly, but the ancient Greeks were very bisexual. If you read the myths in any depth at all, you'll see that virtually all the Greek gods and heroes had both male and female lovers. I think Jason turning to a man for comfort, especially an old friend, is understandable, considering his history with women.
Thanks for the comments on Arachne. I thought I might be stretching things a bit much on her, but it made sense to me. Glad it did to you too.
I also thought giving Niobe Pandora's jar to store her tears in and to represent Aquarius was pretty inspired. And I like the way she turns her grief into anger and risks her life with the sphinx for her chance at revenge. She's got some chutzpah under her tears.
I also like the way Epimetheus hero-worships Heracles for rescuing his brother, and the way he prefers his animal creations over humans. Also his over-sensitivity. He's my favorite character.
Regarding the women looking too masculine, I purposely chose tall, lean, statuesque women as my models. Maybe that's part of the issue. I'll have to re-examine the artwork and see if I see the masculinity you guys are seeing. I also think my inker tended to exaggerate the chins on the women in some cases, causing them to jut out more than in my original sketches. Not that I'm trying to put all the blame on him though.
Anyway, thanks again for your thoughts. I hope others will join in the discussion as they read the book. That's why I asked Jo and Terri-Anne to create this AWESOME message board.
Oh yeah. Re Celaeno as Virgo: I never realized until I started doing the research for this project that the constellation Virgo is represented by a winged maiden, nor that the harpies are also referred to as Zeus's virgin eagles. The idea of taking a shrewish virginal woman to the ultimate extreme and portraying her as a harpy was strangely appealing to me. Her antagonistic nature was a good foil for playing some of the other characters off of and I tried to make her seem somewhat less than human with her strange, halting speech patterns.
Well, the first thing I’ve got to say is that there should be a disclaimer on the front cover in giant letters that says “BOOK 1” and you’d better take less than 30 years to finish the sequel! (Presumably Heracles will take over as the representation of Leo?)
As others have said, one of the great things about your novel is the concept—you’d probably do well to advertise it to both mythology and astrology buffs at Indy planet instead of trying to keep the zodiac aspect a surprise (pun intended). There’s still a whole realm of excitement inherent in wondering which sign will appear next—and in what form—and you’ll attract more readers. Some of your astrological choices are obvious (Leo), others perhaps a stretch (Cancer), but Virgo especially is inspired!
Also in regards to the advertising, it would probably also be a good idea to have a mixture of text-and-art and art-only pages as sample images or you give readers the false impression that there are no words at all in your story. And while the art certainly deserves to be showcased, it can be harder to get a taste for the flow of a story with no words to help put a scene in context.
There’s some really nice artwork in here. (I enjoyed your nod to the Silver Age DC in your rendition of Circe. ;) ) A couple of my favourite panels also happened to be full pages (50 and 79) but I’m also amazed at how you fit so many people into some of your panels without making them seem crowded. With such a large main cast, that skill is a necessity and yet you also managed to have lots of great close-ups and intimate moments between couples.
Speaking of the characters, I enjoy stories with lots of them and know it’s impossible to try to develop them all equally, and yet I didn’t feel that anyone got slighted. It was also nice to see a large portion of female characters—and ones that still seemed feminine although they were also all strong individuals and in diverse ways. My favourite character was probably Niobe, and I think part of the reason for that is that I started out assuming she would be the least interesting. That she ‘saves the day’ not once but twice is to both her credit and yours as the writer—so many others would have just pushed her to the background after giving her a single moment in the spotlight. I also really liked Epimetheus (and all his animal friends), so it was great to see him and Niobe developing a sympathetic relationship.
The Minotaur and Arachne rapport was also well done, although like others I admit that the Iphicles/Jason liaison took me by surprise. It made more sense when I remembered that you said they had schooled together under Chiron and so were old friends. Since their history together wasn’t part of the original myths, perhaps it should have been emphasized more throughout the story instead of just at the beginning when Iphicles is introduced.
As for other aspects of drama, the tension building around Heracles and the lion was very palpable and I so wanted him to get the chance to speak with Chiron that he kept asking for (though presumably the end result would have been the same). It also didn’t occur to me until the death how you’d been setting up the Epimetheus/Heracles relationship and I had an extra surge of ”Oh, no!” wondering how the killing would affect it. It will be interesting to see the long-term effects of that moment in the sequel (which will come soon, right?).
And I loved the segue from Leo’s death to the Fates at their sewing (that has got to be the coolest pair of scissors ever). Having the three sisters, as the object of the heroes’ quest, make a cameo appearance at the end was fantastic.
I know you’ve been at this novel a long time, and deserve a break—as well as need some time to promote it—but please don’t let the thread of this project be cut too soon! When do you start work on the sequel? :)
First off, I have to say that—like others have said—your graphic novel is a great accomplishment. Cutting the cord on any project and saying “Okay, I think it’s ready to share with others” is not an easy thing; particularly for us, as we keep tweaking and tweaking because we’re never fully satisfied. Just holding the final product in your hands must make you feel very satisfied, Jim, so kudos there! As much as I’d like to say that every artist or writer is their own worst critic, there is that fear that one’s work might be received with too much criticism—even of the constructive variety—so publishing it takes guts (or to stick with the Greek theme of your book, it takes thrasos).
That said, I think the biggest criticism I have with the book is that there isn’t enough of it! By the time I started to get into the story, it was suddenly over and our intrepid and eclectic band of heroes and heroines hadn’t really done what they set out to do. The overall story structure was more like Homer’s Odyssey—a series of adventures linked together—and less a typical story. This approach certainly suits the genre, I guess, but to me the climax—which I felt was when the Nemean Lion went berserk—was a surprise and seemed more of a sub-plot suddenly thrust into the spotlight. On that point, I have to admit that I wondered what time-frame your story was taking place. It had the Nemean Lion and Heracles interacting, and at first I wondered if this was a different lion or the fateful one. In any case, I didn’t find myself “waiting for the other shoe to drop,” so when events did play out they were a surprise, which is always a good thing in storytelling.
When it comes to stories with mythology in them, I tend to like it better when the mythological aspects are transposed into a different setting or adapted into something with a twist. The fact that you made me enjoy a more literal translation is no mean feat, Jim. What really made it different enough for me was the way you created your team of “super-heroes” by selecting which of the gods, titans, heroes, or creatures would be whom in the Zodiac. That was fun and intriguing and what separated it from being just a class in Greek literature. I thought all your selections were wonderful, but Niobe as Aquarius the Water Bearer was truly inspired. I didn’t think she would be very interesting on first meeting her but you kept her from being too much of a downer (always crying and everything) and made her into a first-class and quite formidable heroine.
On the point of dialogue, you use it sparingly, but that’s probably better than if the work was too verbose (like this review!). You say the minimum of what needs to be said and then move on. Still, I found myself wishing some of the wordless panels and pages had, I don’t know … something. Sometimes they seemed too silent. In those moments, a dialogued “oof,” or a “thud” hand-lettered across the scene, would have gone a long way with me. Also, sometimes I wished the dialogue had been hand-lettered or had a more comic book “friendly” font. On the other hand, the font you used added a formality suited to something historical.
The graphic novel was very informative and it seems as though you really strove for accuracy (not counting the ingenious alterations you made to fit the story). Whenever you could you gave a brief back-story to each of the characters but not in such a heavy-handed way that it all became too much for the reader. You’ve definitely got a talent there—as a learning tool this book would be excellent as a school text in mythology.
Art-wise, the book was a delight. I liked the way you drew the half-human characters—like the Minotaur, the Sphinx, Arachne, etc. (I also enjoyed your tip of the hat to the DC Silver Age Circe!) You have a style that totally fits something legendary and one that really captures the feel of ancient myth, though color would help immensely, or thin-lined, simpler inks. Visually, I really liked the way you portrayed the wind gods—particularly Boreas on page 42, panel 5—and I wonder how you would alter them, color-wise (could they be converted to, say, light blue?) Ideally, if the whole book could have been rendered as you did the beautiful watercolor plates, it would have been wonderful. But, yes, it would have also been time-consuming.
Perhaps the most wonderful thing about the novel, to me, Jim, is it the sense of compassion that permeates it. Most mythology—with all its death, destruction, and double-dealing—really never comes across as anything but cold. What you’ve done is at heart to it, particularly through the way you handle relationships between characters. You tend to think of them less as impersonal gods and more as real people. I really liked the way the Minotaur and Arachne bonded over their conditions; the vegan in me appreciated the animal-compassionate Epimethius, and I liked the way he gave Niobe her “water jug.”
I found the Jason-Iphicles love scene momentarily surprising only in that I had forgotten the earlier mention that they had both trained (grew up?) together under Chiron. Had that been mentioned more, with reminiscences of earlier days between the two, it might have been less surprising. I also don’t think the “physical first, emotional second” thing is exclusive to gays—high schools and singles bars are full of heterosexual people whose primary, and often only, goal is physical intimacy. In the case of Jason and Iphy, it felt more tender and with more tangible motivations (Jason’s painful remembrances in regards to his past wives, for example).
All in all, it was a highly enjoyable work, Jim. And for a first-time graphic novel is was quite an achievement. Be proud.
Thanks for the review, Jo! I was getting ready to rattle your cage if I didn't hear from you pretty soon. The credit for the wind gods goes entirely to my inker, Tim Stiles. He rendered them in photoshop and dropped them into his scans of the pages that he'd inked. He also redesigned Arachne's scorpion body and did a better job on her than I did in my sketches.
I was afraid people would be disappointed that the heroes don't achieve their goals at the end of the story, but as I told a local friend, the castaways can never escape Gilligan's Island or they would all go their separate ways and the story would be over. I wanted my band of misfits to stay together for future adventures.
Did you catch the scene where Minotaur turns up his nose at the sides of beef at the marketplace and goes to help Epimetheus pick out fruits and vegetables? Shirley, you vegans of all people caught that, I hope.
Color, color. Everyone wants color. It took me 5 years to get it done in black and white. Coloring it could take the rest of my life, plus it would've been a lot more expensive to produce, which cuts down on my profits!
Holy cow! I totally overlooked Terri-Anne's review! I immediately scrolled to the bottom of the page to see what the last post was after looking again and again to see if anyone new had posted. I gasped when I saw Jo's huge review, not even realizing that Terri-Anne had posted first! Sorry, TA. Didn't mean to slight you. On to your comments:
Very good on your assumption about Heracles as the new Leo. Exactly what I intended, but you're the first to mention it.
Regarding advertising, I was afraid I'd already given away too much of my story and characters on my website. I'd really rather people read the book and then go to the website to read more about the characters and my processes, etc. but I suppose it's more likely that people will peruse the website first. I did have a 2nd signing last weekend and I have 2 more coming up though!
I'm surprised that so many people (well, you, Jo, and Madscrawler) found Niobe so unappealing. I consider her the most powerful member of my team and I like that she overcomes her grief enough to give rise to her anger and desire for vengeance. I'm not sure how I got her hooked up with Epimetheus exactly. The characters just sort of took on a life of their own as I was writing. I did try to give each character his/her part to play, even if it was thru weakness (Parthenope) or antagonism (Celaeno) or laziness (Pan), etc. etc.
Tim also deserves the credit for the really spooky looking shears that the Fates wield at the end.
Oh, yeah, Re Jason and Iphicles. Their past relationship is reinforced when they go to meet Chiron and they also have a tender moment while fighting Cerberus, so I'm surprised that you guys forgot about them being long time friends. I'm curious if others will say the same thing.
On the subject of "masculine" female characters, true, while their features could stand a little softening up, I think that the way they do look does fit the ancient Greek style better than if they had been rendered in the ultra-feminine way of most modern comic books. It would have been too distracting and seem out of place somehow (especially considering that most of them are topless!) In most of the classic paintings or Grecian art I've seen the women do look more masculine. Even in modern books on the subject, the women are drawn classically - more "handsome" than "beautiful." There are even a few comic book artists that tend to draw more angular, masculine-looking super-heroines - George Perez and Phil Jiminez spring to mind. The latter seemed to almost put his own face on the bodies of his women!
Jim Gallagher wrote:btw, Jo and Terri-Anne, you're awfully pushy about me doing a SEQUEL to my book, considering we haven't seen the FIRST novel in YOUR series yet!!!
Jim Gallagher wrote:I'm surprised that so many people (well, you, Jo, and Madscrawler) found Niobe so unappealing.
I didn't say that, Jim, just that at first glance, seeing the continually watery-eyed woman seemed to bode ill in terms of her likeability and usefulness ... but then you expertly proved otherwise. I'd have to say that she's one of my faves, actually.
She ended up becoming probably my favorite character. Part of it was because at first I didn't think she'd be interesting, but I was pleasantly surprised she was done so well.
Hey, Jim, why don't you set up another thread with a message board poll where you list all the major characters (and maybe another thread and poll for minor characters) where everyone can vote for their favorites?
Jim Gallagher wrote:Oh, yeah, Re Jason and Iphicles. Their past relationship is reinforced when they go to meet Chiron and they also have a tender moment while fighting Cerberus, so I'm surprised that you guys forgot about them being long time friends. I'm curious if others will say the same thing.
I noticed the first tender moment between them when Iphicles put his hand on Jason's chest in one scene but I might not have remembered the earlier scene about their past with Chiron because I put the book halfway down for a break. If I'd read it all in one sitting it might have stayed with me.
And I noticed and liked the physical closeness of the two characters after their intimate moment on the ship. It made it seem that what they'd shared was deeper than just a one-time fling.
The Heartland Gallery is an art gallery/shop here in town. I know the woman who runs it. There's no fee for having a show there, although there should be because she really went to a lot of trouble and expense to promote my show. She was in my water color class a few years ago and had been after me for a while to have a show at her gallery, so I thought of her first when I started planning for my book release/art show. She gets a commission on any of my work she sells though. We sold 43 books and one print the first night and she's sold about 5 more books since then.
I did another signing at a local Pride Festival which I was on the committee for. They offered me a booth and waived their fee in exchange for some deisgn work i did for them. I sold 17 books there and 3 more at a party the next day.
I have another signing in my home town of Tuscola for their homecoming at the end of Sept. at a soda fountain that is run by some long time family friends who figure prominently in my mom's book.
Then I'm to give a talk to the Tuscola Kiwanis club some time in November on both my books and will probably be selling and signing books there too.
That's awesome! I hope the sales continue to grow for you. Is there a way you can hook up to Amazon and sell through them as well? Also, if there's a Barnes & Noble near you, get in touch with a manager in charge of consignment sales and do some book signings there.
She ended up becoming probably my favorite character. Part of it was because at first I didn't think she'd be interesting, but I was pleasantly surprised she was done so well.
Hey, Jim, why don't you set up another thread with a message board poll where you list all the major characters (and maybe another thread and poll for minor characters) where everyone can vote for their favorites?
Good idea. I'll see if I can figure out how to do that.
On the subject of "masculine" female characters, true, while their features could stand a little softening up, I think that the way they do look does fit the ancient Greek style better than if they had been rendered in the ultra-feminine way of most modern comic books.
I agree that it would have looked awkward if you went that route. I think there's a happy medium to be reached, though. "A little softening up" would do the trick.
After checking out the "How I Did It" section--which is awesome, by the way, answered many questions I'd intended to pester you with--I realize Tim Stiles made quite a few changes to your artwork, if the examples shown are any indication. Most of the time, I think his changes simply made your drawings look cleaner and slightly more detailed. It looks totally professional. But with the faces of the women, it seems to me the details he added could have been left out. Your closeup drawing of Themis on page 1 looks much more feminine than the inked version. Also, as you noted earlier, Mr. Stiles has a strange habit of making the chins more prominent than originally intended. Little changes like that can make a big difference. Faces, especially women's faces, are all about the subtle details. An extra fraction of an inch added to the chin goes a long way.
Reading through the book a second time, I see that it's really only Themis who consistently could use some demasculinization. The full-page drawing on page 8 might be the best depiction of Themis. Very nice. Celaeno, I would guess, is supposed to be less than attractive, and that's fine. Arachne and Parthenope look great most of the time. The drawings of them seen at the top of this page are good examples. Not masculine at all, but not girly girl cute either. Perfect compromise. The drawing of Niobe shown here is actually one of the most masculine-looking drawings of her in the book. More often, she has a more rounded jaw line, slightly thinner neck and less strongly defined creases around the mouth.
I would be remiss if I didn't mention how good all of the men look in the book. Just look at the drawing of Chiron on this page. Cripes, I want to date the guy. Iphicles is not far behind. I think you were most consistent with these two characters. Jason, Pan and the twins look very good, too.
I don't want to sound like I'm harping on the few aspects of the artwork I found to be less than perfect. It's nitpicking, really. Most of the artwork is great. You and Mr. Stiles did a fine job. Your book looks better than a lot of the graphic novels I've seen out there.
I'm surprised that so many people (well, you, Jo, and Madscrawler) found Niobe so unappealing.
It's really just me, so don't worry about it. It's my problem, not yours. I grew up in a house full of males, where no one cried, ever. I may need therapy. Anyway, if Niobe hadn't been portrayed as being rather pathetic (at first), we wouldn't have gotten my favorite line in the book, spoken by my favorite character, Celaeno: "Niobe, whimpering cow! Do something or out of way!"
I did think it was very cool the way you made her out to be the most powerful member of the team. I love unexpected, ironic twists.
It's funny that you think Tim made Themis look too masculine (and I agree in some cases) because the model for that character is actually his sister and she's the only girl in a family of 5 brothers!
I think I'll have to send you a higher res picture of Leo, Madscrawler. Sorry your character got the axe!
I laughed out loud at your comment on Chiron's good looks. I just sent it to that model. He's one of my straight boyfriends.
That's awesome! I hope the sales continue to grow for you. Is there a way you can hook up to Amazon and sell through them as well? Also, if there's a Barnes & Noble near you, get in touch with a manager in charge of consignment sales and do some book signings there.
Do you work at Barnes and Noble, Jo? We do have one here. I'll have to look into that and maybe Amazon too, but first I need to get some more books ordered.
No, I don't work at Barnes & Noble, but I used to work at Chapters, which is the Canadian equivalent.
Yes, bring a stack of books with you when you do get a signing set up at B&N. If it works similarly there, you should be able to leave a quantity with them, too. Also, ask them about how you can go about getting onto their website and, therefore, into their system.
Madscrawler, I just uploaded a higher res version of Leo for your avatar. Jo and Terri-Anne, if you'll tell me your signs I can do the same for you, or you can choose your own avatars if you wish, of course.
By the way, my avatar was drawn by my inker from a photo Pat took of me standing between Jo and Terri-Anne in their living room.
I just discovered this review by "Fat Cramer" from the Legion World message board:
I got the book (took a while to reach the hinterlands here) and started it last night. Will post more when I finish, but it's a very absorbing read. Like Ronn Karr, I'm somewhat familiar with the Greek mythological characters, but don't remember them all. Jim does a great job of explaining concisely who is who and what they're known for.
The story opens with an old woman being attacked, so you're rooting for the poor old woman and then...surprise! It was a good hook to get one interested.
Also, it was nice to see the Titans towering over the other characters, as Titans should. Can't say I've read many myth-based comics before!
I finished Jason and the New Argonauts a while ago, just slow to get to reviews.
The book was a great read; it had some meat to it, which a lot of current comics lack. Themis assembles a group of people/gods who Zeus has wronged in order to demand justice. They plan to bring their case to the Fates but first, they must find out where the Fates are - either nobody knows, or nobody's talking. You get the impression that the Fates are like mafia kingpins; nobody wants trouble from them. The group travels on Jason's ship, the Argo (hence the title) seeking information about the Fates, having their own internal squabbles and encountering many mythological (to us) characters.
I love the idea of these characters seeking redress; in most mythological stories, no one questions what happens to them. In this story, you find characters who are actually suffering from being turned into half-arachnid, or compelled to cry endless tears, or turned into harpies, and they all have distinctive personalities.
The story ends with the three Fates, having dispatched one member of the team, discussing what they should do next. A sequel may be in the works, but the story feels complete enough as it stands.
Jim does a great job of bringing these mythological characters to life, explaining succinctly who each one is and how they came to be as they are. There's also a glossary at the back with a brief summary of the players.
I thought the art was great; I never gave much consideration to how any of these characters might look in real life. My favourite page was Themis battling the Gorgons.
For $12, I felt like I got a lot more story than three or four comics from DC or Marvel would provide.
I might get criticized for this relationship. Gays and straights alike might balk at Jason changing his stripes so quickly, but the ancient Greeks were very bisexual. If you read the myths in any depth at all, you'll see that virtually all the Greek gods and heroes had both male and female lovers. I think Jason turning to a man for comfort, especially an old friend, is understandable, considering his history with women. 
