Poseidon: Earth Shaker

Olympians, Book #5

By George O’Connor

ISBN# 978-1596437388

Author’s Website: http://geooco.blogspot.com/

Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar

“The sea boils fiercely. The trembling waves obey me. They gallop and thunder like stallions upon the shore of grandmother Earth. I am Poseidon, earth shaker, ruler of the boundless sea, creator of storms, and swallower of ships.”

After the war with the Titans, Zeus and his brothers Poseidon and Hades divided the ruling of the cosmos. They drew lots; Zeus got the sky, Hades got the Underworld, and Poseidon the sea. In Zeus: King of Gods when Kronos threw up his children, Zeus flew out of his father while Hades ended up in the ground making a crater, and Poseidon in the sea.

Like his brother Zeus, Poseidon has many children. The comic narrated by him tells us about a few of them. Poseidon says that his children are always monsters. We see the Cyclope Polyphemos, Triton the father of Pallas that was killed by Athena, Pegasus child of Medusa, and Theseus. Some of them are not all humanoid, but are kind, and like Theseus that looks human was evil by abounding Ariadne and making Aegeas kill himself, just to be king.

Through the series we see the gods compete among each other. Poseidon and Athena have a long rivalry between them, it started with Athena killing Pallas. We see this in the  competition to be the patron of the city of Athens. They both give gifts to the people; Poseidon gave them a geyser but it was of salty water, Athena used his gift and made the olive tree. Because the cities prefer Athena’s gift, he called the sea and destroyed their city. Poseidon competed against Hera, Helios and Zeus, but lost to each one of them.

As a reader you might think that the comic portrays Poseidon as evil. But you must understand that the characters are gods and have a different set of values than a normal person. We can see that Poseidon loves his children even for the paths they took. His relationship with Athena is not the best because he is still angry because of the death of Pallas.  Also in the comic we see that Hera, Athena, and Poseidon captured Zeus but in the old stories they do this to force Zeus to be a better ruler.

George O’Connor made a fantastic job with the colors he gave the comic. The undersea colors of the illustration really highlight Poseidon’s realm with its pastel shades, and how the majority of his children have sea colored eyes. The monsters and the scenes of Minotaur’s labyrinth were very well drawn and described.

It’s kind of sad that the life he had as a horse was a dream. But if you see carefully, the mare he mates with has golden hair, like wheat, like Demeter’s. This part is a combination of two myths, one that says that Poseidon also escaped his Kronos and was not eaten, and another one where he chases Demeter both being transformed as horses and had a child together. In the old stories Poseidon is known for liking horses and maybe this is why.

I really liked Poseidon: Earth Shaker and I recommend you read it. Read of a god that wants a worthy heir, his life, his lovers, family drama, and a dream that he once had while he slept.