Promethea, Vol. 5

Promethea #5

by Alan Moore, J.H. Williams III, Mick Gray

The final volume of PROMETHEA, collecting issues #26-32! This is the story of the end of the world, of the last days before the Apocalypse, with guest stars from around the America's Best globe who try to do what they always do: save the day!

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Graphic Novels Comics, Comic Book, Superheroes

200 pages, Paperback

First published April 1, 2005

About the author

Alan Moore is an English writer most famous for his influential work in comics, including the acclaimed graphic novels Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell. He has also written a novel, Voice of the Fire, and performs "workings" (one-off performance art/spoken word pieces) with The Moon and Serpent Grand Egyptian Theatre of Marvels, some of which have been released on CD.

As a comics writer, Moore is notable for being one of the first writers to apply literary and formalist sensibilities to the mainstream of the medium. As well as including challenging subject matter and adult themes, he brings a wide range of influences to his work, from the literary–authors such as William S. Burroughs, Thomas Pynchon, Robert Anton Wilson and Iain Sinclair; New Wave science fiction writers such as Michael Moorcock; horror writers such as Clive Barker; to the cinematic–filmmakers such as Nicolas Roeg. Influences within comics include Will Eisner, Harvey Kurtzman, Jack Kirby and Bryan Talbot.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the conclusion to the Promethea tale told by Alan Moore. It has been a trippy series indeed. I thought the last volume was better and would have made a good ending. This was a little bit of a let down. The story does break the 4th wall and the reader becomes part of the story and we talk to Promethea in the story. I do like that aspect of the story and think it was an excellent device. It worked for the character, but the 1st part of the story is the end of the world and that was sort of blah.

There is an epilogue that is just musing on all kinds of trippy ideas that I thought were good, but it felt too long.

I feel like this has been an excellent series and it was right up my alley. I have enjoyed the esoteric thinking the book conveys and the new things Alan Moore has done with the genre. It is a unique series and I think it’s worth reading. It’s not your typical super hero book. It really is more philosophy in many ways. I’m pleased as punch with this.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I honestly think the ending of this series was one of the most mind bending pieces of reality blurring literature I've ever read. No, I'll go further. It's one of the most mind bending pieces of reality blurring literature that has ever been published. Reading this, along with Borges' Labyrinths, absolutely changed my view on what literature can do. The slow gradual progression through the Occultist, Kabbalistic adventure of the earlier volumes, to this, the 'Godhead' volume, felt to me like being thrown into the depths of a powerful psychedelic trip. This volume is the moment you break through.

It's confusing.
It's beautiful.
It's fun.
It's powerful.
It's philosophical.
It's enlightening.

It's a book of ideas as much as it's a book of artistic ingenuity. Start for the fun, stay for the art, and leave with your mind thoroughly twisted. I've been trying to get many of my friends to read this for going on 3 years now with very little success, but if anyone stumbles upon this review I honestly just say take the plunge and don't come out until the end. You won't regret it.

[Chad · Rating 2 out of 5]

Promethea brings about the Apocalypse. I liked that Moore brought in Tom Strong and the science hero characters from his America's Best Comics anthology series. This series has been one big acid trip. That by no means ends here. The epilogue is Moore at his most Alan Moorian with his head completely up his own ass. It's nonstop esoteric mumbo-jumbo bullshit. I gave up reading it a few pages in and just looked at JH Williams's amazing art.

[?0?0?0 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alan Moore looks over, from his computer, at the reader with a hidden grin in the finale of his "Promethea" series that, while, of course, it had to end here, has had me in a sort of depression for a couple days now, knowing any further adventures in this universe are over. The last volume follows on from the last and shows the reader what the end of the world looks like--in metaphysical and physical sense. This big idea opens the gates for a lot of crazy, from the artwork, to the resurgence of the painted doll(s), and very funny meeting of the "minds" and courtship of two beloved characters, and a conclusion to the material world aspects that allows for violence and disruption on a large scale. On top of all of Moore's thoughts on the illusion of separateness, language, and magic, we also have another of his characters, Tom Strong, popping in to help guide the story and a whole host of real and imaginary people that we've seen throughout the series. This entire series is a remarkable accomplishment for every artist involved and it ended the way it needed to and with a surprisingly uplifting message. One of the top 5 comics of all time ends here, and as sad as that is, there is still plenty more Moore to explore, including Tom Strong.

[Alejandro · Rating 4 out of 5]

How hard to rate this final book in the Promethea series, but at the same time I had the advantage of having read "Tom Strong" and "America's Best" comics, so I could link the events with what happened here. Honestly, for people who only read the "Promethea" series, they will be way clueless at the beginning and the end of the book. Since, if only you have read "Tom Strong", you will be familiar with the character and his unusual family, and also the whole "end of the world" deal, I understood it better when I read the final issue on "Tom Strong" than here, that I think it's kinda odd since it's Promethea herself who provokes the event. Also, the characters from the team America's Best, if you haven't read the comic of that team, you again will be clueless of so many characters splashing in the story.
Another thing that I have to comment, it's that there were a lot of supportive characters without a productive purpose in the run of the series, like "The Five Swell Guys", the 2 mayors of New York, the whole deal with the Painted Doll, etc...
I am happy to have read "Promethea" since I am huge fan of Alan Moore's work, but I feel that after the masterful seven first issues of the run, the series lost track, it was floating in a huge ocean of abstract concepts and when it seems that finally the run will getting back in track, bang, it ends.
However, I am glad of having it in my collection.

[Jedi JC Daquis · Rating 5 out of 5]

So Promethea has finally delivered the end of the world. Wow, the "post-apocalyptic" world is a world full of hippies. But yes it is understandable, because you know, world peace and utopia man. I may not have taken drugs but the last chapter art is obviously drug-induced. Hehe. With an unconventional story but nonetheless a straightforward plot, the whole Promethea series is an exciting and magical trip.

[Damon · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story is painfully slow and boring. A lot of detail tarot/cabala on nearly every page that is laborious and boring. BORING.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series by Alan Moore and JH Williams has been one of my favorite comics ever and this final collection is no different.

The previous volumes were guided introductions to magic and the kabbalah. This last volume sees Promethea presiding over the Apocalypse while the government and a a super-team try and stop her. Moore's vision of the end of the world is actually quite uplifting and inspiring; probably not something you ever expected to read.

As with the whole series, JH Williams' and Mick Gray's art (with colors by both Jeromy Cox and Jose Villarrubia) more than stands up to the rigors of Moore's demanding scripts.

The final issue (for reasons that become obvious as you read the series, there had to be 32 issues) is an epilogue that restates/summarizes all of the themes and ideas that have been presented in the previous 31 issues; all in one heady, psychedelic package.

One of the most satisfying, thought-provoking comics reads I've come across.

[Chris Infanti · Rating 2 out of 5]

Should've liked this one: Alan Moore + cool combination of ancient mythologies + killer art. Sadly, the stunning drawings are all that's worthwhile here - Promethea is crushed under the weight of Moore's worst tendencies: pages upon pages of masturbatory mysticism, some really weird/gross sex scenes, and aimless plotting.

The story itself (college student Sophie Bangs becomes the reincarnation of a mythical goddess whose destiny is to bring about the end of the world) should have really been a lot more interesting, but the aforementioned plot-free parts kill the story's momentum everytime it gets rolling (which it does at times, particularly the first volume and parts of the fourth).

If you want to read Alan Moore's take on what the end of the world as we know it could look like, check out Watchmen and give this a pass.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

WOW!! That's... all... just... WOW!! I think my mind blew a gasket reading this final volume. It's just so true! This is it... our life... it's happening now... and it's our story to tell!! And nothing's stopping us but our own imagination's limits!! I bawled my eyes out, and then vowed to start doing everything I ever wanted to do, right that minute!!

Then I watched some bad reality TV... so umm... guess my wand (will) and sword (strength) need a little discipline. ;)

I wouldn't convert to Kabbalah or practice Tarot due to this series... but it's definitely a fascinating moral system, and I'll take ideas wherever I can get them. :)

[Keith · Rating 2 out of 5]

This run seemed bolted on to the main plot line which, IMO, was over at the end of volume 4 (issue 25). For those who are reading for their interest in magick and qabala, rather than for Alan Moore fandom, you can safely stop there and skip this one.

[Miquel Codony · Rating 4 out of 5]

Opinión sobre los 5 volúmenes: Vale, estoy muy contento de haberlo leído. No soy el lector ideal, no es mi cómic favorito, pero técnicamente es una auténtica virguería. En ese sentido lo he disfrutado a tope y me rindo a sus pies.

Me muero de ganas de discutirlo en el próximo The Spoiler Club.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

That warm feeling and smile that comes from getting exactly what you wanted out of an Alan Moore epic - Promethea exceeded my expectations on all fronts.

[Sergio · Rating 3 out of 5]

Promethea is like 40% a decently subversive female superhero comic that stumbles a bit but is overall well intentioned and well executed, and 60% a platform through which a lot of thoughts regarding kabbalah, magic, tarot and other mystical topics are presented to the reader in a way that doesn't really come across as exposition because ultimately they don't tie into the overall narrative; it's like the author's notes and research for the comic's inspirations got transcribed into the comic itself. It's interesting, and the art is pretty, but there are pretty good stretches of pages that feel like a lecture, which isn't necessarily bad but it gets in the way of the actual story, which is pretty straightforward. I appreciate the amount of research and study that went into this but ultimately I felt more checked out than anything everytime a new lecture started.

[Joni · Rating 5 out of 5]

Promethea es incomparable a cualquier otra obra. Es una lectura que no siempre se asocia al placer. Requiere esfuerzo tragar cantidades de texto no habituales en el medio y explayándose en ciencia, filosofía, teología, feminismo, psicología, kabbalah y más. La apuesta gráfica es inmejorable, el cierre del último número es indescriptible.

[Madeleine Moreland · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 stars for the ending book alone. Very trippy awesome summation of Alan Moore's archetypal spirituality. Sad the series is over now, which is why it took me so long to finish this book. Thank you Willy 100000x for getting the books for me ❤️‍🔥

[David Cordero · Rating 5 out of 5]

The fusion of art, magic and language merges into our consciousness and our collective imagination is just the reality we stand on. Issue 32 of this collection should be right next to the definition of epic on your dictionary. Moore never disappoints and Williams and crew brought the spaceship for us to travel to this interstellar trip of the mind. Surreal.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

How to put my feelings about this book into words? First off, if I could give it 4.5 stars, I would. I wouldn't call it "amazing", but it's given me enough to think about that I want to say more than "really liked it".

Second, I'm not sure how to describe the mystical psychobabble that takes up most of the last 1/3 of the series. On the one hand, it was kind of nice to have a superheroine who wasn't just fighting Bad Guy du Jour, but on the other, it just felt like endless exposition and no story. I enjoyed the exposition - I think some of the ideas from it are worth thinking about more - but there were large chunks of "Okay, we're talking about the tarot cards again. Anything else?"

The art was consistently stunning throughout the series. Even in the last issue where it made it nearly impossible to read the text in places, it was still gorgeous and still worth it. This is a great example of how the words and art can boost each other so that the finished product has more impact than just the sum of its parts.

Overall, I recommend this series for all the GMs that I know, especially those who like Mage and other WoD. It's a way of looking at the "real world" and seeing something else behind what we consider "reality". I am glad that I read these books and more glad that the friend who recommended them is crazy and sent us the series.

[Corto Maltese · Rating 3 out of 5]

So Moore has finally lost it.

Don't get me wrong. I have nothing against using mystic beliefs to tell or to structure a story. I found Phillip K. Dicks idea to let the I-Ging decide which way a story goes, to be a brilliant experiment.
I just don't like being force-fed a stew of esoteric belief systems with the occasional mushroom here and there. Moore doesn't leave even the smallest room for ironic distance, so I can't shake the feeling he really beliefs in all that stuff to be the gospel truth. And the gospel truth doesn't mix with humor. Moore preaches and thats partly annoying, partly ridiculous and partly cheesy.
Having Barbara say (just after a miracle-diet) "I want to be naked in this ... this experience" - I mean - Get thee behind me, really. (On second thought, it was maybe the only good laugh the book had to offer)

So why still three stars?

First and foremost the art is fantastic. Pencils, inks, colors and lettering are first class throughout all of the books.
Second, Moore shows on ocasions that he is quite the versed craftsman when it comes to techniques of comic-book storytelling. Some of the layouts are really brilliant endeavors in pulling off storytelling tricks, that work in comics ad comics alone.
So the story may be meh at best, but on quite a few occasions, it's a well told meh story.

[Matt Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant meta-conclusion to the 30 episodes of Promethea: Alan Moore's superheroine come to simultaneously save and destroy the world. Firmly connected in the real world, yet floating through it irreverently with fantastic disregard for convention, this comic is quite the magical trail, tipping its hat to Jung, Crowley, Heisenberg, Hofstadter, other brilliant thinkers. All these people including Moore managed to synthesise new elements from older traditions, Moore has a lot of fun doing so.

I've left the episodes with a heightened sense of the meaningful and spiritual within our bizarre "conscious" existence, enjoying Moore's educative approach to elements such as kabbalah, tarot, male/female energies, development of human achievement, and even the comic medium itself.

Read this comic, and with a readiness to explore and challenge yourself, but not without a laugh from time to time.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, there was quite a long gap between reading Book 4 and Book 5, as the library didn't have the last volume on the shelves for awhile.
With "Promethea", Alan Moore has written the most metaphysical graphic novel series ever created. Delving into such heavy topics as the nature of human consciousness and our perception of reality, to the very nature of time and the origins of religion.
While this is all very thought-provoking, it sometimes doesn't make for the most entertaining of stories. But if you approach it from a philosophical or spiritual viewpoint, there are rewards to be found.

[Jason Bootle · Rating 4 out of 5]

My friend Matt Harris sums it up rather well in his own review but what I will add to it is that this has been a very enjoyable series, Williams artwork in particular a revelation and perfect mind meld to the words of Moore. And given the world events going on at the time of reading (Brexit, Trump, ISIS, shootings, etc) this certainly made the real world feel like Armageddon was/is fast approaching.

[Serge Pierro · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a series that had such great potential at the start, it ends somewhat decently, but failed to deliver with the volumes in between. I had so hoped that this would have been Moore's "Sandman", but in the end it was nothing more than his mystic babbling… It seemed to be more of a recollection of an acid trip - than a story.

For me, the main interest of the series was the outstanding artwork by J.H. Williams III and Mick Gray. The art was consistently brilliant throughout, and the page designs were innovative. Highly recommended for the art!

[Kayenne · Rating 2 out of 5]

this whole series runs a great fantasy for me, but alan moore really drops it in the end. basically the character of promethea loses her voice and you are suddenly just reading alan moore's philosophical masturbation...

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this series. The themes might not be for everyone, but then again, nothing is. If nothing else, it's thought-provoking and very effective (not to mention beautiful) as a graphic novel. The final issue is pure genius. Highly recommended.

[StrictlySequential · Rating 2 out of 5]

Largest drop off a title that was steady for two years. It went from out of this world ridiculously good to a comparatively simplistic ending that was a let down and seemed like a cop-out.

The progression I felt:
Vol 1= ***
Vol 2=****
Vol 3=*****
Vol 4=*****
Vol 5= **

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

A Thelemite's idea of post-apocalyptic spiritual illumination would, of course, be the rolling out of legalized prostitution. Of course. Yawn.

[Benoit Lelièvre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Promethea might be slightly confusing to you if you don't know the first thing about Hermeticism. It is a fascinating spiritual doctrine to which Alan Moore adheres and the 32 issues epic is as much a declaration of faith as it is example of what alchemy really is and how it works in the real world.

In this final volume, Promethea returns home to "end the world". I'm using quotation marks here because it can mean many thing and it does mean many things to many people. Our individual relationship to reality is intimate and unique in nature. All I can say is that you should read a little bit about hermeticism and alchemy before getting into that one. Or look out for a YouTube video called The Philosophy of Alan Moore.

Don't go into this one cold. It demands preparation.

[Dev · Rating 4 out of 5]

actual rating: 3.5

A pretty good end to the series, although I do always do a bit of an eyeroll when a comic like 'zooms out' to be like and here's a panel of the author writing the comic! and you reading it! But definitely a welcome return to the action of the first volume at any rate. Overall a pretty good series although I do genuinely think you could cut out about half of everything from the middle 3 volumes and still have a story that makes perfect sense and also flows much better. Oh well, I guess that's pretty much Alan Moore in a nutshell ;)

[Freya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review to come :)