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3.73 AVERAGE
3.73 AVERAGE
I didn't realize this would be essentially a series of mini short stories in a graphic novel format. I thought it would just be about Poseidon (the first "story", which I loved) and I was looking forward to that. Oh well, the other Gods made their appearances and I enjoyed them too.
The artwork is beautiful. I will definitely look for other titles by Nilsen. One small gripe: the unique binding (the pages are all accordions so they they could lay out in a single horizontal strip) was initially delightful, but made the reading a little cumbersome along the way.
The artwork is beautiful. I will definitely look for other titles by Nilsen. One small gripe: the unique binding (the pages are all accordions so they they could lay out in a single horizontal strip) was initially delightful, but made the reading a little cumbersome along the way.
A little slight (a series of stories rather than a full on novel or novella), but totally charming and inventive nonetheless. The title story is basically perfect and should have been excerpted into "Best American Comics" or whatever.
TLDR - This was 6/10 for me. Rage of Poseidon is a cute little graphic novel that deserves a place on your coffee table. It is a collectible. More show than tell. I had fun reading it and I loved the ending.
Trivia - This graphic novel has just one continuous page in the accordion format which makes it a bit of unique reading experience.
Rage of Poseidon (Graphic Novel) is an imaginative and provocative exploration of ancient mythology reimagined in the modern context. Through its unique accordion-style format and stark black-and-white silhouette art, the book merges the timeless struggles of gods with contemporary anxieties, creating a surreal commentary on faith, identity, and relevance.
At its heart, the book probes the vulnerability of deities as they wrestle with human emotions and insecurities. Poseidon emerges as an emotionally fragile figure, Athena’s wisdom falters, and Bacchus’s revelry seems hollow, and so on. Nilsen cleverly blurs the line between divine power and human frailty, pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling.
Trivia - This graphic novel has just one continuous page in the accordion format which makes it a bit of unique reading experience.
Rage of Poseidon (Graphic Novel) is an imaginative and provocative exploration of ancient mythology reimagined in the modern context. Through its unique accordion-style format and stark black-and-white silhouette art, the book merges the timeless struggles of gods with contemporary anxieties, creating a surreal commentary on faith, identity, and relevance.
At its heart, the book probes the vulnerability of deities as they wrestle with human emotions and insecurities. Poseidon emerges as an emotionally fragile figure, Athena’s wisdom falters, and Bacchus’s revelry seems hollow, and so on. Nilsen cleverly blurs the line between divine power and human frailty, pushing the boundaries of traditional storytelling.
Rage of Poseidon by Anders Nilsen is a gorgeous retelling and illustration of different Greek and Christian myths. It’s hard to take these stories and say/draw something new, but Mr. Nilsen does it, and with such aplomb and wit and whimsy - all while keeping a sense of endless time and swinging between myth and modern times.
I don’t know how I feel about the accordion paper/book layout - it seemed a conceit that didn’t lend itself to the stories and so felt gimmicky. And the book feels more like it’s falling apart than accordioning itself. Plus I would have liked a few more stories about goddesses and women as is my wont.
Rage of Poseidon is brilliant and I so enjoyed reading and re-reading it. The illustrations are spare and silhouetted, sharp and graphic and tender and the text is smart and perceptive and precise. I hope there’s lots more after this.
I don’t know how I feel about the accordion paper/book layout - it seemed a conceit that didn’t lend itself to the stories and so felt gimmicky. And the book feels more like it’s falling apart than accordioning itself. Plus I would have liked a few more stories about goddesses and women as is my wont.
Rage of Poseidon is brilliant and I so enjoyed reading and re-reading it. The illustrations are spare and silhouetted, sharp and graphic and tender and the text is smart and perceptive and precise. I hope there’s lots more after this.
This weirdly messed me up? Shockingly philosophical and oddly confronting, however also somehow raw, poignant and poetic. Nilsen got me feeling some kind of way, damn.
Not a bad collection. I love the modern take on classic tales, though i could see this being a tough read for people who are unaware of the original tales.
Nilsen makes several stylistic choices with this book that I had a hard time embracing, but it's still an interesting look at how we construct stories/images of humanity versus those of some supposed "higher" order of being (Greek mythology, Judeo-Christian religion).
The use of second person narrative viewpoint in the text is one of those love it/hate it things, I suppose. Some readers seem to feel that it places them "in" the story. Others find it very distancing in almost the exact opposite way. I don't generally enjoy reading second person very much. Here, I think it sort of works in making the viewpoint of a godlike character more mundane, which seems to be the aim. But I couldn't help wondering wether first or third person wouldn't have felt more alive.
The artwork utilizes silhouettes, which emphasizes the flat, inhuman, unkowable-ness of the diety characters. Once again, this seems like a double edged sword that helps to juxtapose the mythological element against the contemporary human world Nilsen is twisting them into, yet also removes most of the possibility for visual nuance or emotion in the drawings. Probably very intentional on Nilsen's part, but I didn't find it to be all that effective. I'll admit that I also just miss the amazing detail that makes a lot of his previous artwork so beautiful to me.
Lastly, the accordion fold book construction. I can't see what this achieves at all. The art on individual pages does not really interact much visually when you look at a section of a bunch of pages accordioned "out". It makes the book a bit physically awkward to read. And once again, if anything, I can only see it as a further distancing effect on the reader.
I think Nilsen is an amazing and ambitious artist/writer (his Big Questions is a monumental piece of comics/graphic novel work), but this one was more of a curious experiment for me.
The use of second person narrative viewpoint in the text is one of those love it/hate it things, I suppose. Some readers seem to feel that it places them "in" the story. Others find it very distancing in almost the exact opposite way. I don't generally enjoy reading second person very much. Here, I think it sort of works in making the viewpoint of a godlike character more mundane, which seems to be the aim. But I couldn't help wondering wether first or third person wouldn't have felt more alive.
The artwork utilizes silhouettes, which emphasizes the flat, inhuman, unkowable-ness of the diety characters. Once again, this seems like a double edged sword that helps to juxtapose the mythological element against the contemporary human world Nilsen is twisting them into, yet also removes most of the possibility for visual nuance or emotion in the drawings. Probably very intentional on Nilsen's part, but I didn't find it to be all that effective. I'll admit that I also just miss the amazing detail that makes a lot of his previous artwork so beautiful to me.
Lastly, the accordion fold book construction. I can't see what this achieves at all. The art on individual pages does not really interact much visually when you look at a section of a bunch of pages accordioned "out". It makes the book a bit physically awkward to read. And once again, if anything, I can only see it as a further distancing effect on the reader.
I think Nilsen is an amazing and ambitious artist/writer (his Big Questions is a monumental piece of comics/graphic novel work), but this one was more of a curious experiment for me.
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
anders nilsen is a genius.
I loved, loved, loved Rage of Poseidon.
It really blew my mind.