Greek Street Vol. 1: Blood Calls for Blood [Paperback]

Peter Milligan (Author), Davide Gianfelice (Illustrator)

Book Description

Series: Greek Street | Publication Date: March 16, 2010

GREEK STREET is Peter Milligan's & Davide Gianfelice's re-imagining of the brutal and visceral tragedies that graced the Theater of Dionysus in Ancient Greece. GREEK STREET is an updating of many of the famous Greek dramas (Oedipus Rex, The Orestia, etc) and epic poems (Iliad, Odyssey) into a gritty modern day London. The opening arc follows runaway EDDIE who unknowingly sleeps with his own mother and than accidentally kills her. He's seeks shelter on London's Greek Street - a seedy neighborhood filled with strip joints, dive bars, gangsters and all form of vice. From there he meets a young girl SANDY, cursed with visionary powers that no one believes is real. GS is a sexy blend of crime, supernatural and soap opera all using characters
and plots that are simultaneously familiar yet brand new.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Inspired by classical Greek dramas, the series constructs a crime epic following intertwined stories in modern London and most succeeds in channeling the shock value of the original works. At the center is Eddie, the young man whose effort to rediscover his family leads to disaster. There's also Detective Daedalus, whose murder investigation turns bizarre when the victim returns from the dead as an enraged monster, and organized crime boss Harold Furey and his sons. While Milligan borrows characters' names from ancient Greek tales, the story is not a direct retelling of any of these. Instead it employs a few of the original plot elements with an overall tone evocative of the ancient Greek tragedies. The often shocking violence and sex of the old plays and myths is presented so as to have the same effect on a modern audience that the original works had over 2,000 years ago. Artist Gianfelice doesn't shy away from gore or nudity, but his greatest strength is the expressive faces of the characters. Every look of anguish, suspicion, lust, and fear is rendered successfully to draw readers into the story. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Can comics based on classical Greek drama avoid fusty lessons in mythology and appeal to contemporary audiences? Milligan and Gianfelice answer that question by offering more of an homage to Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides than faithful renditions of their plots, making sure, however, to preserve classical theater’s penchant for gruesome scenarios. Greek Street’s cast includes an adolescent orphan named Eddie, who unwittingly sleeps with his mother and accidentally kills her; the daughter of an aristocrat who experiences prophetic visions of mayhem; and a naked, murderous zombie belonging to a sisterhood of sirens who watch over the action like a Greek chorus. The plot loosely follows Eddy’s ill-fated involvement with a family of criminals that has vowed revenge on a rival family. The story, however, takes a back seat to the montage of gritty images that sweeps us from strip joint to alleyway to corpse-laden crime scenes. Both Milligan’s glib, “voiceover” narration and Gianfelice’s dark-hued illustration gratify. --Carl Hays

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (March 16, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140122573X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401225735
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 6.6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,052,024 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #64 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Mystery

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ambrosia of the Gods, March 16, 2010

By 

Jon Repesh (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greek Street Vol. 1: Blood Calls for Blood (Paperback)

Peter Milligan's new Vertigo title Greek Street is purportedly a modern retelling of classic Greek mythology. Purportedly is the salient word here as the association to those legendary fables primarily comes down to patent variations of characters' names more so than literal updating of celebrated storylines. Among the identifiable analogues on stage are Eddie (Oedipus), Sandy (Cassandra), Lord Menon (Agamemnon), and a family of Fureys (Furies) to name a few. Alas beyond that the correlation is dubious with much creative leeway being adopted, which isn't necessarily critical, but diminishes the key selling point of the entire series. Certainly there are recognizable plot elements on display fittingly prefaced via narration as in proper Greek tradition. The main protagonist Eddie indeed sleeps with his mother and Sandy plays the part of omniscient yet ignored oracle, but here she is Lord Menon's daughter, not lover, and the Fureys are a family of crime committing offenders instead of a unit of sin punishing avengers. With its' limited effectiveness in providing the reader with the literary stimulation of uncovering who is who in their respective roles, the responsibility falls on the intrinsic merits of the story itself to attain its' grand objective, and here is where the book is found wanting. Significant Greek themes like tragedy and betrayal will undoubtedly be explored, but without a closer and more faithful relation to the original myths, the loose and cluttered premise plus overall unremarkable writing in general may not be compelling enough to warrant continued commitment to the series.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Name recognition, April 6, 2010

By 

Francisco Guimaraes (Sao Paulo, Brazil) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Greek Street Vol. 1: Blood Calls for Blood (Paperback)

It is very interesting that I agree with most of the points with the review of AeroRep, but none of them make me think it is a four star book. Actually, I could not find anything that is complimentary in his review, but hey, maybe it's just me. In my opinion, it would be something closer to 2 stars, mostly because of the excelent art of Davide Gianfelice, creating a very engaging atmosphere. There is a lot of name dropping, enough to call your atention and to make sure this is a greek tragedy. I thought there are a few loose ends, some actions of the characters seems without reason, and others seem without purpose. But since this is the first volume of an ongoing series, it may be too soon to make a final judgement.

5.0 out of 5 stars Comic Tour De Force, October 1, 2010

By 

Paige Turner "Paige" (New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Greek Street Vol. 1: Blood Calls for Blood (Paperback)

This is why I read comics! Peter Milligan takes the classic Greek Tragedies and puts them in the present, in a noirish London street. Beyond the brilliant high-concept idea, the execution is nearly perfect. Whether you've studied the classic Greek dramas or not, this story will blow you away.

I had to re-read the first chapter because I was so astounded by what I should have seen coming. Only in the modern milieu of gritty urban life can we see how amazingly depraved the original greek stories were. Its a bit like reading Crumb's version of the Bible. Only in graphic form do you realize how twisted the stories are. Sure, some of the allusions are a bit too "on-the-nose" but Milligan is just hammering home his point for those that have never read Oedipus or Agamemnon.

The artwork pops in this volume as well, perfectly portraying a seedy, dark, sexy vision of the urban underworld. The use of colors- vibrant reds, purples and oranges create an ominous mood. I haven't been this excited and surprised by a book since "Fables" or "Last Man."

This book just sizzles!