Genre Category: Graphic Novel
Age Range: Ages 10 and up.
Assessment of the book’s quality: A classic tale told through conversation and illustration, which are very classic in style and serve a great deal in telling the story, at times standing alone, without text to tell the story.
Assessment of the book’s potential use with children: The book can be used for pleasure reading or can serve as a good source for teaching classical literature and Greek mythology. Librarians can suggest this book to children who want to learn about classical Greek literature and mythology.
Assessment of the book’s child appeal: Appealing for children interested in mythology and classical literature. The book can also very much appeal to reluctant or struggling readers to encourage them to read and learn about Greek mythology and classical literature.
Summary:
The Odyssey is the retelling, in comic strip format, of the ancient classical, Greek tale of Ulysses' voyage back to his home, to his wife Penelope and son Telemachus in Ithaca, after the war in Troy. The dangerous adventures of Ulysses are told in colloquial and conversational manner. The story stars with a small piece of poetic narrative and then moves straight on to conversation. In fact, the entire book is told in conversations and the only time narrative is used is through Odysseus' own voice as he recounts brief parts of his journey. Story is told through illustrations which may occupy a whole page without any text, in a way that the text is not left to carry the plot. In the story Ulysses angers the God Poseidon by blinding the Cyclops and must pass through numerous dangerous trials and adventures to get home. So, with the support of the Olympian Gods, he finally does find his way home. There he finds his city and home in turmoil. It is filled with suitors and charlatans who lived off his land and courted his wife wanting to marry her. And she humbly and patiently, not losing any hope and belief waits for her husband's return. Ulysses takes vengeance upon these suitors and restores peace.
Reactions and Impressions:
This graphic novel is very unique in its style of illustrations, use of font and language. Illustrations are in classic style, soft color watercolor paintings. The text is in a very simple, not-crowded and clear font and not typical to the usual graphic all-capital-letter format. Illustrations do indeed play a huge role in telling the story. There are many wordless sections and these illustrations move the tale along. They are also specifically and intentionally used to show the violent elements of the epic tale. In addition, it is well researched and the high level vocabulary of the original text is maintained, even though the language is modernized.
"As the proliferation of recent Odyssey graphic novelizations approaches the record held by Shakespeare adaptations, it is perhaps appropriate that Hinds, the Bard’s premiere sequential adapter, should produce the most lavish retelling of Homer yet. Showing great artistic evolution since his rough-and-tumble Beowulf (2007), Hinds lets the epic story take its time, with a slow build and pages that aren’t afraid to alternate packed dialogue with titanic action. The sumptuous art, produced with grain, texture, and hue, evokes a time long past while detailing every line and drop of sweat on Odysseus’ face and conveying the sheer grandeur of seeing a god rise out of the ocean. Teens may be baffled by the hero’s commitment to the same pantheon of gods who heap trouble in his path, but they will not lose touch with the universal qualities of steadfastness that Odysseus still embodies. The mythic trials have seldom felt more grueling or genuine, and this makes a perfect pairing with Tim Mucci and Ben Caldwell’s adaptation for a slightly younger audience from the All-Action Classics series, affording a chance to see how an archetypal story can function so powerfully at both the realistic and the stylized ends of the artistic spectrum. A grand example of Hinds’ ability to combine historical adventure with human understanding." _ Booklist
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