Action Lab Entertainment 2018
Written & Lettered by Steve Bryant
Illustrated by Yusuf Idris
Coloured by Juanma
The quest to retrieve Codex Agharta takes Athena to Shanghai. All that stands in her way are Nazis, mobsters, and one angry tiger!
I love Athena I have since I first discovered her and it’s fantastic to see that Action Lab has given her a proper home for the foreseeable future. The industry doesn’t have enough books that showcase strong female leads and Athena is that and so much more. She is smart, capable and independent which at that time was basically unheard of and now we’re introduced to another remarkable woman.
While Athena chases the Codex and Des has been taken so that Athena finds herself in the Catacombs with one Agent Pippa Nightengale who also happens to be Des’ partner. However if you’ve been paying attention you’ve seen Pippa before and if you haven’t well shame on you for one and two you’ll have to read the book for yourself to find out what I'm referring to. I have to say that I like the way Steve structures the book and creates that flow where it’s like white water rafting. You go along everything’s calm then you hit some rapids, rinse and repeat. It makes the ups and downs that we experience feel more natural and I love that.
While Pippa and Athena become fast friends and colleagues the story gets to move forward at a nice pace. Also at the same time Herr K and the Baron are making plans of their own and not surprisingly all roads lead to the same place. The characterisation here is really quite nicely done and while we aren’t supposed to like the bad guys, well they are Nazis after all, but that doesn’t mean I cannot appreciate the way they think. Still it just goes to show how all around the characterisation doesn’t skip anyone and in no way do we feel at all cheated.
I do love the fact that one way or another Athena finds herself on these adventures that involve some of those rare artefacts that may or may not exist. She’s kind of like a WWII era version of Tia Carrere Relic Hunter in a lot ways and I have to admit that was a guilty pleasure of mine. It has that vibe and feel to it or perhaps Tales of the Gold Monkey either way it has all the fun and mystery you could hope for in this book.
I like the interiors here even with an all-ages style we get some decent linework going on and the attention to detail is sharper than most all-age books. The utilisation of page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels shows a very nice eye for storytelling. I will say that I like seeing how backgrounds are being utilised here as they really do show us the scope of the story, city or moments that occur. I think the work is expressive and the faces are strong.
Jet setting around the world to chase down and free Des wasn’t really on the agenda butt when the Code is involved anything and everything is possible and likely to happen. That too is half the joy of this series as well, not knowing exactly what is going to happen but not being able to discount anything at all. Steve has created one of comics best female lead characters in Athena and it is way past due for the world to be taking notice. You’ll want to make sure you order this from your local shoppe or subscription service and find that an all-ages female led book is not only possible but thriving.