American Gods #1 Review: Cast a Shadow
Dark Horse Comics’ adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s classic American Gods is off to a great start
By Nolan P. Smith
This title has to be the most anticipated comic book release of 2017 for me. American Gods is easily my favorite novel, and with the STARZ TV series almost here, Dark Horse has brought the world of American Gods to the comic book world. With this debut issue, the world gets introduced to the colorful characters and gods that lead us down an epic path.
Based off the story by Neil Gaiman, with scripting by P. Craig Russell and art by Scott Hampton, this issue is a pretty straightforward adaptation of the novel. We meet Shadow Moon, soft-spoken big man doing time in a prison with some unsavory characters. Shadow is due to be released soon, and is excited to be reunited with his wife, Laura. But everything goes crazy when his wife dies in a tragic accident. This sends Shadow on a plane home, now set to be bury his wife and figure out how to start life anew. But on the plane ride, he meets an usual man named Wednesday, which sets Shadow’s life down a very different and bizarre path.
The artwork finally gives us a visual of the characters, and I must say, Shadow and Wednesday look very different than I imagined, and very different from their STARZ counterparts. The artwork is clean and simple, and a great fit for the story. My major gripe would be the backstory, based off of the Coming to America shorts, which took place after each chapter in the novel. The story is one that ties the old gods to the modern world, but does so in a very mature content way. I didn’t enjoy the back stories in the novel, and sadly, same goes to the comic book counterpart.
I feel that by including the mature rated back story, it will stop the American Gods comic series from crossing over to teens. The main story was great, and felt very true to the source material. That might seem like a negative to some, but I feel that having the story portrayed almost beat for beat in sequential art form is absolutely the way to go. American Gods is one of the great modern tales of our time, and the comic book version aims to hook a whole new generation of mature readers.
Rating: 9.0 out of 10.
This comic book review was created in conjunction with QBC Toys and More, a local comic book and collectible shop located in Victorville, CA. Featuring new comic books every week, collectibles, action figures, original artwork, and more, QBC has something for the pop culture lover in us all. You can find them on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/QBCToysandMore/.
