Hexagon Comics: Ben Leonard, Lord of Light #1: The Immortals

 

story & art by Guido Zamperoni, 

cover by Alfredo Macall.

7x10 squarebound comic, 

88 pages b&w
ISBN-13: 978-1-64932-287-6. 

US$12.95.

https://www.hexagoncomics.com/shop-ben-leonard-lord-of-light-1-the-immortals.html

Twenty-five year-old Ben Leonard, a journalist working for the newspaper The Globe, suddenly discovers that he is the reincarnation of the mythical Egyptian sun-god Râ, the Lord of Light and King of Heliopolis, a legendary “lost city” of mysterious Immortals, which once gave rise to the Ancient Egyptians’ pantheon.

Murdered by his evil and jealous brother Set, Râ’s soul was hidden inside a mortal body for millennia by the powers of the wise Thô, to await the time for him to rise again.

Having now recovered his true identity and powers, Ben’s awesome task is to defeat Set and free the Immortals of Heliopolis whom the villainous Set has turned to stone.

His only allies in this tremendous battle are his two colleagues, journalists Pip and Lucy.

Ben Leonard made his first appearance in 1971 in Kiwi magazine. It was the creation of Milanese artist Guido Zamperoni who I believe worked almost exclusively in French comics.

Guido (Gy Zam)  Zamperoni (1912-2003)

Love the cover. The cover is the thing that should make the  person who sees it want to buy the book.  Macall produces some great covert art.  Many comic greats (yes, America, Europe had comic greats, too!) drew their inspiration from movies or pulp literature. Kirby was a great movie fan and you can see that in his costume designs.  Was Zamperoni influenced by H. Rider Haggard's  1886 novel She: A History of Adventure? Or even the Hammer films based on that character? We will never know and it is why I think interviewing creators is so important.

The story here is well paced with good characters.  The art is lovely black and white goodness and is on a par with his work on Lys Noir and Frisco Bill -though I have not seen near enough of either of those!  This is a book you can sit back with and relax and enjoy some high adventure and action. I hope the second book  (The Giants) is to follow. Really, I think these black and white comics show just how much the United States missed out (the UK had a burgeoning b&w comics market until the 1980s).

Please remember that if you want to buy this or any Hexagon comic to do so via the company's website as that way they get all the sales money and that means they can keep on publishing more titles!