Keith Giffen begins his life's work with REIGN OF THE ZODIAC #1.
© 2003 DC Comics

Mania Grade: B
Issue: 1
Authors: Keith Giffen, Colleen Doran, Bob Wiacek
Publisher: DC
Price: $2.75

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REIGN OF THE ZODIAC #1

Beyond the sun, on the side opposite from the view of Earth, exists the planet Eidolon. Eons ago, the planets were linked by a portal that joined the Eidolonian city of Meridian and the Terran city of Atlantis. Earth served as a slave colony for the Eidolons, until their servants revolted and had to be punished with an attack which sank Atlantis and which backlashed against Meridian as well. Centuries later, the Eidolonian Houses of Aries and Virgo are considering an alliance to tip the long standing balance of power between the Twelve Houses of the Zodiac and to quell any bloodshed - but the lessons of history cannot be ignored...

Like all the best of Keith Giffen's work, REIGN OF THE ZODIAC takes a bit of patience to get into. We hear the historical story of Atlantis (which, of course, is never named) through dialogue between the two main characters, the Virgan Scion and his Elder, while we see the real story played out before us in the artwork. It's an initially confusing strategy, especially when there's nothing at first to differentiate the speech of the Scion and that of the Elder except a bit of colored shading in the caption panels. It also takes some attention to work out the connection between the highly mythologized and somewhat glorified story the Elder is telling his young charge and the ornate images we get of the actual historical events. Once we're past that point, though, the conceit behind the series becomes clear, leaving us to murmur an appreciative "Ah" at just how clever the idea is - and how obvious. In fact, it's so obvious an idea that it's hard to believe no one before Giffen came up with anything like it - but then, that's one of the signs of a creative genius, isn't it, to make us see something that was virtually before our eyes the entire time? And as we well know, Giffen is a creative genius. No wonder he calls this his "life's work."

It's a pity, then, that the artwork almost overwhelms it. I must admit that I've never been a fan of Colleen Doran - her artwork has always struck me as almost too ornate, too romanticized and stylized to take completely seriously. Given the fantasy-oriented background of ZODIAC, though, she's probably the best choice for the project, and certainly Bob Wiacek's inking hardens Doran's ethereal artwork into something that we can believe in a bit more. As a result, the scenes of carnage as Atlantis is destroyed are more impressive, as is the battle-torn countryside through which the Scion and the Elder travel. But the art still seems almost too fairytale-ish for a story based in the harsh realities of the sort Giffen generally deals with, and ZODIAC already looks like it's going to deal with those harsh realities in spite of its mythical underpinnings. Despite its flaws, this series looks like it'll go the distance, and it's going to be an interesting twelve months, indeed.