Most Intriquing Read of the Week!

Vertigo's newest $1.00 #1 came out yesterday, and should still be available at all four Amazing Fantasy locations: Greek Street by Peter Milligan and Davide Gianfelice.

This is a very interesting and intriguing new series. The sheer scope that Milligan has taken up here is impressive to say the least. This is definitely one of those series that will take a while to gel with readers. Greek Street reminds me at times of Sandman and Fables since Milligan is drawing upon the classical Greek tragedies of old, but using a modern setting. The huge cast of characters are not direct re-interpretations of characters like Oedipus, but rather influenced by these type of characters. Each character in Greek Street draws upon multiple characters from Greek antiquity along with some modern twists.

Do you have to be familiar with the Greek tragedies to fully appreciate this series? No, I don't think so. IF you happen to remember your classic lit from high school and college it's a nice bonus if only to justify an English Degree or all those Greek Tragedy courses you took in college for no good reason. HERE is your good reason! Like Sandman and Fables before it, Greek Street may inspire readers to go back to reread the the inspiration for this series, the Greek Classics. This can only be interpreted as a good thing, because these stories are still taught in school for a reason. There is a certain universality to the plot points and character archetypes.

Greek Street is illustrated by Davide Gianfelice, who made his name on Vertigo's Northlanders. His style is quite unique and could be a perfect fit for this book. His art style doesn't work for every book, but for both Northlanders and now Greek Street it works. The color choices jump out as unique for this book, if only because of the limited color palette that Patricia Mulvihill has picked. One thing about Vertigo, each book is unique unto itself, and the colors and letters play an important role in singling a series out.

This first issue, like Unwritten #1 before it is 40 pages for buck! Give it a try, but I am warning you that I think it will take a whole storyline before this baby can be judged fairly. Taking this one issue on it's own I think some readers may be confused about what they are reading, mainly because of the huge cast of characters. Over time, this will most likely pan out well, I have the utmost faith in Milligan. He wrote one of my all time favorite Vertigo series, Shade: The Changing Man, and that too took a little while to get its feet. Try the #1 for a buck and if it intrigues you as much I think it will, try the first volume of the graphic novel, odds are good that the first collection of Greek Street will cost a measly $9.99. That is another thing Vertigo is VERY good about, trying to make books affordable so readers can try new things.


"A reminder that some stories are too true and too dangerous to ever die. ....crackles with Promethean fire." - Grant Morrison.