Dread Gods #1 from IDW -
In the not-too-distant-future, corporations have finished the long game and toppled all governments to take over the world. They provide food, shelter, and most importantly, entertainment, to the desperate denizens of the planet, Earth - bread and circuses, just like the Roman Empire of old. Carver is one of those denizens; deformed and paralyzed from the waist down, he races through the filthy crowded streets hunting for that which he most desires: a virtual reality cube from the Prometheus Corporation that gives the malnourished and maltreated mob a glimpse into the hallowed heights of Mount Olympus. With this V.R. cube, the people can leave their miserable states behind and walk among the gods, which is exactly what Carver craves. When Carver finally hooks in, he witnesses a battle that rocks the very foundations of Olympus, a battle which ends in the mightiest of the gods seeking help for their plight - help which Carver is determined to give. Has Carver lost his mind? Has he succumbed to the madness of mistaking fiction for fact...Or is there more reality than virtuality to what he sees in the halls of Olympus?
Dread Gods #1 is an action-heavy sci-fi adventure penned by comics veteran, Ron Marz. In this issue, Marz gives us a look at a bleak, possibly post-apocalyptic future where mankind has traded freedom for the safety provided corporations. Many have long-feared the growing power of multinational corporations, some with their own private military forces. Some believe that theses corporate bodies are only loyal to money and power, not to flags and nations; it has been speculated that the natural endgame for these seemingly sinister corporate entities is to encroach upon the power of sovereign nations by using economic might to subvert national political processes to seize power, and then gain the people's loyalty by stepping in and providing vital essentials. Marz's vision in Dread Gods is a heavy-handed, though jarring, poke at this paranoid fear that may some day become a reality. The people live in such squalor; it is no wonder that they would do anything for a hit of virtual reality - the drug of choice for the downtrodden and the dying. However, even though Tom Raney's pencils are powerful, energetic and often, Kirby-esque, with lavish colors by Nanjan Jamberi, Marz's story is just too bombastic - it's a big idea, with big characters, with no discernible purpose. Zeus rules Olympus. The Olympians love him. Carver loves him. Hades hates him. Okay...Is the protagonist Zeus or Carver? Or is it the "evil" brother, Hades (is Hades a freedom fighter of sorts)? How does Carver hope to help a god in virtual reality? Is he nuts or is there more than meets the eye? There did not seem to be enough oomph in the story to make me care about ANY character on the page, which is a shame in a book so full of big action, big personalities and big potential. Dread Gods #1 lacked so much and ended so abruptly that only an introduction to Marz's world was semi-accomplished, but with no actual purpose for the story in sight...Nor why I should care at all. Dread Gods #1 is a lot of sound and fury that signifies a whole lot of nothing - at least, as far as I can tell. Oh, well. At least Raney's art was worth the cost of admission.
RATING: 6 out of 10.
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