Frank Burns reviewed Luther Arkwright by Warren Ellis
Review of 'Luther Arkwright' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
4.5 overall. 5 for The Adventures of Luther Arkwright. 4.5 for Heart of Empire.
I had a hankering to experience this again and so I picked up this collected edition. My copies of the original comics for Adventures, bought on release, went in the great clear out 5 years ago.
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright remains a landmark in comics. Such an astonishing piece that stands up to a 5 star rating even to this day. There is a real sense of it taking the form and re-inventing it. Leading the way for taking it beyond the 4 colour adolescent power fantasies that dominated the Anglophone comics world at this time. There is a denseness to the piece along with the heady sense of taking an acid trip while a dense raga rages in the background. There is so much packed into this that there is little sense in pulling …
4.5 overall. 5 for The Adventures of Luther Arkwright. 4.5 for Heart of Empire.
I had a hankering to experience this again and so I picked up this collected edition. My copies of the original comics for Adventures, bought on release, went in the great clear out 5 years ago.
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright remains a landmark in comics. Such an astonishing piece that stands up to a 5 star rating even to this day. There is a real sense of it taking the form and re-inventing it. Leading the way for taking it beyond the 4 colour adolescent power fantasies that dominated the Anglophone comics world at this time. There is a denseness to the piece along with the heady sense of taking an acid trip while a dense raga rages in the background. There is so much packed into this that there is little sense in pulling out individual threads.
Heart of Empire, on the other hand, I had never actually read through. I think I bought one issue back in the day and it never really grabbed me. Something I found again, coming back to it now. It starts slow and the choice to move to cleaner, coloured artwork I find personally disappointing. I am much more a fan of dense, well draughted, black and white comic work. I was pleasantly surprised though to find Heart of Empire really picks up at the mid-point and delivers a punchy denoument. Hence my 4.5 rating for it here. It has neither the scope, nor the ambition of Adventures but is still a very good piece of graphic storytelling.
Obvious recommend here.