The Mark of Athena: The Graphic Novel

The Heroes of Olympus: The Graphic Novels #3

by Robert Venditti (Adaptor), Rick Riordan

The third exciting entry in Rick Riordan's best-selling Heroes of Olympus series is now a graphic novel! In The Son of Neptune, Percy, Hazel, and Frank met in Camp Jupiter, the Roman equivalent of Camp Half-Blood, and traveled to the land beyond the gods to complete a dangerous quest. The third book in the Heroes of Olympus series will unite them with Jason, Piper, and Leo. But they number only six--who will complete the Prophecy of Seven? With old friends and new friends joining forces, a marvelous ship, fearsome foes, and an exotic setting, The Mark of Athena promises to be another unforgettable adventure by master storyteller Rick Riordan. Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson and the Olympians will soon be a series on Disney+.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Mythology, Comics, Young Adult, Greek Mythology, Adventure

160 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 26, 2023

About the author

Robert Venditti is a New York Times bestselling author of more than three hundred comic books and graphic novels. Some of his works include the monthly comic book series Justice League, Superman ’78, Hawkman, and Green Lantern for DC Comics, X-O Manowar, Armor Hunters, and Wrath of the Eternal Warrior for Valiant Entertainment, and the graphic novel Six Days, inspired by the story of his uncle’s participation in D-Day. He has also adapted Rick Riordan’s global bestselling Percy Jackson and the Olympians and The Heroes of Olympus novels, as well as Tristan Strong Punches a Hole in the Sky by Kwame Mbalia and Blue Bloods by Melissa de la Cruz. His graphic novel The Surrogates was adapted into a feature film by Touchstone Pictures, and his work on The Flash was the basis for season three of the CW television series.

Venditti lives in Atlanta, where he both writes and serves as a storytelling consultant for some of the most recognizable entertainment brands in the world.

Reviews

[Mariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been waiting for this since 2017 and it didn’t dissapointed! This is without a doubt the best graphic novel so far from both PJO and HOO.

So excited for House of Hades!

[catherine ♡ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Doesn't quite capture the magic of the original, but I waited the entire book to get to the scene where Percabeth falls into Tartarus together — and here we go! Can't wait for HoH.

[Luz A Jimenez · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic art

I waited so long for this graphic novel to come out and it did not disappoint. Out of all the Percy Jackson and Heroes of Olympus graphic novels, this one is my absolute favorite one. The art is phenomenal and it looks like a lot of thought was put into it. There’s some things I wish that could’ve been included from the Mark of Athena book, but I understand that only so much could be added. Even so, the art makes up for all the missing bits. The crew looked exactly how I pictured them in my head, especially Percy. In my opinion, he looked more like Percy in this graphic novel then all the others that have come out in the past few years. All the other characters were amazingly drawn, too. The details in every scene were fantastic. I will be raving about this for months. This graphic novel definitely has me pumped for the House of Hades!

[Makenzie Muñoz · Rating 4 out of 5]

So good!!! I forgot it leaves on a bit of a cliffhanger!

[Alex(Books-In-A-Storm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this. It was beautiful and I can't wait to see what the next book looks like.

[Zimmy W · Rating 5 out of 5]

percy JACKSON, am i right, oml

[Emily Thompson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the best adaptation yet, but it still can’t capture the charm of Riordan’s original novel. The action scenes are exceptional, especially with Otis and Ephialtes, but our heroes’ emotional expressions are sometimes creepy.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Docked stars for the artwork. Story is great but adaptation was okay.

[Madison Head · Rating 5 out of 5]

These graphic novel adaptions get better every time. But why does Nico have to look so scary?

[Soraya Keiser · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little beginning of the week treat. I haven't read MOA in forever, but it is still so familiar. It's fun to see all of the events illustrated, but they adapt certain parts and cut out other scenes, which is sad. Give me every second of dialogue and description please. Reading this reminded me that no movie/TV adaptation of the Heroes of Olympus will ever be as good as I want it to be, and therefore, it should just never happen.

[Rosalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Visually stunning and super duper quick to read through. Kinda bummed that a lot of content got cut and/or modified to fit this medium. There were definitely a lot of scenes I was looking forward to seeing visually, but I understand why it would need to be cut.... at least it had THE scene 😭

I think reading this made me realize how well the book is ingrained into my soul. Tempted to see how they did House of Hades...

Thanks to my friends who picked this up for me!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is the best in the series so far - I believe I keep saying this, but I’m happy they are following a positive trajectory than another one.

These are the most detailed and beautiful illustrations yet, plus I felt the emotion coming through on more pages than usual. I remember this book fondly, so I may be bias on that part.

It’s a wonderful adaptation.

[Juliana O’Hara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome adaptation of the book. Ending breaks my heart every time. The library never had the actual version of book so I had to settle for the graphic novel

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

the fact that i got a visual representation of Percabeth saying you fall i fall and MEANING IT is just everything.

[juju ✿ · Rating 5 out of 5]

the ending somehow shocked me AGAIN but at least percy and annabeth are together

[♡Gabriella Kelly♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminded me of my love for this series. It was super accurate and the pictures were so fun to look at and see the images in your brain ACTUALLY on the page. This is one of my favorite books of all time and to be able to read it for the first time again- as a graphic novel! You can’t have it better that that! I highly recommend this to all fans of PJ and especially Heroes Of Olympus fans too!

[Camila · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never get over Mark of Athena’s ending 🥺🥺🥺🥺

[Angie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not how I imagined some of the art but still good. I’m actually excited to see how they do Tartarus in the next volume.

[Silvina de la Guadalupe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Como siempre, es un placer volver a leer una historia de Rick.

[Morgan Ayling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the story. They took out my favorite part which is why it got 4 stars.

[Kira · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Annabeth, Leo, and Piper arrive at Camp Jupiter, the group’s reunion with Percy is short lived. They soon discover that Camp Jupiter is preparing for war with the Greeks. Matters only get worse when Leo and Piper become possessed by some unknown force and attack Camp Jupiter’s residents. Barely escaping, the group takes off in Argos II. Annabeth, however, has secrets of her own. Doubting herself and Percy, she is concerned her friend has changed since he disappeared. She is also weighed down by a gift and strange request form her mother, Athena: Avenge Me. To fulfil their quest and Annabeth’s side quest, 7 demigods will have to find and close the Doors of Death. Will the demigods fulfill their quest and save the world or will their circumstances drive them apart?

The illustrations are detailed, engaging and bring the world of Percy Jackson to life. The plot is well-written, engaging, and a great adaptation of the original story. Characters are true to the originals, likable, and well developed. Fans of Rick Riordan, graphic novels, and mythology adventure will want to pick this one up.

Please Note: A copy of this book was given in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed are my own. No other compensation was received.

[Vail Chester · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be the first to admit that facial expressions are hard to draw.
To capture the nuance of every kinda which way a face can move for every kinda emotion is no easy feat.
That said, GOOD GODS SOME OF THOSE EXPRESSIONS ARE INSANE!
- Gritted teeth & meanness
- bug eyed wonderment
- flirty faces
- haggard teenagers looking inexplicably like old men
What's even funnier is that sometimes, the situation doesn't even call for it; artist just had a heyday with plopping them into whatever part of the story.

Regardless, it's still a pretty good adaptation of the story that finally combines our two groups of superpowered teens of divine descent. Of course they cut out some wackiness in the middle, relegating the stories of the dolphin-pirates and beating Hercules with a infinite food cannon (cornucopia) to a couple of panels, but that's the fickle nature of adapting such a hefty novel.
Same cliffhanger tho so I am anxious to see how those certain kids get out of superHell!

[Enrique Sebert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fangirling en su máximo esplendor.

Jason y Annabeth mis patrones.

Sin duda, supera a la versión escrita, ya que recuerdo haber leído La Marca de Atenea y suplicar porque ya terminara. En mi opinión, tenía mucho relleno y solo quería ver cómo la historia llegaba al famoso cliffhanger. Eso me nubló para disfrutar la historia completa, y ahora que se quitaron todas esas cosas innecesarias, por fin pude disfrutar de lo emocionante que fue la saga de Los Héroes del Olimpo.

En mi opinión, está debajo de El Hijo de Neptuno, pero arriba de El Héroe Perdido.

[Yesi Altamirano · Rating 4 out of 5]

Me encantó esta novela gráfica, a pesar de que si faltan muchísimas escenas muy importantes creo que es una buena opción para una lectura ligera.
Además de que el arte esta muy bonito y a mejorado mucho a comparación de la primera saga de libros.
Amo éstos libros!

I loved this graphic novel, even though it is missing many very important scenes, I think it is a good option for a light read.
Also, art is very beautiful and has improved a lot compared to the first book series.
I loved this book series!

[Marybeth (Marybee.books) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the original novel, The Mark of Athena, and I loved this adaptation as well! I absolutely love all the Percy Jackson graphic novels and I think they are able to perfectly captivate the full story in the shorter style. I think Mark of Athena is one of my favorites of the Heroes of Olympus and it’s so cool to see the heroes teaming up. I think the illustrations were absolutely amazing throughout and I can’t wait for the next one!

[Martha · Rating 3 out of 5]

OMGG!! when i tell you that i have been waiting for forever for this book i am not joking. this book surpassed my expectations and i love this so much!! highly recommend reading that if you read the OG PJO series and you want to read the HoO but you don't want to read books, read these GN because they have literally everything that the books have and it has pictures so if you are a visual reader, it is helpful as well.

[taylorravee · Rating 5 out of 5]

5

I have read the chapter book of this one but the graphic novel was great. The photos were nicely drawn and I also liked the pictures because I did not know the twins look like that. I just didn’t like of how they would skip scenes and write them differently then how it’s was in the actual book. I also hated the kiss scenes because it was always happen when I am in school so I can’t read my book😭 but that’s not his fault lol is was in the OG book but over all I recommend.

[Books & Livvy (semi-hiatus) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wasn't expecting too much of this graphic novel because I didn't like the other two, but I was super surprised to see that the art and everything had improved a lot since 2017, when the adaption of Son of Neptune came out. It did cut out some of my favorite scenes, but since Mark of Athena is huge and this is only a graphic novel adaptation, I do see why that was necessary.

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Visually seeing the end of this book killed me. I really strongly disliked hate the end of this book THANKS UNCLE RICK FOR THIS ANNOYING CLIFFHANGER (honestly just see my review of the book for my frustration) BUT great adaptation!! Looking forward to seeing the House of Hades graphic novel!! That will be a doozy

[Kimberly Greenwell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating 2023: 4/5 - Each time a new graphic novel from this series comes out, it’s just a refer on how much I enjoy these books. The core 7 characters travel together to save Nico and try to find a way to stop Gaea. Once, I read the ending I remembered it so vividly and now I need to finish this series!!!!

The images on page 42 were amazing!!