Not really knowing what to expect, the front cover did not hold my attention for very long. Some guy with what appeared to be the top part of a lion's head about to consume his head, with someone's arm grabbing him around the throat from behind. He's got chains hanging across his chest. I had no idea what lurked beyond that front cover, since I wasn't familiar with this title, at all.
Turning the page revealed a small amount of wording on the inside of the front cover. Its a credits page, giving credit to where it was due. The choice of font used only served to make it difficult to read the credits. So, I didn't bother with dwelling on it.Thumbs down on the font selection for the credits.
Flip the page, again, and.....BAM!! Some beautiful artwork immediately hits you right over the head. The interior art gets two big thumbs up from me. The colorist's handiwork, especially, is what immediately grabbed me. Even if the story ends up sucking, at least I won't end up hating the artwork that adorns the interior pages of this issue zero. What's up with that, anyway? Issue zero? Really?! Go figure.
It's obvious, now, that the setting is ancient Greece. I have mixed feelings about the font used for the text narratives. Going with a slightly larger font size would have likely mooted this concern of mine. I sort of dreaded having to read the entire issue, with that font staring me in the face. But, the art and color lured me in. I had to turn the page.
Oh, my God! Damn! I turned the page, and again the Wow Factor hits me - full force, this time. I haven't even gotten into the story, yet, and already, I am feeling some really positive vibes emanating from this comic book. This title definitely holds promise - and it holds it in spades!
A double-paged spread of a girl dreaming, a huge battle taking place in the center of the page, with several smaller panels populating the edges. It looks like orcs or zombies or something attacking a Greek temple of some sort. It's just a really beautiful scene. I will even go so far as to say that it's gorgeous. Not that the creatures attacking are gorgeous. Rather, the artwork, itself, the scene, the coloring, they all hit the right notes with me. I am going to have to buckle down, and read what's going on.
As I proceed through the book, I notice that it has some decent special effects lettering in some of the battle scenes.
The guy on the front cover, as it turns out, is Hercules. The guy holding him around the throat? I'll leave that little nugget a mystery. Check it out for yourself. It's worth the download - and at the price of free that I paid for it, I can certainly attest that it's worth the time that it takes to download it.
My personal favorite scenes from this issue of Theoktonia are actually not the ones with Hercules in them. Not that he's rendered poorly, because he isn't. Rather, some of the other artwork, particularly in scenes that are not battle scenes, really add to the aesthetics of this comic book. The non-warrior characters are portrayed at least as well as the warriors, themselves. Personally, I think that these "supporting characters," if I may call them that, are better rendered than the stars of the show, so to speak.
Comic books like this are a real treasure of a find, when you happen across them. This issue reeked of solid quality. Ah, what a refreshing smell that is!
In summation, it's two thumbs up for Theoktonia issue # 0, from me. You're not going to go wrong grabbing this issue. Indeed, this may well prove to be the start of something really great.
You can buy issue # 0 of Theoktonia by clicking here.
The people publishing this comic book title areDeimos Comics, which can be found here.
Story & Script: Demosthenes Daskaleas
Pencils & Inks: Verry Woong
Colors: Novianto Sulastomo
Cover: Rudy Ao
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