This review originally appeared on Goodreads on January 17, 2016.

The Adventures of Luther Arkwright

By Bryan Talbot – Dark Horse – April 29, 2008

Review by Robin Marx

While my awareness with British comics is mostly limited to second-hand knowledge of Judge Dredd, I had seen praise for this series and decided to check it out.

The book begins with a foreword by Michael Moorcock, which is extremely appropriate. The story that follows reminded very much of Moorcock's New Wave SF work on the Eternal Champion series and the Jerry Cornelius character in particular. The hero is a (somewhat groovy) super agent who journeys to various parallel Earths in a semi-mystical struggle against the Disruptors, a shadowy high-tech group trying to bring about their own ideal timeline.

Luther Arkwright debuted in the mid-70s, and the comic is definitely a product of its time. In addition to high tech weapons, over the course of his adventures Arkwright makes frequent use of psychic powers, meditation, and consciousness-expanding drugs. He powers-up via Tantric sex (narrated with myth-heavy stream of consciousness narration) goes on walkabout in Tibet and encounters mysterious Buddhist monks. The story never drags, but the psychedelic, Carlos Castaneda-style mysticism made the story feel a bit dated.

It's a very British story as well, dealing heavily with alternate history versions of Oliver Cromwell, the Royalists, and Roundheads. As an American reader I probably would have gotten more out of the story if I had more knowledge of the English Civil War. The twists where the story diverged from the true historical events were mostly lost on me. That's a problem with this reader and not the narrative, but it kept me from enjoying the story as much as I could have.

Minor issues aside, the comic was very interesting throughout. The artwork was excellent and with so many twists and turns it was impossible for me to predict the outcome. If you're a British Moorcock fan with a fondness for psychedelia, this is probably the ideal comic for you.

★★★☆☆

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