Athena is the second in a four-volume series of graphic novels about the Greek gods for younger readers, following Zeus: King of the Gods (which I haven't seen yet, but will be looking out for), and to be followed by books on Hera and Hades. O'Connor is the artist of Ball Peen Hammer, a graphic novel by the playwright Adam Rapp, which I reviewed for ComicMix last fall.This is officially for younger readers, but some parents may want to vet it first -- there's no explicit blood or gore, but O'Connor sticks pretty close to the mythological sources, which means there's a lot of typically god-like bad behavior here. This volume features five different exploits of Athena -- her parentage and birth, her ill-fated battle with her close friend Pallas, the battle against the Gigantes who besieged Mount Olympus, the story of Medusa and Perseus, and the story of Arachne -- all framed and told by the three Fates.
O'Connor has a moody, dynamic style that suits his subject matter well; his work here looks a lot like the early comics of Tim Sale. And the exploits of the gods give him a lot of scope for adventure stories, so -- with any luck -- there will be more than four of these books. Again, Athena is a bit more bloodthirsty than some people might be comfortable with, but it's damn good comics about the original warrior woman.
Book-A-Day 2010: The Epic Index
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Listening to: Matthew Sweet - Divine Intervention (demo)
via FoxyTunes
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