Hello hello and welcome or welcome back to my little bookish corner of the internet. Today I’m sharing my review of Lore Olympus Volume Two. You can find my review of the first volume here.
Synopsis
Persephone was ready to start a new life when she left the mortal realm for Olympus. However, she quickly discovered the dark side of her glamorous new home—from the relatively minor gossip threatening her reputation to a realm-shattering violation of her safety by the conceited Apollo—and she’s struggling to find her footing in the fast-moving realm of the gods. Hades is also off-balance, fighting against his burgeoning feelings for the young goddess of spring while maintaining his lonely rule of the Underworld. As the pair are drawn ever closer, they must untangle the twisted webs of their past and present to build toward a new future.
This full-color edition of Smythe’s original Eisner-nominated webcomic Lore Olympus features a brand-new, exclusive short story, and brings Greek mythology into the modern age in a sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.
This volume collects episodes 26–49 of the #1 WEBTOON comic Lore Olympus.
Illustration Review
As mentioned in my review of the first volume, the colour contrast is the most obvious and beautiful thing to touch on. The flashes of brightness and vivid colour in the darkness of the Underworld, and next to Hades in his blue and black is just perfection. Rachel Smythe has just captured this in a wonderful way, showing how they compliment each other without realising. When matters get dark, this is also echoed and displayed in such a sympathetic way to the story.
Story Review
In this second volume, we meet more of the famous names in Greek mythology, in a way that is well suited for the creator’s take on their stories, for both good and the bad. My heart hurt for Hades who is obviously such a big sweetheart underneath his “I won’t let myself get hurt” hard exterior, amd you can see why he is drawn to the genuine care that Persephone offers him.
Persephone is struggling with the way Apollo has behaved, and continues to behave, not listening to her at all and continuing to disrespect her boundaries. It’s so hard to read in some ways because it feels not just vulnerable but real, knowing so many women, myself included, who have been treated this way by aggressive and violent men.
The characters all have so much to contribute to what is playing out, and it left me eager for what was coming next, especially with Persephone’s self discovery, something she is starting to tentatively explore. She is in so much pain but is also finding her feet, learning who who is, and who she wants to be. I have so much respect for both the character and the author who is displaying this journey.
Thanks for stopping by for this review today. If you’d like to see more graphic novel reviews, check out my posts about The Wicked and the Divine, The Tea Dragon Society, and The Sad Ghost Club. If there’s any graphic novels you’d recommend, let me know in the comments too.
And On She Reads 