As each new installment in the Fire and Stone series is released I find myself taking out a bigger and bigger microscope to examine it with. Though it may not be objective, I think this series deserves to be held to a higher standard. It is for this reason that for the first time I have some criticism of “Prometheus”. Perhaps it is finally that halfway through the event I can start to set aside my fanboy colored glasses and put back on the cynical ones I am used to wearing, but the truth is I can’t say this is a perfect issue. Thankfully it is, however, a damn good one.
WRITTEN BY: Paul Tobin
ART BY: Juan Ferreyra
PUBLISHER: Dark Horse
PRICE: $3.50
RELEASE: November 12, 2014
Reveiwed By Eric Switzer
Before I start to gripe there are a lot of awesome things about this book to discuss. Seeing the dots connect between all four books is probably the most exciting thing about the whole series. “Prometheus” is like a great prequel: we know how the story ends, but it is just so much fun seeing how we get there, and with some clever plotting we can even be surprised along the way. Galgo’s decision to ditch everyone and take off in the Perses is both an interesting turn of events and absolutely true to his character. It can be difficult to keep things fresh when the reader already knows what is going to happen but “Prometheus” has had no problem being intriguing and narratively rich. Furthermore there is a plot thread here involving an Engineer that began in “Alien” and has been hinted at in “AVP” but will need to be resolved in the final issue of “Prometheus”. His role is mysterious essential to the Prometheus franchise so I’m excited to see where that is going.
Elden is a fucking awesome villain and the particular state of decay he is in in this series is horrifically awesome. His panels stood out as some of the most visually engaging moments in the entire “Fire and Stone” series, which is really saying considering how extremely metal this whole series has been. I love seeing Elden be evil and interacting with the aliens. I imagine we has quite a bit more of that in the coming issues.
Unfortunately beyond that I don’t think this book stood out and in fact it actually stumbled in some places due to a lot of dialogue falling flat and a general lack of action. Last week we read “AVP” #2 and it was a blood bath. This week we have a lot of panic over a code lock and are reminded three times that Chris’s wife Jill is on the ship. I felt like we were going in circles around these two points for half the book. And when we weren’t talking about the code lock we were being assaulted with dialogue like:
“I mean, I didn’t do much in college past stealing beer and pretending I wasn’t the father… but I think that’s more than six”.
At this point I had to look at the cover to make sure there wasn’t a fill in writer on this issue. Now, I am well are that this sort of ham-handed long winded way of saying nothing is not uncommon in the genre, and even in the films. But it is uncommon for Paul Tobin and I was taken out of the action more than twice while reading this issue. I may be becoming more critical with higher expectation, but that is because this series is just so damn good. This book is one of my favorite and this creative team is a power house. I expect only the best.
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Eric Switzer is an aspiring filmmaker and screenplay writer living in Los Angeles. His work tends to focus on the lighter side of entropy, dystopic futures, and man’s innate struggle with his own mortality. He can be found on twitter @epicswitzer or reached via email at ericswitzerfilm@gmail.com.