Reviews The Myth Adventures of the Muses #1

Bluewater's The Myth Adventures of the Muses is directly aimed at children -- little girls, if I had to take a guess -- but Nacho Arranz Estevez' art is what made me eager to review the first issue. Sure enough, while CW Cooke's story and dialogue serve their purpose, it's Estevez' pristine, iconographic art that keeps readers' eyes glued to the page.

The Myth Adventures of the Muses tells the story of the nine Muses, at the rate of one Muse per issue, as they leave Mt. Olympus and enter the mortal world. The Myth Adventures of the Muses #1 focuses on Terpischore, the Muse of Dance. Terpischore enters the mortal world of 1940 Chicago and inspires a clumsy boy to become a dancer.

Cooke's intention is to create modern myths akin to those in, and employing characters from, Greek mythology, and he arguably manages, but Terp's (as she's called in the book) story is disjointed, at best. Given the anime-style artwork and the target audience, it should read fine to children but, as an adult, it took me over an hour to wade through The Myth Adventures of the Muses #1 because it never chooses a story to tell. There are about 10 disparate storylines going on by the end of the book and absolutely none of them take shape -- they begin from nowhere, go nowhere, and conclude suddenly and without denouement.

Again, this is fine for children, but the actual story -- that of Terp going to the mortal world to inspire a clumsy boy into becoming a great dancer -- is drowned-out by all the unnecessary diversions. There is an overarching storyline involving Hera and her daughters trying to wrest the amulets Zeus has given the Muses from them, which gets more attention than the story itself. I suppose this makes sense for the series as a whole, but writer CW Cooke misses literally every opportunity to do anything else with the characters or the concept.

Cooke presents the theme of the series too strongly, leaving no room for more interesting storylines -- such as Terp's crossing the Underworld -- which start and finish on the same page (literally within 3-4 panels). Cooke also makes no attempt whatsoever at providing any sort of character depth or development. Terpischore begins the book dancing aimlessly with that stupid grin plastered across her face, and ends it the same. A full 10-12 panels of her dancing -- sans any purpose -- could have been cut, and devoted to any one of the five or so more interesting sideline stories, to present a more replete tale.

She's the Muse of Dance. She loves to dance. We get it! I'm fairly confident even very young readers get it, but Cooke has her dancing through at least 1-3 panels on every page -- there's literally no room for anything else!

Estevez' art is equally confusing, though certain to please children of all ages as well as adults -- and especially illustrators and animators. There are a handful of exchanges in which the characters' expressions match what is happening but, by and large, all the characters march around with comically wide grins for no reason, whatsoever. The backgrounds are well-rendered and omnipresent, proving Nacho Arranz Estevez' artistic command, though his storytelling lacks. However, despite the inconsistencies, The Myth Adventures of the Muses #1 is a gorgeous, lushly illustrated, book.

Almost at the end of the comic book is an ad from PETA which will scar your children for life if they see it. PETA is a kind of terrorist organization which simply doesn't get The Point. The ad "educates" children on how chicken nuggets are made in the worst way imaginable. Granted, it's a horrible process which I agree should be stopped, but PETA is obviously targeting young kids with this twisted presentation and I feel it's inappropriate on every level. Once you're done writing McDonald's to ask them not to let their chicken suppliers use these methods, make sure to write PETA and tell them not to take out anymore disturbing ads in kids' comics.

The Myth Adventures of the Muses #1 is a really good all-ages book for young children (sans PETA ad), but disjointed and largely pointless. Writer, CW Cooke, misses the boat with Terpischore's story as well as the overarching series' link involving Hera and the amulets, resulting in page after page of padding. Nacho Estevez' work is a solid homerun that's sure to please everyone, though his storytelling needs time to develop.

The Myth Adventures of the Muses is probably the first comic book I've reviewed to-date that is actually all-ages appropriate and should appeal to the demographic -- especially very young kids.

But be sure to remove that PETA ad!

© C Harris Lynn, 2011