Story by: Chris Pasetto, Christian Cantamessa
Art / Cover by: Lukas Ketner
Colour by: Jean-Francois Beaulieu
Letters by: Clem Robins
Published by: Image Comics/Skybound
The story of Theseus and the Minotaur is more than two thousand years old. Such authors as Plutarch (46–120 AD), a Greek historian and biographer, and Roman poets Ovid (43BC–17 AD) and Horace (65BC–8BC) all wrote of the legendary confrontation, but the story is much, much older than the written records, having been passed for generations by oral tradition.
The Minotaur Asterion was a bull-headed monster born to Queen Pasiphae of Crete after she got freaky with a bull. The creature was kept by King Minos in the center of the Labyrinth, designed by the architect Daedalus and his son Icarus. Asterion was offered a regular sacrifice of youths and maidens to satisfy its cannibalistic hunger. The beast was eventually slain by the Athenian Prince Theseus.
Chris Pasetto and Christian Cantamessa take on a massive challenge in bringing this ancient story to a modern audience with Kill the Minotaur. Instead of trying to put a modern twist on the story, the writing team focuses on developing characters and leaving the major plot points intact. Smart move, considering we all know exactly where this one is headed.
Theseus is presented as a head strong, quick witted and physically able specimen. Minos and Daedalus both come of as slightly homicidally insane. The dialogue and interactions between characters are well planned and help the reader invest in the story with minimal exposition.
The art team of Lukas Ketner and Jean-Francois Beaulieu nail this thing to the wall. I’m certain I won’t be the only reviewer to compare the art in this issue to James Stokoe’s, especially in the first few panels. Hyper-detailed, hyper-colored, strangely familiar, oddly grotesque, and visually satisfying.
Kill the Minotaur #1 whets the appetite for the next chapter. This is a solid, straightforward introduction to this new(ish) take on a classic. Readers of horror, fantasy, and mythology should definitely give this one a go.
Overall: 8/10
Brendan Allen has probably had more jobs than you would reasonably believe. Dog trainer? He’s done it. Flooring contractor? Yep! EMT? Army NBC specialist? Road dog for a Celtic rock band? Yes, yes, and och aye! Now he reads comics and writes about them.
