Broken Frontier

On a grass covered slope, near Athens, a naked woman is sound asleep. She is brought to the hospital and has amnesia. That sounds simple, but when she awakens she is drawn towards the historical Parthenon where she contemplates the ruins, which do not seem to match her memories at all...while walking around the ruins she is attacked by bestial men, but with lightning from her eyes she defends herself, astonished yet unknowing.

An owl and a nameless and bodiless presence grant her a new identity as Athena Olympios, who ventures to New York to work as a Police Detective. The story picks up years later at the exact moment she goes undercover and gets mixed up with some bad people. The mysterious owl (the mystical attribute to the Goddess Athena) comes to the rescue and Athena the human is transformed into the full-fledged Goddess of Wisdom & Crafts, War & Justice.

The myth of Athena is effectively told via words by Doug Murray and pencils/colors of French top artist Paul Renaud, whose soft rendering-style makes for eye-popping artwork. Renaud also makes sure that Athena's transcendent awakening, her contemplating as well as the brutal attack on Akropolis, is carried out with luscious details and vibrant colors to ensure eye-candy and apt storytelling.

With Athena's move to New York City, artist Fabiano Neves takes over with stunning women and big-chested thugs to finish the story with a smashing cliffhanger!

In regards to the artwork there is really no reason at all to be squeamish. The story presents an interesting take on one of the most loved mythological beings from Old Greece. Too bad the story reads - at this point -  too much like a good-girl/bad-guys story to be more enjoyable. The stage is set up nicely, but somehow the "chica-cop goes Miss Congeniality" routine seems to be lacking intensity and in the case of "undercover cop knows too much and must get whacked" it just is not logical.

Still, I am looking forward to the next issue based mostly in regards to the lovely visuals though. I would love it if writer Doug Murray would up the story and introduce more mythologies in the form of more deities, not attributes. And the fact that some men see Athena and think aloud "I know you from somewhere" makes me wonder about an extra layer story-wise that will show up during the course of this series of four issues.