The Legend of Luther Arkwright

Bryan Talbot
Jonathan Cape

In my late teens and early 20s I worked in a comic shop and amassed a sizeable comics collection that got sold off over the years but in my personal pantheon of comic greats there are a few things that have stayed with me and have survived the various culls.  Amongst them are various Alan Moore books, Grant Morrison's run on 'Doom Patrol', 'The Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers', and 'The Adventures of Luther Arkwright'. 

I pretty much walked away from comics in 1993 having got entirely bored of all the investment comics crap that lead to 942 variant covers of a terrible Spiderman comic but some time later I dipped my toes back in the water and re-purchased some old favourites like 'Love and Rockets', made some new ones like Warren Ellis' 'Transmetropolitan' and discovered to my delight and trepidation there was a sequel to Luther called 'Heart of Empire' that whilst missing some of the gonzo brilliance of the original was nevertheless a rivetting romp of a book and now 20 something years later we have a third.

Luther and the revitalised Harry Fairfax are travelling the multiverse together when they are summoned to meet 'Proteus' - the next, next stage (after. Arkwright and others) of human evolution - a psychopathic and very powerful telepath with distinctly fascistic views towards homo sapiens who Luther takes an immediate disliike to and vows to stop.  The story thereafter is one long gethering of forces as Luther and Harry and eventually Luther's daughter Victoria finalise their plan with the aid of many Amys and one Zaffron Waldorf.

In scope it's huge and in execution it's immaculate and is every bit the equal of it's predecessor but I cant help but judge it against the original.  I know I shoudn't, but I just can't help it, and the original is a phenomenon and a pivotal work in the history of British comics.  Yes, it has flaws, and there's an excellent laugh to be had in book three that refers to one of them, but it's a glorious slice of new wave / Moorcockian science fiction that deserves a place right at the heart of any discussion of British science fiction.  

This third book isn't the original, it's its own thing and once I got my inner fanboy to shut up I thoroughly enoyed the ride as Talbot takes us on a tour of the various worlds that us lowly sapiens are liable to create and finds kindness and heroism in the most unlikely of places whilst telling a story of hope and redemption.

..........................................................................................

If you enjoy what we do here on Wyrd Britain and would like to help us continue then we would very much welcome a donation towards keeping the blog going - paypal.me/wyrdbritain

Affiliate links are provided for your convenience and to help mitigate running costs.