Drawing upon the stories and legends of the founding fathers of the United States, The Order of The Forge looks to add some fantasy to George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, and Paul Revere. Is it good?
The story starts off with a young George Washington in the year 1753, a little over two decades before the Revolutionary War and a year before the French and Indian War. Writer Victor Gischler attempts to break down the mythic figure of Washington on the first page and he does so effectively. He humanizes Washington through a disagreement with his father over a young lady who frequents Black’s Tavern. The disagreement leads to a new, twisted version of Washington chopping down his father’s beloved cherry tree in anger. Washington’s truth is not held as a virtue — instead he is depicted as rash and vindictive, two traits that are not normally associated with Washington. The sequence wraps up with a strange mystical encounter involving a Native American totem pole that appears out of nowhere. The encounter inflicts pain upon Washington and applies a brand to his ax. Unfortunately, Gischler does not touch on the mystical aspect of the ax the rest of the issue and the plotline remains mysterious.
Much like Washington, Gischler breaks down the mythos surrounding Franklin but doesn’t touch on Revere, I’m guessing that will show up in a later issue. He breaks Franklin’s mythos down in a different way than Washington.
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