Promethea #20
Written by Alan Moore
Art by J.H. Williams III, Mick Gray and Jeromy Cox
Published by America's Best Comics
It's worth noting that Promethea has always been a visually stunning title, with Williams and Gray rising to the occasion of Moore's brilliant scripts to depict the spiritual and metaphysical journey that the characters and the readers are being taken on. Even so, Jesus Christ, this issue is beautiful.
A lot of the credit goes to colourist Jeromy Cox, who paints this issue in neon indigos to create what is described in the script as a black-light effect that is astonishingly successful. It's used to depict a broken realm that has been cut off from the rest of existence, and upon this backdrop Moore delivers even more bombshell information about life, the universe and everything.
I am sure this ongoing lesson in Moore's occult studies has driven away some readers, but it has the potential to draw in far, far more people. There are millions of readers interested in the theories that Moore is explicating here, and with the proper promotion, they would no doubt be as enchanted (or moreso) as I am by the spell that is being woven here in words and pictures.
There's no breakaway here to the "real world" to check in on the "other Promethea" this issue, and that's fine by me. For months now Moore and company have had us on a thrilling ride that is accelerating at a breakneck pace toward wisdom and understanding, giving us depth, beauty and imagination to spare at every stop along the way. I don't care if this trip ever ends, but if it does, I can't wait to see what Moore decides to give us for an encore. Once you've pulled back the curtain to reveal the secrets of existence itself, what comes after that? And is there any doubt at all that Moore is the writer best qualified to show us? Grade: 5/5.