By d. emerson eddy — On 22 September 2019, all of the clocks stopped at 13:13 PM UTC. They restarted again exactly 3 hours later. This was the first time the world experienced these odd time problems collectively, but a number of other oddities occurred on the days surrounding the clocks stopping including the disappearance of the space shuttle, Atlantis, its reappearance two days later, along with the arrival of a number of other vessels that had been believed missing, sunk, or destroyed much earlier. Like the Titanic. This is the central setting for the science fiction thriller series that begins in Promethee – Volume 1: Atlantis by Christophe Bec, Sébastien Gérard, and Studio Charon, translated into English by Edward Gauvin.

It's one of the most incredibly taut, compelling first issues I've read, just digging its hooks into you right from the first sequence. That scene being a group of Spanish explorers in the New World finding something that they really shouldn't. There's a wonderful, deliberate pacing to much of the first volume of Promethee, Christophe Bec taking his time to introduce characters, guide us through a number of connections, and deliver some heady lessons on the atomic clock and the Antikythera mechanism, so that the more shocking moments feel particularly earned. Especially the horror that awaits us when the Atlantis shuttle returns. It's a nice way to build tension and mystery, pulling the audience in and making you want to read what happens next. There's also a fascinating, first-person narration from the Greek Titan Prometheus that makes you wonder about what else is happening, since mythology is otherwise at odds with the more scientific, “realistic” tone of the narrative.

Bec's artwork, likewise, is highly enticing. He has a style here that tends towards realism, reminding me largely of Dave Stevens, Butch Guice, and Michael Lark, that works well for the more grounded approach to the storytelling and characters. There are some really nice shadows throughout that help add an ominous feel to the atmosphere of the story, deepening the mystery of what's going on. Sébastien Gérard uses a colour scheme that borrows that prominent blue-grey from many sci-fi thrillers, but mixes it with naturalistic pinks, reds, and greens so that it's not overpowering.

The lettering from Studio Charon makes an interesting choice of mixing both rounded word balloons and rectangular ones that you more often see in European comics. I find it kind of weird, and there doesn't necessarily seem to be an apparent reason for it, but it's not too much to detract from the overall story. Personally, I prefer rectangular word balloons in European comics just as an aesthetic choice, but it's neither here or there.

Overall, Promethee – Volume 1: Atlantis from Bec, Gérard, Studio Charon, and Gauvin is an enticing start to a sci-fi epic. The first volume is a slowburn mystery and thriller, doling out bits and pieces of what's going on to keep audiences hooked, wondering how the disparate pieces of strange sci-fi occurrences and mythology intertwine.

Promethee — Volume 1: Atlantis

Promethee – Volume 1: Atlantis
Writer & Artist: Christophe Bec
Colorist: Sébastien Gérard
Letterer: Studio Charon
Translator: Edward Gauvin
Publisher: Soleil in English
Release Date: April 6, 2016
September 21st, 2019 – 13:13 pm
After a successful take-off, the Atlantis Shuttle disappears mysteriously from control screens.
September 22nd, 2019 – 13:13 pm
All the timepieces (watches, clocks...) on the planet suddenly stop.
September 23rd, 2019 – 13:13 pm
The Atlantis Shuttle reappears and lands in Cape Canaveral, with only one survivor is on board: the commanding officer of the mission is found in a state of shock right in the middle of his crew's torn apart corpses.
September 24th, 2019 – 13:13 pm
An American nuclear submarine gets the echo sonar of a German U-boat that had disappeared sixty eight years earlier... In open sea, a trawler discovers the monumental hull of the Titanic, that sank in the same place, 650 km in the Southeast of Newfoundland.
And that's just a beginning... As the threat of Apocalypse hangs over the whole planet, it would seem that the future of Humanity has plunged into obscurity... presaging the worst for our civilization.
Price: $4.99 on Comixology

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.