3 out of 5

Yeah, see all those writers up there?  Because Morrison’s name actually only appears on 3 out of 5 issues here, the other writers either co-scripting or taking over.  Fun, yeah?  And why we’re getting away with actually calling this “Grant Morrison’s 18 Days,” because they understand name recognition over at Graphic India.  But let’s be fair-ish: this take on Indian mythology and the Mahabharata is certainly shaped by Grant through and through, especially given that it was birthed several years ago (2010) as an animated series, which Dynamite highlighted in a previous art / scriptbook collection.  So it’s been gestating for a while.  And regardless of how the responsibilities were farmed out, these five issues read as one voice, same pacing.  They don’t necessarily read like Grant, but that’s maybe for the best: in adapting another work he gets to puts his imagination into the look and expansion of the setting while being reigned in on the plotting, which is a nice change from his frequent Redefine The Universe On Page One approach.

And it’s better than I expected.

Not that I knew what to expect, except that every UK oddball tries to sneak Indian culture into their works on occasion, so perhaps I was expecting something a bit more indulgent.  But 18 Days – thus far, and sci-fi visual trappings aside – is playing it pretty straight forward.  It really does feel like we’re getting a contemporary and Americanized telling of a tale which many of us would probably never otherwise read, and that’s a pretty snazz way to get some culture.

It is rather rough around the edges, though.  The story at this point consists of plenty of waiting around on the battlefield and then Ultimate Fights between Ultimate Fighters that ultimately seem a little silly because, like, everyone is the best at everything and also sworn not to fight and etc.  Much better is when we step to the side to do some character background in issue three.  Visually this is also the strongest issue, with the shadow-heavy and dramatic panels of Francesco Biagini are 100% more interesting to look at than series artist Jeevan J. Kang’s comicy, bright and stiff panels, with their bland backgrounds and frequently flubbed details (my armor has spikes… now it doesn’t… now it does…).  The art flows well, it’s just not particularly interesting.

But I do trust in Grant’s ability to scope this story, and the “has it started yet?” feeling aside, I’m remembering character names and I’m curious how the interactions will develop, so interest in the story will certainly keep me in play past the underwhelming art.  So we’ll see… during Day Two?