Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
Son of Merlin #1 of 5
Image Comics
Napton & Zid
The premise here is to take some of the Arthur characters and bring them to the present day. This has been done before with the likes of Camelot 3000 and many other books. The twist here is that this book focuses on the magic aspect of the genre rather than the sword and the king components. For a dollar this book is a must pick up.
Merlin is an old man trying to rescue his apprentice from Morgana. He manages to save her but in the process he gets taken out. However, his book of magic escapes and finds its way into the hands of Merlin's son. Merlin's apprentice finds the son and fills in some of the blanks because the son has no idea who his father is or what the book of magic is, nor does he believe in it.
Simon is an MIT genius scientist and is obviously the last person you would expect to believe or attempt magic. Of course, being told he is the son of Merlin doesn't sound too believable. Gwen does her best to get Simon up to speed but they run out of time before danger surrounds them.
The book introduces the characters and plot nicely which is key for a first issue. There are some immediate nagging questions, such as why Merlin allowed his son to be raised by someone else. This is particularly odd when you consider the prospect that there may be more children out there of Merlin's. The book's strength is the fish-out-of-water concept that Simon is put in. The science versus magic aspect is a good hook for the underlying story.
The artwork has that water color look to it but in a 3-D kind of way. It's a very unique looking book in that regard. The opening of the comic is visually intensive which really helps to make the book feel epic on the scale of Merlin's legend. It's a great looking comic book.
Son of Merlin is a cool idea. Camelot has been told and re-told so many times over the years that it is difficult to try something new. This comic book appears to be applying a fresh concept to the idea of bringing the characters into modern times. This is a good start and at a buck you really need to give the comic a shot. This mini is worth keeping your eye on.
3 out of 5 Geek Goggles
