If you had any doubt that BACCHUS wasn't a deliciously splendid farce disguised as an action adventure, then THE EYEBALL KID, the fourth volume in the series, will dispel that notion quicker then you can count just how many eyes are on the cover that accompanies this review.
With the whimsical, but welcome, interlude of the third volume behind us, ONE MAN SHOW picks up the loose ends left behind from the second book. The Telchines, the self-styled gods of business, are looking to settle the score with The Eyeball Kid, who's suffering a nervous breakdown after losing the power of Zeus. And Hermes, last of the great gods, just wants to rid the earth of these abominations, and he's got one awfully Big Glove to do it with. Literally.
I suppose I could comment a little on the subtext of materialism and power and enlightenment that Campbell peppers throughout the book, but, unlike some of the future volumes, this one is really just fun. Any attempt to make it something else only detracts from the simple purity of the work. These are greedy and silly gods who, after thousands of years of contemplation, can't seem to rise beyond beating the hell out of each other. And, devilishly rendered by the artist Ilya, their absurdist actions are almost operatic - as if the lunatics have taken over the opera house.
Peter Aaron Rose is a writer, producer and technologist who lives and works in San Francisco, CA. Under the pseudonym "Peter Siegel", he recently authored Killing Demons, a graphic novel available from Engine Press and Platinum Studios.
