Review by Ian Keogh

Wrath of the Heavens combines what was originally serialised over three volumes in France, sumptuously drawn by Looky (Vivien Chauvet), in which Jean-David Morvan revives the demi-god of myth in the future.

He may be centuries past our own time, covered in tats, and now using guns, but this is still the half god, half mortal, and it seems like history is repeating as he once again has to complete twelve tasks to redeem himself. Morvan’s certainly planning for the long term with a dozen tasks seeing as how he’s only completed one by the conclusion of the first volume, but then it’s not Morvan who has to spend the hours drawing the product of his imagination. Given the stunning designs, stunning layouts and stunning detail of Looky’s art, this is no quick and easy task, and after these three volumes Looky possibly began to wonder if he’d taken on a Herculean task of his own.

Morvan follows the pattern of the twelve tasks Hercules completed in the legends, but updates each to involve the possibilities of the future. It means the Nemean lion is now the incredible robotic beast seen on the sample art, so it’s not going to be choked to death like the original, and the Hydra is now I-Dr. As in the original stories, the gods are petty, vengeful, manipulative and as real as Hercules, so he has to be careful not to offend the wrong immortal. Unlike the original twelve tasks, though, there’s a pattern connecting these missions, and they’re set against a background of an ongoing war.

It’s all very imaginative, and the action scenes look amazing, but Morvan over-complicates the plot with the bigger picture, which isn’t really necessary. The final chapter is a clever reconfiguring of the original hunt, and it seems as if there’s no end in sight. This is literally the case as there’s not been a new volume in France since 2017, and a gap of that length is usually a death knell. Wrath of the Heavens has its moments and looks spectacular, but moves too slowly despite all the action.