Scan barcode
immodest_medusa's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
offbrandmusclemilk's review against another edition
5.0
I think it helped that I'm fairly familiar with Homer's Odyssey, but this trade is fantastic. Spectacularly gorgeous and easy to follow if you have even the most basic primer of Greek mythology.
aceinit's review against another edition
2.0
I love Fraction, and I love the concept, but this book was a little too head-trippy for my tastes.
starcrossedstacks's review against another edition
5.0
I know many will disagree, but I absolutely loved this. It was exactly what I was looking for when I picked this up. I love the unique writing style, I love the art, and I love the feminine energy.
a_leo_reading's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
The art is absolutely stunning.
The writing style and characters could be better crafted. Though this is a retelling of Homers "The Oddyssey", I read it as an original story.
The writing was alright could have been so much better.
But what was truly magnificent was the art.
The art is absolutely stunning.
The writing style and characters could be better crafted. Though this is a retelling of Homers "The Oddyssey", I read it as an original story.
The writing was alright could have been so much better.
But what was truly magnificent was the art.
geekwayne's review against another edition
4.0
'Ody-C, Vol. 1' by writer Matt Fraction and illustrator Christian Ward seems to be a love/hate kind of thing so far if reviews are any indication. You can count me in the love column, but more like the strong like column.
It's the Odyssey, but in space. All the characters are female, and it's the future. Add in some art with eye-popping colors and visuals, and an almost stream of consciousness narrative that sort of follows the Odyssey, and you know it's not going to be a completely faithful remake, but it'll get close, hopefully. It does in spirit and maybe even a bit in tone, but I think I had to just "go with the flow" and let the words and images wash over me. There are a group of malicious beings (gods?) watching over Odyssia and her crew. She just wants to get home, but the beings are spiteful and want to interfere. We get the Cyclops, this time as a woman, in all it's terrifying, bone-crunching awesomeness. The story begins here, but doesn't end. We're given a glimpse of the home that Odyssia wants to get to, but that's about it.
It's got the feeling of some modern art pieces where the art is just splashed on the page. That is not a complaint by me. What gets displayed here is sometimes fluid instead of formed. I was sometimes reminded of a lava lamp the way that backgrounds seemed to sometimes bubble. The colors are intense and some of the color combinations clash in strange ways. The story won't make the purists happy, but it's definitely influenced by the original. I can accept that, but I can see how some might not. The art may be too ugly, the story too unfaithful, but I found myself drawn in and propelled on this journey.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
It's the Odyssey, but in space. All the characters are female, and it's the future. Add in some art with eye-popping colors and visuals, and an almost stream of consciousness narrative that sort of follows the Odyssey, and you know it's not going to be a completely faithful remake, but it'll get close, hopefully. It does in spirit and maybe even a bit in tone, but I think I had to just "go with the flow" and let the words and images wash over me. There are a group of malicious beings (gods?) watching over Odyssia and her crew. She just wants to get home, but the beings are spiteful and want to interfere. We get the Cyclops, this time as a woman, in all it's terrifying, bone-crunching awesomeness. The story begins here, but doesn't end. We're given a glimpse of the home that Odyssia wants to get to, but that's about it.
It's got the feeling of some modern art pieces where the art is just splashed on the page. That is not a complaint by me. What gets displayed here is sometimes fluid instead of formed. I was sometimes reminded of a lava lamp the way that backgrounds seemed to sometimes bubble. The colors are intense and some of the color combinations clash in strange ways. The story won't make the purists happy, but it's definitely influenced by the original. I can accept that, but I can see how some might not. The art may be too ugly, the story too unfaithful, but I found myself drawn in and propelled on this journey.
I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors, Image Comics, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
sharpbanana's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
unladylike's review against another edition
4.0
3 stars for difficult-to-get-through dialogue and exposition during Odyssia's scenes.
5 stars for all of Zeus's scenes.
5 stars for all of Christian Ward's amazing art.
This was a very different and challenging comic, for sure. My only experience with Homer's Odyssey was translating portions of it from Classical Greek over a decade ago, which was hard and didn't convey much of the story.
I wanted to read it ever since reading a brief interview with Matt Fraction about how he wanted his young daughters to be able to read classic epic stories like this with more heroines or powerful female characters involved. So going into it, I had the mindset that this was intended to be read by Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick's like 7-year-old or something. And it *might* be! There are lots of fuck-words (lots of "fucking," "shit," and at least one instance of "cunt" used appropriately and poignantly to convey tone and punctuation), even more nudity, and quite a bit of sex. None of those are things I think should be hidden from children. But the graphic, gory violence might be a good reason to avoid buying this book for a minor.
ODY-C is *not* a page-turner. It is a page-lingerer. I had to pause, re-read lengthy, awkwardly-broken-up sentences, and absorb slowly and in awe many of the spreads. It's all vibrant, bright colours, beautifully designed characters and space-faring sci-fi sets, influenced by not constricted by Greek mythology. Passage/verse markers are included, but I'm pretty damn sure the creators took MANY liberties in what sort of story plays out.
I really struggled with the first few chapters, but once I got beyond them (and met Zeus and Poseidon!), I was enthralled with the sexy, twisted, fantastical re-telling of one of the oldest preserved pieces of writing we have.
5 stars for all of Zeus's scenes.
5 stars for all of Christian Ward's amazing art.
This was a very different and challenging comic, for sure. My only experience with Homer's Odyssey was translating portions of it from Classical Greek over a decade ago, which was hard and didn't convey much of the story.
I wanted to read it ever since reading a brief interview with Matt Fraction about how he wanted his young daughters to be able to read classic epic stories like this with more heroines or powerful female characters involved. So going into it, I had the mindset that this was intended to be read by Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick's like 7-year-old or something. And it *might* be! There are lots of fuck-words (lots of "fucking," "shit," and at least one instance of "cunt" used appropriately and poignantly to convey tone and punctuation), even more nudity, and quite a bit of sex. None of those are things I think should be hidden from children. But the graphic, gory violence might be a good reason to avoid buying this book for a minor.
ODY-C is *not* a page-turner. It is a page-lingerer. I had to pause, re-read lengthy, awkwardly-broken-up sentences, and absorb slowly and in awe many of the spreads. It's all vibrant, bright colours, beautifully designed characters and space-faring sci-fi sets, influenced by not constricted by Greek mythology. Passage/verse markers are included, but I'm pretty damn sure the creators took MANY liberties in what sort of story plays out.
I really struggled with the first few chapters, but once I got beyond them (and met Zeus and Poseidon!), I was enthralled with the sexy, twisted, fantastical re-telling of one of the oldest preserved pieces of writing we have.
bennought's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.5