Graphic novels written and drawn by a single author/artist are perhaps the truest vision of what the form can be. Brian Talbot is certainly one of the best creators working in this medium and this is an excellent example of what is possible.
The book was originally published as a 9 issue limited series between 1978 and 1989, and the slow pace is probably due to the phenomenal amount of detail on each page. The artwork is black ink over pencils in a variety of styles, with a substantial amount of text included, ranging from multiple panels slowing time to a crawl up to large splash pages with surreal and sometimes disturbing imagery. The overall effect is stunning, although occasionally difficult to read. I had the kindle edition which allowed me to zoom in on individual panels and pieces of text as needed.
The story is complex, dealing with parallel universes branching off from a prime original. Luther Arkwright is agent from universe Zero-Zero with powers to move between worlds at will. He has psychic powers and high tech weapons at his disposal to aid his fight against the mysterious Disruptors who are seeking an artefact called Firefrost with the power to destroy the entire multiverse.
The opening chapters start with an assassination attempt on Arkwright and Rose Wylde, his constant companion across many realities, in a Neo-Victorian London by a Crystal Palace that hadn't been destroyed by fire in 1936. Flashback scenes establish more about Arkwright and his origins, as well as the unfolding plot, before the action moves to an Earth where Cromwell and his descendants had held power since the English Civil War opposed by a band of monarchist rebels.
There are many obvious references to the power of puritan religious fanaticism, but the cult like devotion to the royal cause is scarcely much better. There are many powerful images contrasting the Neo-Fascist Cromwellian rallies with the flag waving iconography of the royals, who evoke images of Boudica sweeping the Romans aside in a bloody swathe. Talbot also draws on multiple mythologies and symbols as Arkwright dies and is reborn with even greater powers before the breathless finale.
Comparisons have been drawn between Arkwright and Michael Moorcock's Champion Eternal character of Jerry Cornelius, and Moorcock himself provides an introduction to this edition where he explains the common roots of both their characters in their shared experience of England in the 60s and 70s. Talbot's work is very much grounded in the England that struggled to come to terms with the loss of Empire and the rise of the Thatcherite right in the 70s and 80s, with the inherent dangers of drifting into the incipient fascism that we see today.
As well as a deep, metaphysical piece of art, this book also stands as a cracking bit of sci-fi adventure in the best traditions of 2000AD although of a considerably more adult nature (both sexual and violent content) than could have been published in those pages.
Highly recommended!
