Superhero films are all the rage nowadays, and as a result it's easy for your average moviegoer to forget that there's a lot more to comic books than superheroes. For example, Christian Cantamessa and Chris Pasetto’s Kill the Minotaur, a unique take on ancient mythology that's now set to become a movie.
The most impressive part of this? The comic only launched in June of this year, and we've only read three issues so far.
What's Going On?
Described as "a modern and fantastical take" on the legend of the Minotaur, the comic stars the would-be hero Theseus as he plunges into the Labyrinth. The comic opens as a horror; you can almost feel the tension, as a body is dragged away leaving a trail of blood, or the Labyrinth's wall closes in on a hapless victim. This version of the Labyrinth is believed to have been created by the gods to contain the Minotaur, a monstrous being that mimics human voices to draw its victims into its clutches.
The third issue has twisted the story around again, though, with a fascinating flashback that suggests the Labyrinth was itself an alien vessel. As little as our heroes may realize it, they've plunged into a cosmic battle for the sake of the Ancient World!
The first issue flew off the shelves, with a second print run announced in days. Skybound and Universal wasted no time in approaching Cantamessa and Pasetto to pitch a film adaptation. The comic book writers have worked with Skybound before, and they've signed on to write the adaptation themselves.
What Can We Expect From 'Kill the Minotaur'?
Naturally, we're at an early stage for this project; the comic is only three issues in, and the film partnership has only just been announced. That said, Kill the Minotaur is a refreshing reminder that there's a lot more to #comicbooks than just superhero stories. This time round, we're in for a bloody and horrific adaptation of a classic legend, albeit with a fascinating sci-fi twist.
The characters of Kill the Minotaur are fascinatingly well-developed, not least Theseus himself, who's hardly your classic superhero. Instead, Kill the Minotaur presents Theseus as an ill-tempered teenager who punches first and thinks later, and whose pride and honor have been pricked by Athens's helplessness before the power of Crete. King Minos, too, is gradually morphing from a standard villain to a tragic figure, his sanity clearly broken by an as-yet-unspecified tragedy involving his son — and, we can safely presume, the Minotaur.
I can certainly see why Kill the Minotaur has caught eyes. The comic is a brutal masterpiece, with the whole creative team — Christian Cantamessa, Chris Pasetto, Lukas Ketner, Jean-Francois Beaulieu & Clem Robins — firing on all cylinders. What's more, just three issues in, it's clear we're going to see a lot of major twists and turns in the plot.
If Skybound and Universal can get the right team involved, then there's no reason a film adaptation couldn't be just as good.
About the Creator
Tom Bacon
A prolific writer and film fan, Tom has a deep love of the superhero genre.
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