The Quarter Bin

It’s time once again for the next installment in Top Cow‘s Pilot Season 2008. Things are more heated than I ever thought they would be, with this week’s entry into the contest being yet another serious contender. Who would have thought that a comic about a big guy in a mask would quickly become my favorite of all this year’s Pilot Season books? Hit the jump to find out what Urban Myths #1 is all about before it goes on sale later this week.

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Pilot Season: Urban Myths #1
Writer: Jay Faerber
Artist: Jorge Molina
Cover Artist: Jorge Molina

I’ll be honest with you: at first glance, I didn’t really think that Urban Myths #1 was going to stand out against the rest of the excellent Pilot Season entries we’ve had so far. However, by the third page that had changed, and I found myself loving every panel of this story. By the end, I was hungry for more. This is definitely a series that I would like to see continue.

Urban Myths takes place in a modern-day world where mythological creatures exist alongside regular human beings. The story focuses on Jack, the son of Medusa who is all grown up and working as a detective. He still lives with his blind, aging father, while his mother passed away years ago, and is currently investigating a runaway teenage girl. Along the way, he encounters some nasty creatures, as well as having some heartfelt family moments (but not in a cheesy, Full House sort of way).

I could say more, but I really don’t want to ruin it for any potential readers. As someone interested in mythology, I thought that Jay Faerber did an excellent job of using pre-existing myths in a modern setting to create an entirely unique story. I’ve stated before that I love when a comic team can show readers what they need to know without actually telling them, and Jay Faerber and Jorge Molina get it right. The background scenes show off both Molina’s skills and the environment Jack lives in, and that’s all we need to know to get into the story.

The bottom line is, this team has created a world I definitely want to see again. This is the first Pilot Season book I’ve read that I loved enough to call my favorite. I don’t want to downplay the other entries, mind you, because I’ve been enjoying all of them, but something about Urban Myths really resonated with me. Just when I thought that picking only two favorite Pilot Season entries was going to be hard enough, Urban Myths has come along and made me completely rethink who’s going to get my vote.