American Legends 1

These are the stories of the great frontiersmen who explored the magical and savage frontier before becoming mythical heroes in American folklore. These are the tall-tales of our youth, known and loved by all. These are the American Legends

Writers:

Bill Schwartz

Zachary Schwartz

Artist:

Studio HIVE

Publisher:

Top Cow Productions/Image

There's a problem in comics at the moment that I think those inside the industry are a little unaware of - I call it 'continuity blindness'. It's when comics, in particular those that have been running for 40 odd years or so like those from Marvel or DC, are so wrapped up in their own drama they don't think to explain any of it to newcomers. Its even worse when these particular blindspots are ethnocentric in nature.

I bring this up only because wading into American Legends #1 feels like just such a case – I'm sure to American readers, the many characters introduced are people they were brought up with and as such will have no problem just picking up an rolling with it. But as it is, outside of Davey Crockett I was pretty clueless.

Which is a shame, because knowing these characters already is essential, as it plays into their characterisations and motivations- very little exposition is given in the comic itself other than the basics i.e. When Sally Ann Thunder gets the undead unleashed upon her by Sacagawea, she isn't much of a fan.

This shorthand method cuts through the entire comic. Panels transition from night to day in location to location without so much as an explanation as to where the new place is meant to be. The manner is overall a bit slapdash and doesn't really ender me to the comic.

Nor does the art. Its all a little fuzzy, with the lettering clearly added digitally afterwards. It's so distracting because sometimes the lettering overlays the art in ways it that doesn't look like it was intended to. I even spotted a few panels where the lettering partially obscured a key section of the artwork!

All in all, I think perhaps American reader would get more of a kick out of this. But even from where I'm standing, there's not too much to recommend I'm afraid. Hopefully this is just the opening issue and we'll be on firmer ground next issue.

Image courtesy of Top Cow.

You can buy American Legends #1 from Comixology or your local comics retailer.

Geek-o-Rama received a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. All thoughts, comments and opinions are those of the individual reviewer.