Customer Reviews

Heart of Empire: Legacy of Luther Arkwright

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is simply the most intelligent, intricate graphic novel that I have ever read. It contains the most stark mixing of sacred and profane elements- and yet it works. To put it mildly, it works. It is a continuation of the story of the shaman/savior Luthor Arkwright (I fully recommend the original _The Aventures of Luthor Arkwright_). Every time you pick this book up you find something new in the complex story line or intricate artwork. Only a writer/artist could produce a work like this, for only a person who thinks in images could master the symbolist world view that it mirrors. Here you have alternate universe after alternate universe- yet all connected by underlieing currents and patterns. As above, so below.
Oh yes, it also has a healthy amount of English working class bloody mindedness- something that we in America are becoming increasingly familiar with as the corporate "upperclass" tries to turn this society into a rigid caste-based oligarchy....

After devouring "The Adventures of Luther Arkwright," I wasn't sure it could get any better than that - but Talbot's follow-up has proven a worthy successor. You can visibly detect the advances in the artwork - bold, bright colors, smooth lines - a pleasure to look at. The story fills in a lot of gaps and answers a lot of the questions I had about the first one (which at times could be confusing, but nonetheless brilliant) and provides a lot of insight into the lives of the characters. I love the undertones of religious and political commentary, but meanwhile staying sexy, imaginative and engaging. Overall, a great read.

When Bryan Talbot was putting Heart of Empire onto paper he may have not realized that he was cementing his position as one of the comic greats. The reason I say this is that Talbot has created a sequel to The Adventures of Luther Arkwright that matches the original. This is a very hard feat to accomplish, often when a writer tries to create a sequel to a seminal work it pales in comparison, just look at Joseph Heller's Closing Time or Frank Miller's The Dark Night Strikes Again. However this does not happen with Heart of Empire. The main reason that this does not occur is that Heart of Empire is not a direct sequel of The Adventures of Luther Arkwright. Heart of Empire instead acts as more of a spiritual sequel with Luther's daughter Victoria as the protagonist. By separating the two books Talbot allows himself to go in a separate direction both thematically and artistically. First off Heart of Empire is a lighter story with constant humor and a little less drama. The art reflects this, with vivid colors and a little less complex line work. All of this combines to make a very different book than The Adventures of Luther Arkwright but one just as fulfilling. So overall I cannot recommend this book enough for it is truly a worthy successor.

A rich tapestry of ideas and half-familiar characters, it's witty, and dark, and complex, and I like it a lot. I haven't read the book this is supposedly a sequel to, yet, but I certainly intend to now! I should note, I do tend to enjoy Victorian-flavored alternate history in general (like Phil Foglio's Girl Genius series, which is admittedly MUCH sillier than this). Papal assassins. A countdown to disaster. Massive neat-looking airships, and city streetcars that look like dragonflies ...