YOUR INDY WEEKLY: MYTHOS #1-#2

[MattBrady]

by Ryan McLelland

Mythos #1-2
Swan Comics - August/November 2006 - $3.00 each
Story by: Stephen Aryan
Art by: Eddie Butler
Website: http://www.swancomics.tk

Rating: 3 stars (out of 4)

From the other side of the Atlantic comes Mythos, a black and white indy that feels more classic U.S. eighties grit then swinging adventures in Y2K London. It’s a superhero book that welcomes clichés but never too deeply to leave the reader going, “I’ve so read this before.” The book’s title is a nod to the title character that doesn’t put in much an appearance during the first issue for a pretty good reason: he’s just been beaten to death.

The comic starts off with Walter Briggs, the nameless city’s big kingpin, just getting vindicated in court. It’s nothing but another day for the rough, tough Briggs who takes no time getting into his limousine and barking out orders to start killing people. Yeah the man is guilty as hell, but at least he has no qualms over it (and the legal system in general). On the flip side of him is the superhero of superheroes, a man with a sturdy chin and flashy smile named Apex. He’s Superman in this universe and he’s the one everyone looks up to, that everyone wants to be, the man everyone can turn to save them.

So who is The Myth – the guy featured on the cover? He’s a superhero and one that lands on the doorstep of John Grant. Grant opens the door to find the hero beaten to a bloody pulp and near death’s door. What Grant did to deserve this he doesn’t know but Myth starts talking as fast as he can about where he comes from, where evils may lie, and how to continue to fight. Grant tries to get some words in but, with no explanation, Myth transfers all his powers to Grant while dying in his living room.

But the book takes a great twist in everything isn’t what it seems. Without giving anything away for those who might enjoy reading the book, the new Myth finds himself thrust into the superhero world suddenly but takes to it quite easily. In this new life he learns that evil comes from all sides. The good are bad, the bad are worse, and the worst of all could be the person you would never expect it to be.

Mythos can be compared to a Frank Miller Daredevil in tone, but with a bit of cheese on top, but it never takes itself too seriously so that you feel like it is in anyway a ripoff. What it does easily accomplish is showing the grey areas between being a person in costume that does right and wrong, while showing how easily those lines can be blurred. Writer Stephen Aryan does a good job of weaving his tale and draws you in with the cliffhanger endings, like that of a thirties serial, where after reading a comic you get to a great part only to find it to be the end of the issue. Both issues end in just that way making you thirst for more.

Artist Eddie Butler brings the book to life and maybe it is his artwork that reminds me so much of the book being back in the eighties. I’m not sure if Aryan and Butler were going for this but by doing so it intrigued me even more. Butler’s Myth is a shadowy man and his artwork pulls this off nicely while being able to give the boy scoutish Apex that creamy goodness quality while knowing that behind that cheesy smile is a man who cares about nothing else by itself.

Overall Mythos is a nice eighties throwback of a tale notched together with a fair bit of intrigue and lies. Just when you think it’s your ordinary superhero tale is when you find out you’ve had it all wrong from the start. That’s when you find you might be hooked to Mythos and being hooked to a book like this isn’t a bad thing at all.

Have an indy comic you’d like reviewed? Contact Ryan at rdmclelland@hotmail.com.

[KyleV]

One of my most favorite memories was being a kid and finding strange indy superhero comics at various comic shops. Sure, the big two made their name on superheroes, but there have been some nifty indy books, too. Just the other day I was thinking about the Silver Wolf line of books. They might not have been top of the line, but they were always interesting.

Makes me miss the indy boom.

[Mike Hayden]

I thought Mythos was a Marvel Comic???????

[daredevil_666]

Originally Posted by Mike Hayden

I thought Mythos was a Marvel Comic???????

The name is general enough that I think it can pretty much be used by anyone - but I was thinking the same thing as I clicked the thread.
This series looks interesting...I might have to look into it.

[StephenAryan]

I'm glad you like the sound of it, thanks for taking a look.

Stephen Aryan