PROMETHEA 487
several increasingly ambitious treatments of race , politics , and the superhero genre.
His short-lived series for DC, Xero (1997–98) tells the story of a blond-haired, blue-
eyed super-assassin whose secret identity was an African American basketball player;
as scholar Marc Singer has noted, the series raised important questions about the
implicit whiteness of the superhero ideal. Priest is perhaps best known for his critically
acclaimed fi ve-year run on Marvel’s Black Panther (1998–2003). Priest revitalized the
largely neglected character by focusing on his role as king of an enormously powerful
and technologically advanced African nation in an uneasy relationship with the United
States and other so-called fi rst world powers.
After the cancellation of Black Panther , Priest worked on two acclaimed but short-
lived series, Th e Crew (2003), Captain America , and the Falcon (2004). Since their
cancellation he has been largely inactive in comics, focusing his attentions instead on
his work as a minister.
Brannon Costello
PROMETHEA. Created by writer Alan Moore and artist J. H. Williams III, Promethea
is a monthly comic book series originally published between 1999 and 2005. Th e series
was one of the initial four titles published under the America’s Best Comics (ABC) im-
print of Jim Lee’s Wildstorm Comics. Moore, the primary creative force behind the small
line of comics, was given substantial creative freedom; however, he was displeased that
DC Comics purchased Wildstorm shortly after arranging his distribution deal. Although
that corporate decision did not aff ect the content of Moore’s comics, he had made a prior
pledge to never again work for the large publisher. Nevertheless, ABC remained under
DC’s umbrella during the entirety of Promethea ’s 32-issue run. With the exception of a
short fl ashback sequence in issue #4 illustrated by Charles Vess, Williams was responsi-
ble for all of the artwork; consequently, the comic was frequently off its intended monthly
published schedule to accommodate Williams’s intricate style and the intense demands
Moore placed upon his artist. Like the other ABC books, Promethea re-imagines the
superhero genre, principally by blending it with other genres and disparate infl uences. Yet,
within Moore’s body of work at ABC, Promethea is where his various obsessions—such
as the occult and magic, a skewed perspective on the superhero genre, and the purposes of
fantasy and art—coalesce most evidently and, as many critics argue, successfully.
Th e plot of Promethea is frustratingly diffi cult to summarize. Sophie Bangs, a college
student living in New York City, is conducting research for a term paper on a fi ctional,
female character known as Promethea, who has appeared, over the years, in various
incarnations and in diff erent media. Sophie learns that “Promethea,” existing as an idea,
is a link between the physical, “real” world, and the Immateria, the realm of fantasy
and imagination. Like many artists before her, Sophie is able to channel Promethea’s
powers—which alters Sophie’s physical appearance and demeanor—by producing
creative works about Promethea.
Th e 32-issue series is roughly structured into three acts. Act I involves Sophie adjust-
ing to life as Promethea and learning more about her powers, magic, and those whom
