Last week I got a copy of Sparta USA in the mail from our friends at DC and….. Forgot about it. But never fear! I remembered/found it on my desk under the new stuff from Nau (Sorry DC, I love you, don’t stop sending us books) and immediately made time to give it a read.
First it’s a strange concept, if you didn’t pick it up last week then let me tell you… It’s a strange concept. It takes the USA and our love of all things football and compares it with Sparta and their love of war and glory. It at times felt a little odd as we’re really not sure when Sparta became a part of the USA or exactly what crazy kind of timeline or universe this story takes place in, (apparently a universe where Sparta is in the USA and football and war are compared by people other then your high school coach). But strange or not, this is a interesting twist that compelled me to read on.
On the first page we’re greeted by a first person narrative that begins the comparison of football to war and continues to walk us through the rest of the book. In his narrative the story teller weaves the tales of a young football hero who one day vanishes and is never heard of again. As this story unfolds we see a young red skinned warrior (No we’re not being raciest and saying he’s Native American, he really has neon red skin) wanders into Sparta from the surrounding forest. This young man turns out to be none other then the same football star whom our narrator had told us perviously vanished (Duh!). The formerly young quarterback has returned to free Sparta who apparently is being ruled by some form of corrupt dictatorship.
The Writer (David Lapham) certainly has a interesting concept here, and the story held my interest well after I got started. It’s full of first person narrative, which is fine with me, and the story unfolds rather well. Panel layout is pretty solid and easy to follow, without many of those “Oh crap, what panel did I skip moments”. David’s interactions with the people in his story seemed very well written, however some of the dialog seemed out of place, such as hearing a burglar scream and curse, only to have it followed by the same burglar say Freaking. For me this kinda broke the mood.
There were a few (very few) moments when I felt a little disoriented in the story, at one point someone gets thrown from a window and then it jumps to the red guy and…. Well I got confused.
On the art front, it’s hit and miss. I like what Johnny Timmons is trying to do with the mix of styles from more refined to a bit more sketch like, but it doesn’t always translate that well to page. The cover is full of bold lines without much in the way of small details, and that the best way I can sum up this issue. Full of bold lines without much in the way of details, which isn’t all that bad for a first issue. We should be left with many questions at the end of a first issue, and seeing as how this is issue #1 of 6, they have plenty of time to fill in the blanks.
$2.99 isn’t bad for a full issue like this, it’s a compelling adventure story concept that’s off to a decent start. You get a nice preview of Gods and Monsters in the back, and the story holds promise. I can’t help but feel like there might be a political message coming in future issues, with random NRA buttons and sticker appearing in the book throughout Sparta, and the comparison of the Spartans love of war to Americas love of football… Well it might just be me.
David’s writing is strong here even when it’s at it’s weakest (does that make sense?). The art is hit and miss, but the real glory of Sparta here is in the red skinned yeti killing would be hero and the crazy charismatic blue skinned villain who are both strongly written and give you a strong sense of who they are even at first glance. Bottom line? If you have an extra $2.99 pick it up and give it a read if you’re looking for a new adventure tale. Sparta USA isn’t perfect, but it’s a interesting read, if only to see where they take it. 6.5 out of 10. NC