- Immortals, Fenyx Rising: From Great Beginnings
- Dark Horse Comics
- Written by Ben Kahn
- Illustrated by Georgeo Brooks
- Colors by Wes Dzioba
- Letters by Richard Starkings & Comicraft’s Jimmy Betancourt
Gods must face their past and unite for the legacy of the future in this Greek-mythology inspired graphic novel based on Ubisoft’s video game Immortals Fenyx Rising! When earthquakes hit the hometown of Fenyx, she joins with her mother and Zeus to be saviors together. Dangerous creatures emerge, old flames reignite, and history is once again in the making!
- Based on Ubisoft’s next hit video game Immortals Fenyx Rising!
- Greek mythology with an all-ages spin!
Y’know, every now and then you just want to read something fun. Something light and not at all reminiscent of the times some of us have had over the last couple years. In that regard, I’d just like to point your attention to a little video game-based title from Dark Horse Comics. Based in Greek mythology, Immortals, Fenyx Rising takes gamers through the early days of a new demigod as she flies around fighting classic monsters and battling to save Mount Olympus.
Fenyx Rising: From Great Beginnings follows the aftermath of the game, as feisty new demigod Fenyx tries to find her place among a mostly indifferent group of immortals. Chief among them, writer Ben Kahn has Zeus thumping his chest and congratulating himself on what a great job he does at being a god. As a dad… not so much. All buffoonery aside, Kahn keeps the focus on young Fenyx and her attempts to find a purpose for her new deified status. I’ve been a fan of Kahn’s since 2017 when they handed me a copy of the first two issues of Heavenly Blues, back at one of my early conventions for thePullbox in Chicago. Given their history as a writer of comics, it was an interesting twist to see the much more light-hearted trip found in Immortals. And before you go turning your nose up at the title just because it’s an all-ages romp, I want to make sure it’s clear that Kahn’s approach isn’t dumbed down in any way, shape, or form. The dialogue is sharp and very often tipped with a subtle wit as it seeks to entertain a younger audience as well as older readers (that’d be me).
With a firm grasp of the fun in this story, artist Georgeo Brooks takes the tone and runs with it. Bringing an easy on the eyes manga style to the book, Brooks captures all of the fun in Kahn’s script, and dives into the action with gusto. While the video game might have a more polished and realistic look, Brooks keeps the line work simpler here. Just like the writing, a simplified style doesn’t mean that it’s all stick figures. It just means that Fenyx Rising sticks to a traditional two-dimensional look instead of something in line with the cgi of the game. There are still plenty of monsters & mythological beings to satisfy an eager reader, all with great character designs, and there’s plenty of dynamic action filling the pages as Fenyx makes her presence known on both Earth & Olympus.
A true “all ages” comic, Immortals, Fenyx Rising: From Great Beginnings should have plenty in it to satisfy all but the pickiest readers. It’s an easy read that’s going to appeal to fans of the game, young fans of Greek myth, or anyone just looking to spend some time with entertaining escapism. An affirmed curmudgeon myself, I found it pretty easy to dive into this story about family and the obligations that should come with god-like power (insert relevant Spider-Man quote here).
Final Score: 11/13
