Wednesday, April 25, 2012

The Secret History Book Eighteen: The End of Camelot

Written by Jean-Pierre Pécau
Art by Igor Kordey

It's been four months since the last issue of The Secret History came out, and now this week, Archaia decides to release two issues at the same time - one that was supposed to come out in November of last year, the other December.  I know that sometimes companies that are trying to get caught up will release two issues of the same comic in the same week (Marvel did it a little while back with Captain America), but this book is $6 an issue, so that's a little rough on peoples' wallets.  Especially when it could be another four or five months before the next issue comes around - why didn't they simply warehouse it for three weeks or so?  I'm never going to understand the way Archaia does business.

Case in point:  This issue references things that happened in the Games of Chance spin-off mini-series, which was supposed to come out months ago, and then was canceled and resolicited as a single hardcover, which hasn't come out yet. This is especially egregious when you consider that this is one of the most continuity-drenched, complex comics published.

This particular volume has two points of focus.  It opens with the story of a mysterious artifact that has been lost in Lake Meade, near the Hoover Dam.  It causes strange happenings in Las Vegas, downriver, and later affects the behaviour of the Lake's most famous resident - Howard Hughes, who wants to assassinate JFK.

The other story that takes up most of this book is that of recurring character Curtis Hawk, who is still hunting St. John Philby, and his son Kim, who were responsible for the death of his wife.  Curtis has been the most accessible character in this book to date, so it's good to see him, at an advanced age, keeping up the good fight.

This book is always a dense and complicated read, but I enjoy it for that.  Kordey's art feels looser in this issue.  Now to go read the other one that came out...

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