Gods & Undergrads

Gods & Undergrads #1

by Monica Gallagher

Lelaina Pentheus is starting her second year at Troy University, and has decided to move on campus and away from home for the first time. Negotiating friends, classes, and crushes means that the shy sophomore will have to come of age and be her own person. But when her quirks begin to have unusual effects, Lelaina is forced to confront her unknown past. Characters once lost to ancient mythology pay her a visit, threatening to undo the chasm between gods and mortals, modernity and antiquity, and nearly destroying Lelaina in the process. And just when she started finally making friends.

This collected volume is the first time Chapters 1-3 of Gallagher's popular webcomic has been printed in color in a single edition.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics

152 pages, Paperback

First published April 25, 2007

About the author

Monica Gallagher is an indie creator with over fifteen years experience making comics and illustrations with a positive, feminist spin. She has worked for Oni Press, Vertigo, Papercutz, and Valiant, and as well as self-published several of her own mini-comics and books. Her current webcomics are Assassin Roommate and BOO! It's Sex!, updated weekly on Webtoons. Monica recently finished her first scripted podcast with Alex Segura, Lethal Lit, (mentioned by the New York Times as “A Great Podcast of 2018”!) for iHeart Radio.

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

What made this a 5 star graphic novel in my book is a twofold reason:
1-The author is presenting a modern version of the Gods and their personalities. Which she does incredibly well.
2-The imagery is unique. It is not your classic American Style of graphic novel of the 1980's and '90's nor is it the irritating and nauseatingly ubiquitous Manga of more recent popularity.

I think sometimes folks are far too cemented in what their idea of the Classical Greek deities were actually like. I enjoyed the playfulness of her characters, her understanding of the cult of Artemis versus the sanitized myth of the Medieval through the Victorian eras. I think if people can get past their pseudo scholasticism they would greatly enjoy Ms. Gallagher work.

[Travis · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the premise of this comic is supposed to be Greek gods interacting with humanity, these first three chapters are mostly just a "slice of life" story. There's some intrigue at the very end, but otherwise prepare to read about all the social drama of college students. I suppose you can attempt to fit each character into the Greek pantheon but I'm not even sure they're all supposed to be gods.

The fact the comic was originally a web comic probably explains the glacial pace.

Overall I found it very underwhelming. But that was mostly due to my expectations based on the title and description.

[Hillary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lame! Weak story, bad computer art (and coloring), stupid dialogue. The only reason it doesn't rank lower is because the premise (Greek mythological figures interacting with our current world) is pretty cool to me. That said, it hardly gets started in these first three issues, and I can't say that I'll bother to seek out more. It reads like a self-published title.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read Gallagher's more recent webcomics, and they're so amazing that I decided to try some of her older work. I wasn't as into the art, and the story was interesting but mostly so-so. If the pace quickens in the next book, I might enjoy it more, but for now, this was just okay.

[Lani · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neat idea, but not a particularly exciting storyline. Characters are college students with explicit or implicit connections to various Greek gods.