When I read the Fathom collection a while back, I noted that I'm not a huge fan of the Top Cow aesthetic. Art's a very subjective experience. I sometimes wonder, when I read a comic in which I don't enjoy the art work whether I'd be enjoying it more in a different style. Regardless of the quality of the story itself, would that different art style somehow make me more receptive to the comic? I'm inclined to think yes, it certainly would. And that, to me, when I really think about it, is strange. But then, this is the magic of comics. There's a wonderful example of this in one of Alan Moore's issues of Supreme, in which a back up feature in the comic is a different version of one of the stories in the comic. The difference is quite fantastic, and I certainly have a preference. What is the sense that is satisfied by these differences in art? The sense of the aesthetic, I guess.
So, yes, art is subjective, but it's also art. What I try to do when I come across a comic with an aesthetic I don't enjoy is to try to see what it is doing well within it's own aesthetic. How is today's comic enhancing or demonstrating the Top Cow aesthetic? Well, it demonstrates it very well. Everyone's very good looking, the art is insanely detailed, and there's spooky mystical fantasy stuff going on.
That aside, though, I'm not sold on the character. I've always had an aversion to stories of organized crime. They're simply not my cup of tea. So I'm hoping that as I explore this series (I've got a sustained run that I'll be reading some time soon) it'll become more about this strange power and less about being a hitman. More to come...
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