Pantheon High, Volume 2

by Paul Benjamin, Steven Cummings (Illustrator), Megumi Cummings (Illustrator)

With Pantheon High out of commission, Aziza and Yukio must attend Gilgamesh High, home to their greatest rival demigods. But when Yukio is getting beaten up, Ketan - the demigod of bad luck - comes along and offers his help and protection. Will being friends with the bad luck demigod bring Yukio good luck? Meanwhile, Griffin manages to tag along when the Valkyries escort Grace to Valhalla...

Genres: Manga, Graphic Novels, Mythology, Comics, Young Adult, Fantasy

192 pages, Paperback

First published February 12, 2008

About the author

Paul Benjamin is a comic writer and editor for the US comics industry, along with having written his own original manga Pantheon High and other titles for various publishers.

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Heavy mix of deities (and their children) from lots of different cultures, with a high school Background. Story in itself is a bit lame, but the book redeems itself in the end, with the notes on all the references to the different mythologies.

[Cecilia S · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was horrible. The author drained all the fun out of the first book and turned it into a dragging, unoriginal fantasy-comic mess.

The sequel to Pantheon High divides its attention between the dull and unimportant journey of Grace and Griffin through all forms of Hell and the stale stereotypical high school rivalry between Pantheon High and Gilgamesh High.

The author makes Grace too strong, and the couple are easily able to fend off the most powerful Gods without hardly trying. The author could have built up the suspense, but instead chooses to make the action scenes entirely pointless. Instead he focuses on what readers least care about, Grace's feelings and the state of their relationship. Benjamin puts no real emotion into this book, instead makes the conflicts surface deep. One could skip over their whole time in Hell(s) and not missed one thing.

The introduction of Gilgamesh High was unnecessary. It added complication and too many new characters. It was clear that he felt afraid that someone out there would get offended if he left out certain religions. He could have had mention of Gilgamesh High, but instead decided to create this absurd sports rivalry and championship match that detracted from the plot and made the story too long.

You could clearly tell that the author was male, due to countless nude/topless/panty scenes that were nauseating. In addition, he was out of touch with his female characters.

Overall, this book is a sharp turn away from the first book and a real dissapointment.

[Abi · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a pretty good sequel. I liked that the chapters switched between Aziza and Yukio, and Griffin and Grace. I liked Griffin and Grace's journey better than Aziza and Yukio's school storyline. Overall, the plot wasn't anything amazing, but it was somewhat entertaining. The art is fine. I'm not sure I would recommend this series to anyone, but I thought it was fairly fun to read. 3.5 stars.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The demigod children of any number of cultures are back for another set of adventures. This time, their troubles result from a challenge they make to Gilgamesh High, a similar high school not too far away. The result is an athletic event in which the losing players will be sacrificed to the parents of the winners. While all of this is going on, two heroes from the first installment thought to be dead find themselves traveling through the various forms of the afterlife as they make their way back to Pantheon High.

The illustrations are just as good. The story is good, but suffers a bit from being the second volume in a trilogy, which means it ties up loose ends from the first volume and sets things up for the next volume.

[Susan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too much fanservice.

[Fresno Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

thought it would be better, author notes on the mythology at the end is the best part