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Review: Pantheon High 1
Review: Pantheon High, vol. 1
Published by: Tokyopop
Writer: Paul Benjamin
Artists: Steven and Megumi Cummings
192 (160) pages.
Original Language: English
Orientation: Left to right
Vintage: February 2007
Lettering: Lucas Rivera
Cover Art: Steven Cummings
Cover Design: Fawn Lau
Editor: Paul Morrissey
Publisher’s Rating: Older Teen, 16+
Rating: 4 out of 5
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Premise: Demigods face all kinds of challenges. At Pantheon High, the half-mortal, half-divine offspring of all your favourite dusty mythological powers get an education and learn invaluable social skills, though a few bad apples might occasionally attempt to upset the entire natural order and abrogate undue unholy powers upon themselves… Bad Kids! [*wrist slap*] Detention for you!
…actually, I think the ‘premise’ blurb just about covers it. And a lot of the fun of this one is figuring out just who you’re dealing with (and how their parents’ baileywicks translate into high school, as seen through the filter of the representative scions).
Let’s just say that 4 baddies (daughters of Kronos and Loki, and sons of Set and Susano) are making their play, and while it seems like more-or-less innocent pranking to begin with, things soon get deadly serious.
So it is up to our heroes — one descendant each from the Greek, Egyptian, Norse, and Japanese pantheons — to work together and thwart the evil scheme. Good triumphs over evil, duh, but there are sacrifices, transformations, and inevitable fan service to consider before we get to a more or less happy ending.
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Review:
It’s the side jokes that make this one so much fun, from Principal Prometheus & Hercules as a Gym Coach, to “Hall Monitor” Heimdahl (I may be one of just three or four people on this continent who laughed out loud at that last one)
Even if it’s all Greek (Norse, Egyptian, Japanese) to you, I think you’re going to like this book. Enough explanation is given, in context and as needed, and a fair amount of familiar myth (Greek and Norse) is applied for the important story points. And even if you strip all that away, there is still the underlying plot, where superpowered high school students save the world — That’s one part of this story that I know you’ll get.
The book also comes with a whole mess of end notes, which I doubt anyone will reference as they read (at least the first time) though like many other “translation” notes, it’s a handy coda to explain a few fine points you may have glossed over on a first read. The extras also include a ten-page preview of Volume 2, which ably shows that this isn’t just a one-off gimmick, and that writer Benjamin has deeper plans for both his characters and this concept.
Good show all around. 4 marks out of 5.
Posted by Matt Blind on February 6th, 2007
under Reviews, manga.
Comments
Comment from Matt Blind
Time: February 5, 2007, 11:58 pm
It wasn’t so long ago that some troll noted comic authority (in a response to my response, etc., on some other post) accused me of setting up a “straw man” when I called in what I considered to be a few basic readings on myth and storytelling, to counter his contention that perhaps Bob and I hadn’t read enough [*cough*] classic comics of whatever flavour to be qualified to comment on other, newer titles.
My point there (that he completely missed) was that comics are stories. Straight up. You can’t discuss comics, without looking at the bones of storytelling at some point in the process. (and I think he misused the term “straw man argument” just because he couldn’t answer any of my points, but that’s a different contention)
A good background on story (which is going to include relevant myth and some basic psych, sorry if your college CW prof didn’t get that memo) will always serve you well. And here we have that in spades, my friend– I’m not saying that you need to be up on all the myths to be able to enjoy this title: it’s a fun ride even if you aren’t a pantheistic syncreticist with an academic bent and a memory for trivia, someone who not only recognises the basic tropes and archetypes but also how the writer is playing with those forms for comedic effect…
But hell, I was laughing my ass off through about half of it. “A joke that has to be explained is not a joke”, but for me and like three other guys, this is the best damn title all year.
Comment from Bob Holt
Time: February 6, 2007, 9:58 am
Crap. I’m going to have to get this one, aren’t I?
Comment from Matt Blind
Time: February 6, 2007, 12:56 pm
I figured it was going to be a one-off, a good story but self contained.
We’re lucky there’s a preview for volume two, where [um let’s see if I can do this without spoilers… hm. nope.]
…one part of the setup for volume 2 that I can tell you is the intro of crosstown rival Gilgamesh High, where the offspring of the Mesopotamian, Aztec, Indian & Polynesian gods go to school. mmmm… more mythic goodness. I don’t know where this title will end up taking us, but I love the ride.
I’m disappointed it’s only planned as a trilogy, but I guess too much of a good thing would get old.
and, yeah, I think you’ll like this one.
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