Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

OVERVIEW:

According to Webtoon, the official platform for the webcomic turned graphic novel, this is a story about:

Witness what the gods do…after dark. The friendships and the lies, the gossip and the wild parties, and of course, forbidden love. Because it turns out, the gods aren’t so different from us after all, especially when it comes to their problems. Stylish and immersive, this is one of mythology’s greatest stories -- The Taking of Persephone -- as it’s never been told before.

Lore Olympus follows the life of Persephone and Hades as they navigate the immortal world, chaos, and love

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WHAT I LOVED:

I will fully admit bias here. I adore mythology! I stumbled across this while looking for a new online comic to read and instantly fell in love. The artwork is stunningly done and comes off almost like a watercolor painting. It does take some liberties with the ancient greek tale by modernizing the setting of Olympus into a modern-day bustling city while the mortal world remains in Ancient Greece.

Smythe balances humor, pop culture, and mythological references gracefully and effortlessly. Characters are so well developed you have emotional responses to their choices, successes, and downfalls.

Whereas traditional novels and graphic novels typically get released randomly, webtoons allow their artists to publish as often as they would like. This excellent webcomic is published every Sunday and continues the previous chapter.

WHAT I DISLIKED:

A lot of what I disliked was fixed with the publication of hard copies of the chapters in graphic novel form. I like to indulge in my reading materials and prefer a completed story versus one in progress simply because I get frustrated with the cliffhangers and pauses in publication. Otherwise, this was pretty close to perfection!

INTERESTING FACT:

Rachel Smythe, the author of Lore Olympus, is currently collaborating with Jim Henson studios to bring a live-action version of her story to life. She has won multiple awards for her series. Currently, there are 1.2 Billion readers with an average rating of 9.69.