Brutalizer of Gods (Akogun #1)

Nigerian comics writer Ayodele and frequent collaborator Akande (I Am Iron Man) underwhelm in this action-packed African fantasy launch, featuring a monster hunter on a vengeance mission. In the opening creation-myth sequence, a god of chaos, Obatala, falls to the world of man and creates monsters and revelry. The god of war, Ogun, is sent to drag him back to the heavens—leaving his monsters behind. Divine political scheming ensues. Thousands of years later, a stealthy creature of Obatala’s melds his mind with a pregnant woman, resulting in the birth of Akogun, Brutalizer of Gods. Akogun grows up to kill monsters and harvests materials from their bodies to create weapons to use against the desert raiders who killed his family. As Akogun barrels along on his revenge plot, his destiny as Obatala’s weapon against the gods comes into focus. At times the story becomes hard to follow, with its multiple story lines told in various points of time and hard-to-distinguish side characters. The super-muscular hero easily overcomes any obstacle in his path, draining the otherwise dynamic fight sequences of suspense. Cinematic and evocative fantasy art by Akande are a saving grace, but there’s little to make this stand out in a crowded genre. (Mar.)