Zeus: King of the Gods
Olympians, Book #1
By George O’Connor
ISBN# 978-1596434318
Author’s Website: http://geooco.blogspot.com/
Brought to you by OBS reviewer Omar
The comic of Zeus: King of Gods, is the first in a series of eleven volumes. The story starts with the beginning of everything, Kaos. Then, there was Gaea (Mother Earth,) who feeling lonely created Ouranos (The Sky). They married and had children. Their first children were the Titans (Gods of Time,) then the three Cyclopes: beings powerful as storms with one eye. And, finally, the three Hekatonchires who had fifty heads and a hundred hands. Ouranos being vain, locked his monstrous children (Cyclopes and Hekatonchires) in the deepest parts of the earth: The Tartaros.
But Mother Earth loved all of her children. With the help of Gaea, the Titans and the youngest one, Kronos, overthrew their father. When Ouranos was cut open by Kronos’ sickle his blood was spilled over Gaea and where this blood touch new life began. Kronos took as wife his sister, Rhea, and became the Lord of the universe. But like his father, he didn’t like his younger brothers, and left them in the Tartaros. For this Gaea cursed him:
“As you have overthrown your father, so shall your child overthrow you.”
Because he didn’t want to surrender his power, he swallowed his first born child, and did the same with the next four. When Rhea was pregnant with her six child, Gaea advised her how to save the child. When the baby was born, she rapped a rock with the form of a baby and gave it to Kronos, who was too arrogant to notice that the baby was not crying. The baby was taken to the island of Crete, where he was taken care by nymphs and solders and his name was, Zeus.
But, from this point on, you have to read the comic to see what happens.
The comic series so far has six volumes, and Zeus: King of Gods is the first. This is because Zeus started the Olympians. It was interesting to read and have an image to the beginning of everything. The Titans in my opinion were well described and drawn, I liked how their hair are clouds, and how Gaea made the mountains their thrones.
This comic is for the ages of 9-14, which is good if you want to start teaching your children or anyone else about mythology with just not text but illustrations, too. The author gives a glimpse of how Zeus is: determined, strong, and smart. On the next volumes we get to learn about his future children.
George O’Connor, the author of the graphic novel, did a great work of art giving life to the old stories of the Greek gods. He even gave life to Ouranos in the second page, you can see a silhouette of him in the sky. I also liked the Hekatonchires, I have read about them before and had seen drawings of them, but this ones I liked more for the detail their hands with hands in their fingers.
I didn’t know that Metis existed before I read the comic. I also didn’t know that she was Zeus’s first Queen, it was quite interesting to learn that.
The cover is very good, it shows the glorious Zeus and we can see the Cyclopes and Hekatonchires behind him. The lighting bolt that Zeus has in the cover has a shiny silver finish that stands out from the rest of the print. In fact, all of the covers of the following volumes have some detail in silver that represent the main character. The comic has character profiles for the main character and several others that are important to the story.
If you like to know more of the history of the Greek gods I recommend you to read Zeus: King of the Gods and The Olympians graphic novel series. The next volume is Athena. There is always something new to learn of the old stories.
