The Prince of Artemis V Written by Jennifer Brozek Artwork by Elizabeth Guizzetti

Long ago, in a decade now remembered as "The Eighties" my neighbor Dennis brought open a large box. I wasn't sure what was in it, but once he saw me playing in the yard, he made me carry it into the house. Once there, he opened it and showed the contents to my father. They were comic books. On those pages of wonder were stories of mutants, stories of transforming robots, stories of beings with power rings who could travel the stars through the force of their will...

I fell in love. My love of science fiction and fantasy broadened. Then, in the fullness of time, I started a blog. I went out on a limb with my first post and stated that comic books were indeed part of the universe of Science Fiction and Fantasy (which I consider to be an incontrovertible fact but others disagree with) and proceeded to...

Never do a review of a comic book, Well, at least until now. What you are reading is a moment I've been waiting for since I started this blog. I GET TO REVIEW A COMIC BOOK!!! And it's a good one too.

The Prince of Artemis V is a pretty awesome story. It goes quickly, as comics are wont to do, but it's full of action. I find it kind of ironic that the story takes place in dreams but it's so entertaining. Actually, maybe I don't. It's not like A Nightmare on Elm Street was ever boring. At any rate, the story is a good one and asks a lot of questions.

There is a mystery with this book, but it's not one that is solved/revealed by the end of the story. That's okay. The characters themselves know who the villains are.. sort of. They know that they're older brother was a victim, but not why. The weird thing about this comic is that, while there is a name for the villains, no one knows who they really are or why they do what they do.

I'm really hoping that there is a sequel coming to this story. There is so much here that is unknown that I'd love to see revealed at some future date. Note that this is meant as a compliment to the author of the piece. I want to see more! I want to know more! This is a good thing. If I ever get something published (Don't hold your breath waiting) it's the response I want. There needs to be more here. I want to know more.

Ok, so this one ends on a cliffhanger and I'm not a fan of cliffhangers. I've stated that many times before. The fact remains that they're a good marketing tactic because they make you want to buy the next book and/or watch the next episode. This one is no exception, or it wouldn't be if I knew there was a sequel coming to answer some of these questions. We'll see what Brozek, Guizzetti and Apocalypse Ink decide to do, but I think it's fairly obvious what my suggestion would be.

When talking about a comic, one must always mention the art. Elizabeth Guizzetti has done and outstanding job here. This book is beautiful. The people come alive on the page. The facial expressions do an awesome job of portraying emotion. There is a picture of a castle (supposedly drawn by one of the characters) that just sings to me. Guizzetti has created an amazing world with her drawings. Seriously. I want to travel to the planet of the Takers (assuming that it's accurately represented in the dreams) and I damn sure don't want to be anywhere near the misery of Artemis V, the dark, dreary world where life sucks, everything is dreary and kids disappear. Granted, both were created by Brozek with her writing (and she did a damn good job) but it's Guizzetti's artwork that really brings it to life. She really needs to take a bow.

The majority of the action in this story takes place between the members of the royal family on Artemis V. It feels real. The family has suffered a horrible loss and it shows. Hurt feelings and resentment abound. Through it though, the fact that they love each other is obvious. They look out for each other, tying their legs together to avoid being taken. Mom makes her kids wear their coats. In a weird way, the mundane things about the story and the family interactions are what make the fantastic elements of the story work. All of the normal stuff is so believable that everything else just fits in place around it.

My only complaint is that this work doesn't really provide the satisfying ending I wanted. I was really hoping that something would be revealed about the Takers. I wanted to know more. So, I guess my main complaint is the same as my chief compliment: There needs to be more here. If the Takers are taking kids, why? What do they hope to gain by it? They state that they're doing it for the good of the children, but are they really? I mean, they could be but that doesn't mean they are.

All in all though, I really enjoyed this comic. I can't wait to see more from the creative team that came up from this one, whether together or separately. I'd pay for another installment.

Bottom Line: 4.5 out of 5 Awesome Illustrations

The Prince of Artemis V
Written by Jennifer Brozek Artwork by Elizabeth Guizzetti
Apocalypse Ink Productions, 2018

The Price of Artemis V is available at the following link: