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ODY-C
ODY-C, Vol. 1: Off to Far Ithicaa
An eye-searing, mind-bending, gender-shattering epic science fiction retelling of Homer's Odyssey starting with the end of a great war in the stars and the beginning of a very long journey home for Odyssia and her crew of warriors. The journey to Ithicaa begins HERE, by Matt Fraction (Sex Criminals) and Christian Ward (Infinite Vacation, Olympus).
Collects ODY-C #1-5.
Collects ODY-C #1-5.
136 pages, Paperback
First published June 10, 2015
46 people are currently reading
2398 people want to read
About the author
Matt Fraction
1,221 books1,864 followers"How he got started in comics: In 1983, when Fraction was 7 years old and growing up in Kansas City, Mo., he became fascinated by the U.S. invasion of Grenada and created his own newspaper to explain the event. "I've always been story-driven, telling stories with pictures and words," he said.
Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.
"My mother was not happy about that," he said.
But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."
Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.
Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.
Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."
Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.
- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.
Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.
"My mother was not happy about that," he said.
But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."
Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.
Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.
Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."
Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.
- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 483 reviews
August 7, 2015
While the idea is interesting, changing the setting of Homer's Odyssey to Sci-Fi and the genders all reversed, the actual execution is lacking.
In some places the art is wow cool, in others I feel like I could draw a more accurate body on a humanoid character.
Trying to match the prose style of epic poetry is admirable, but nuts. Fraction can't tell if he's going modern futuristic dialogue or ye olde Greek...it's frustrating.
The triumph of this book is the colouring. Whoever the colourist is should win awards.
This was a free read now book of NetGalley, and thanks for it. The words above represent my honest opinion.
Fraction is becoming a little too miss and not enough hit for me lately, but that's just my thoughts. He not boring, though. I will always give him that!
In some places the art is wow cool, in others I feel like I could draw a more accurate body on a humanoid character.
Trying to match the prose style of epic poetry is admirable, but nuts. Fraction can't tell if he's going modern futuristic dialogue or ye olde Greek...it's frustrating.
The triumph of this book is the colouring. Whoever the colourist is should win awards.
This was a free read now book of NetGalley, and thanks for it. The words above represent my honest opinion.
Fraction is becoming a little too miss and not enough hit for me lately, but that's just my thoughts. He not boring, though. I will always give him that!
November 17, 2018
I think Matt Fraction has read too much of his own hype. This book is beyond awful. The style of writing in this book is like reading an original translation of "The Odyssey" with curse words and sex thrown in. The writing is so archaic and awkward I couldn't get past it. My brain just pretty much shut down after 10 pages or so. Image is where most creators have gone to put out their best work. Fraction has put out nothing but garbage since leaving Marvel. Sex Criminals, Casanova, Satellite Sam, ODY-C, it's all terrible. It's all a big disappointment after his great runs on X-Men, Iron Fist, and Iron Man.
May 25, 2017
I think my entire reading experience with this graphic novel is best summed up with the following gif:
Followed closely with:
I finished last night and I'm still thinking about it, but it's an uncomfortable kind of reflection. I don't think I'll be reading the rest of this series. I love Classics, I've studied Homer, I know the bones of the story, and I don't really feel the need to experience the rest of this version of it.
Followed closely with:
I finished last night and I'm still thinking about it, but it's an uncomfortable kind of reflection. I don't think I'll be reading the rest of this series. I love Classics, I've studied Homer, I know the bones of the story, and I don't really feel the need to experience the rest of this version of it.
November 25, 2015
I got this book for my birthday (thanks Joe and Alisha!) and it is really, really good.
Matt Fraction and Christian Ward have re-served Homer's Odyssey with science fiction ice cubes and a gender-swap twist of lemon.
As a big fan of the original Odyssey, I found this approach very interesting. To be honest, I found it more interesting than actually enjoyable, but I certainly appreciate the cleverness on display here.
Once you've got over the premise, the best thing about this book by far is Christian Ward's artwork, which is simply beautiful. This is one of those books where I know I'll end up going back to it just to savour the illustrative skill on display.
If you appreciate clever storytelling and brilliant art, you could do a lot worse than to check this one out.
Matt Fraction and Christian Ward have re-served Homer's Odyssey with science fiction ice cubes and a gender-swap twist of lemon.
As a big fan of the original Odyssey, I found this approach very interesting. To be honest, I found it more interesting than actually enjoyable, but I certainly appreciate the cleverness on display here.
Once you've got over the premise, the best thing about this book by far is Christian Ward's artwork, which is simply beautiful. This is one of those books where I know I'll end up going back to it just to savour the illustrative skill on display.
If you appreciate clever storytelling and brilliant art, you could do a lot worse than to check this one out.
April 9, 2018
Matt Fraction who did the best run of Hawkeye ever? And a gender-bent telling of The Odyssey? And it is not really gender-bent but has a third gender and barely any men? And it is in space? And has beautiful and confusing art? Yes, this is the perfect comic for me to read. Am I still confused about everything going on in it? Yes, but I know it will continue to be brilliant as long as Matt Fraction and Christian Ward remain at the helm.
June 14, 2015
I have not the slightest clue what I just read.
It took me a while to realize this was a re-telling of the Odyssey.
Page 14 to be precise:
It's set in space. With an amazonian race of warrior-women. It took me a while to understand the concept due to the writing being so stilted. I think it was attempting to mesh modern prose with the original text but... It was incredibly difficult to make sense of in parts.
Like here:
Um... OK.
The art ranged from beautiful still watercolors:
To incredibly weird and surreal:
Needless to say, the off-kilter artwork combined with the almost incomprehensible writing and story itself made this a difficult read that I can't really recommend. Maybe if the writing was better I would have been ok with the art, or vice versa, but as is this was just painful.
Copy courtesy of Diamond Book Distributors, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
It took me a while to realize this was a re-telling of the Odyssey.
Page 14 to be precise:
It's set in space. With an amazonian race of warrior-women. It took me a while to understand the concept due to the writing being so stilted. I think it was attempting to mesh modern prose with the original text but... It was incredibly difficult to make sense of in parts.
Like here:
Um... OK.
The art ranged from beautiful still watercolors:
To incredibly weird and surreal:
Needless to say, the off-kilter artwork combined with the almost incomprehensible writing and story itself made this a difficult read that I can't really recommend. Maybe if the writing was better I would have been ok with the art, or vice versa, but as is this was just painful.
Copy courtesy of Diamond Book Distributors, via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
February 7, 2017
Also available on the WondrousBooks blog.
UGH
This is a strong contender for the worst comic book I've read. I'm not sure if it's the worst one, but if I went back an ranked them, and this was not it, it would not be for the lack of trying.
The story, all on itself, seems like it could somehow work out: female Odyssey (Odyssia, to be precise) in space, shortly after the war in Troiia, is trying to fly home to Ithicaa while the gods are throwing obstacles in her way.
I mean... It has possibilities?
However, this comic book has one single positive side: the colors. They are very vibrant, out there and bordering with psychedelic imagery. That's it. That's all the compliments I can give for this volume.
Here's a list of what I hated about it (which is everything else):
1. All men have been wiped out of existence. Except for one. Ergo, we have to witness an unnecessary amount of boobs, vaginas, baby-birthing, and all things that should be private, but are shown in this comic book, because it has nothing to offer, outside of shocking images. This includes penises. There is one man, so obviously, we MUST see his penis. No, not really. I didn't have a particular need for that.
2. There is a very ridiculous system of women and women who can impregnate themselves, who are other beings, created in a lab. It's a society in which everyone is a woman, but for some reason, some women have beards? And there are mouths everywhere? Like a serious oral fixation? (images at the bottom)
3. I did say that it's colorful, huh? Yeah, well, there's colorful, and there's I-ate-some-paints-and-then-fell-sick-and-puked-them-back-out. As in a mess of images, colors, explosions, vaginas, mouths, mouths, more mouths, blood, intestines and tits, and you're not really sure what you're looking at. (Sometimes that's a mercy.)
4. There's no actual plot. They tried to create a space Odyssey, but failed to include the story. Some things happen, there's no narration, the characters barely communicate, there are almost no dialogues, what is in fact written is random gibberish.
I scrolled randomly an stopped at a random page and this is all the text there was in that page. It's like this in every page:
5. The entire comic book has NO point, whatsoever. You can take a look at the Goodreads page and how no one actually got what they were reading, because there was nothing to get. This entire comic book is an ego masturbation born out of lack of any good ideas. There's nothing stylish, or provocative, or imaginative in this book. It's, in fact, so dull, that they are urged to throw everything gross, disgusting and unnecessary they have in a futile attempt at keeping the reader's attention. "This episode has no point. There's no idea. Oh, damn, what do we do? Here's some bloody boobs. What? Not enough boobs? More boobs? So, do we have your attention?"
And lest you think that I'm exaggerating or making this up, here's some pictures for your viewing displeasure.
NOTE: EXPLICIT AND POSSIBLY SPOILERISH ILLUSTRATIONS. (that is to say that this thing barely has a story, but there might be parts of what there is below.)
UGH
This is a strong contender for the worst comic book I've read. I'm not sure if it's the worst one, but if I went back an ranked them, and this was not it, it would not be for the lack of trying.
The story, all on itself, seems like it could somehow work out: female Odyssey (Odyssia, to be precise) in space, shortly after the war in Troiia, is trying to fly home to Ithicaa while the gods are throwing obstacles in her way.
I mean... It has possibilities?
However, this comic book has one single positive side: the colors. They are very vibrant, out there and bordering with psychedelic imagery. That's it. That's all the compliments I can give for this volume.
Here's a list of what I hated about it (which is everything else):
1. All men have been wiped out of existence. Except for one. Ergo, we have to witness an unnecessary amount of boobs, vaginas, baby-birthing, and all things that should be private, but are shown in this comic book, because it has nothing to offer, outside of shocking images. This includes penises. There is one man, so obviously, we MUST see his penis. No, not really. I didn't have a particular need for that.
2. There is a very ridiculous system of women and women who can impregnate themselves, who are other beings, created in a lab. It's a society in which everyone is a woman, but for some reason, some women have beards? And there are mouths everywhere? Like a serious oral fixation? (images at the bottom)
3. I did say that it's colorful, huh? Yeah, well, there's colorful, and there's I-ate-some-paints-and-then-fell-sick-and-puked-them-back-out. As in a mess of images, colors, explosions, vaginas, mouths, mouths, more mouths, blood, intestines and tits, and you're not really sure what you're looking at. (Sometimes that's a mercy.)
4. There's no actual plot. They tried to create a space Odyssey, but failed to include the story. Some things happen, there's no narration, the characters barely communicate, there are almost no dialogues, what is in fact written is random gibberish.
I scrolled randomly an stopped at a random page and this is all the text there was in that page. It's like this in every page:
"Something you must understand," says the wizard, "Is my star is nothing like yours. This is a thing made for wishing by magicks that only a titan as I could conceive." "What do you mean?" asks Odyssia.
5. The entire comic book has NO point, whatsoever. You can take a look at the Goodreads page and how no one actually got what they were reading, because there was nothing to get. This entire comic book is an ego masturbation born out of lack of any good ideas. There's nothing stylish, or provocative, or imaginative in this book. It's, in fact, so dull, that they are urged to throw everything gross, disgusting and unnecessary they have in a futile attempt at keeping the reader's attention. "This episode has no point. There's no idea. Oh, damn, what do we do? Here's some bloody boobs. What? Not enough boobs? More boobs? So, do we have your attention?"
And lest you think that I'm exaggerating or making this up, here's some pictures for your viewing displeasure.
NOTE: EXPLICIT AND POSSIBLY SPOILERISH ILLUSTRATIONS. (that is to say that this thing barely has a story, but there might be parts of what there is below.)
April 30, 2016
Another completely fantastic recommendation from Elizabeth (that's two fabulous ones in one day!) and I am extremely happy that I got to reading this at last. Initially I was a little intimidated by this as I hadn't read the odyssey (the original) and so I thought I would maybe not 'get' this one, but I needn't have feared as I understood it and loved it.
This follows a gender-flipped version of the Odyssey with females ruling the day and many goddesses and bad-ass lady-types involved. Not only do we get our main Captain character who is very resourceful and marvellous, we also have the Goddesses who cause ALL SORTS of trouble for her and really ruin the journey back from a rather brutal and epic war.
The artwork within this is flawless. It's definitely bloody at times, but the blend of colours and style and mash-up of layouts was like a barrage of emotion. The way that these colours have been utilised makes this shocking and incredible and just magnificent to peruse over. I was truly baffled, awed and enchanted by so many of the spreads within this and found myself constantly enjoying the read.
The wording of this is also wonderful with a real lilting tone and sense of epic poetry. I don't think that this is fully an epic poem as such, but it definitely harks back to that and it seems like something that wouldn't work with all the futuristic tech and sci-fi space elements, but it does...so well!
On the whole, marvellous. I am super excited to pick up Vol. 2 when it's out, and I loved this so so much :) 5*s and highly recommended!
This follows a gender-flipped version of the Odyssey with females ruling the day and many goddesses and bad-ass lady-types involved. Not only do we get our main Captain character who is very resourceful and marvellous, we also have the Goddesses who cause ALL SORTS of trouble for her and really ruin the journey back from a rather brutal and epic war.
The artwork within this is flawless. It's definitely bloody at times, but the blend of colours and style and mash-up of layouts was like a barrage of emotion. The way that these colours have been utilised makes this shocking and incredible and just magnificent to peruse over. I was truly baffled, awed and enchanted by so many of the spreads within this and found myself constantly enjoying the read.
The wording of this is also wonderful with a real lilting tone and sense of epic poetry. I don't think that this is fully an epic poem as such, but it definitely harks back to that and it seems like something that wouldn't work with all the futuristic tech and sci-fi space elements, but it does...so well!
On the whole, marvellous. I am super excited to pick up Vol. 2 when it's out, and I loved this so so much :) 5*s and highly recommended!
June 21, 2017
Trippy as hell, fantastic concept. I must be in the minority in that I did not love the art as much (too messy, distorted, everything swirled confusingly together), but the epic poetry style of writing was amazeballs.
January 18, 2016
THIS IS THE BEST THING I'VE EVER READ WHY ISN'T VOL 2 OUT YET
ahem anyway. as a former classics major/current queer woman, this is literally everything i could have hoped for had i asked for a homer update.
ahem anyway. as a former classics major/current queer woman, this is literally everything i could have hoped for had i asked for a homer update.
August 6, 2015
Beautiful but confusing. Although I haven't read the original that it is based on. The visuals though were amazing. Not sure I'll continue but it's still a really lovely piece.
August 2, 2015
Wha… what did I just read? I’d vaguely heard of ODY-C before I picked it up for my partner in Chapters, and I thought it sounded pretty cool: genderflipped space-faring retelling of The Odyssey, done by Matt Fraction who is at least consistently entertaining, even if his humour isn’t always my thing and I’d rather worship at his wife’s altar, comic-wise.
The description on the front pretty much nails it: “A trippy, gender-flipped version of Homer’s Odyssey hurtling through space on psychedelic, science fiction wings.” Thanks, Wired. You said it so I don’t have to. And I guess there are people who love that kind of thing, but I don’t. The correspondences to The Odyssey weren’t actually close enough, for me; there’s this whole new backstory that changes everything. The backstory is cool, but… there’s so much going on here, I kind of wanted the familiarity of the original story to keep me with it.
The art is not a style I love, though it definitely fits the psychedelic nature of the comic, and some of it is pretty striking. Not a comic I’m going to keep up with, though — it’s just so completely not my thing in execution.
Originally posted here.
The description on the front pretty much nails it: “A trippy, gender-flipped version of Homer’s Odyssey hurtling through space on psychedelic, science fiction wings.” Thanks, Wired. You said it so I don’t have to. And I guess there are people who love that kind of thing, but I don’t. The correspondences to The Odyssey weren’t actually close enough, for me; there’s this whole new backstory that changes everything. The backstory is cool, but… there’s so much going on here, I kind of wanted the familiarity of the original story to keep me with it.
The art is not a style I love, though it definitely fits the psychedelic nature of the comic, and some of it is pretty striking. Not a comic I’m going to keep up with, though — it’s just so completely not my thing in execution.
Originally posted here.
February 1, 2016
WT-serious-F?!! This one was just confusing. The art was a trip but all in all I fell this one was a miss.
June 20, 2016
I came to ODY-C with a chip on my shoulder. As soon as I picked up the first issue back in 2014, it was so immensely cool that it filled me with the kind of jealousy that made my teeth hurt, and my only hope was for its failure, because -- obviously -- it was a series too weird to exist. Outside of Rex Mantooth!, I don't love Matt Fraction either -- he's just always seemed like a dudebro who's not nearly as clever as he thinks he is.
With all that in mind, ODY-C is pretty awesome. It is, of course, insanely gorgeous, and while its style is almost an impediment to comprehension, there's a lot of cool ideas here that are deeply entwined with its gender-swapped sci-fi take on The Odyssey. Here, the titular ship is flown by navigators in cyborg wombs who must be psychically aligned in order for the vessel to function, suggesting a culture whose technology is built on harmony rather than hierarchy. I'm reminded of Alejandro Jodorowsky's hopes for his thwarted Dune film, and by extension his re-imagining of modern science fiction: "I do not want that the man conquers space/ In the ships of NASA/ These concentration camps of the spirit/ These gigantic freezers vomiting the imperialism/ These slaughters of plundering and plunder...I want magical entities, vibrating vehicles/ Like fish of a timeless ocean. I want/ Jewels, mechanics as perfect as the heart/ Womb-ships anterooms/ Rebirth into other dimensions..."
Indeed, all of the sci-fi in ODY-C, as well as being psychedelic as fuck, is also organic, with the phallic imagery of ships penetrating space revised as wombs floating in a celestial and embryonic sea. I think it's this sort of complete reinvisioning of technology and culture along gender lines that's the most interesting thing about the book as a whole.
Just about the only thing I don't like in the book is Fraction's insistence at mixing up high-falutin' faux-epic prose with modern language, slang, and profanity. It's inconsistent and does nothing but remind me repeatedly that I wish it was someone other than Fraction who'd written a book like this.
But the rest of it is so smart and so weird that I don't know how it even got published, and why anyone bought enough of this bonkers series every month to sustain it. If you're looking for a beautiful mindfuck to add to your summer reading pile, this easily fits the bill.
With all that in mind, ODY-C is pretty awesome. It is, of course, insanely gorgeous, and while its style is almost an impediment to comprehension, there's a lot of cool ideas here that are deeply entwined with its gender-swapped sci-fi take on The Odyssey. Here, the titular ship is flown by navigators in cyborg wombs who must be psychically aligned in order for the vessel to function, suggesting a culture whose technology is built on harmony rather than hierarchy. I'm reminded of Alejandro Jodorowsky's hopes for his thwarted Dune film, and by extension his re-imagining of modern science fiction: "I do not want that the man conquers space/ In the ships of NASA/ These concentration camps of the spirit/ These gigantic freezers vomiting the imperialism/ These slaughters of plundering and plunder...I want magical entities, vibrating vehicles/ Like fish of a timeless ocean. I want/ Jewels, mechanics as perfect as the heart/ Womb-ships anterooms/ Rebirth into other dimensions..."
Indeed, all of the sci-fi in ODY-C, as well as being psychedelic as fuck, is also organic, with the phallic imagery of ships penetrating space revised as wombs floating in a celestial and embryonic sea. I think it's this sort of complete reinvisioning of technology and culture along gender lines that's the most interesting thing about the book as a whole.
Just about the only thing I don't like in the book is Fraction's insistence at mixing up high-falutin' faux-epic prose with modern language, slang, and profanity. It's inconsistent and does nothing but remind me repeatedly that I wish it was someone other than Fraction who'd written a book like this.
But the rest of it is so smart and so weird that I don't know how it even got published, and why anyone bought enough of this bonkers series every month to sustain it. If you're looking for a beautiful mindfuck to add to your summer reading pile, this easily fits the bill.
June 20, 2015
Fraction tackles Homer in a truly bizarre fashion, uplifting the source material to unrecognizable post-sci-fi territory. The writing is off-the-wall bad, littered with plot-holes, weird modern dialogue matched to goofy classical prose, and disjointed nonsensical story-telling working far too hard to match the poem's original beats. So much of it feels like unnecessary fan-service without really adding anything to the story. By the way, fan-service, those moments that make us nod and smile like when Wolverine said the f-word to Charles Xavier in X-Men, we're supposed to read a line, think about The Odyssey, wink and say, I see what you did there Matt. It's not clever, it's not doing anything for the story, and it's stopping the world from ever feeling real. Between the scatterbrained writing and the (beautiful but) impossible to follow artwork, there is just zero immersion to be found here. Dialogue is told through third-person captions, the goddesses say cunt and fuck as their every third word, and I can't make heads or tails of this universe and its laws.
That said, I was entertained, and boy is there some pretty art in this book. It was really close to being worth reading. At least it was only ten bucks.
That said, I was entertained, and boy is there some pretty art in this book. It was really close to being worth reading. At least it was only ten bucks.
November 6, 2015
I mean...the art was nice?
There have been times in the past that I've read something and was a little confused but after awhile, I would catch on to the general gist of what was going on.
Not with ODY-C. I have absolutely NO idea what I just read.
I know the basic plot line of The Odyssey but like...I have no idea what was going on here. I was totally confused. I really appreciate was was done with this. I appreciated the gender swapping but the language was so hard for me to understand and there was SO much going on with the panels that it was hard to keep up with what was happening.
If you want something that is really different with beautiful artwork, then I recommend this. Otherwise, I'd just pass on it. I will not be continuing.
There have been times in the past that I've read something and was a little confused but after awhile, I would catch on to the general gist of what was going on.
Not with ODY-C. I have absolutely NO idea what I just read.
I know the basic plot line of The Odyssey but like...I have no idea what was going on here. I was totally confused. I really appreciate was was done with this. I appreciated the gender swapping but the language was so hard for me to understand and there was SO much going on with the panels that it was hard to keep up with what was happening.
If you want something that is really different with beautiful artwork, then I recommend this. Otherwise, I'd just pass on it. I will not be continuing.
November 2, 2019
A sci-fi, queer, gender swapped retelling of Greek myth by a writer whose work I enjoy? This should be everything I’ve ever wanted tied up with a neat little bow.
And yet.
This just felt disappointingly lazy. The world building was slapdash, the style of writing arbitrarily inconsistent - it did not feel like there was any reason they were writing this series at all? The color scheme is pretty, but the art is confusing and kind of all blurred together, and the whole thing just felt needlessly grotesque. This was deeply disappointing.
And yet.
This just felt disappointingly lazy. The world building was slapdash, the style of writing arbitrarily inconsistent - it did not feel like there was any reason they were writing this series at all? The color scheme is pretty, but the art is confusing and kind of all blurred together, and the whole thing just felt needlessly grotesque. This was deeply disappointing.
December 19, 2017
I am sad to say even this rating speaks mainly to the innovative artwork, reminiscent of early Heavy Metal or Humanoids works. Even sadder, that Fraction somehow missed the mark so widely, when he has proven in the past that he can do good retellings of mythology (as with Thor). The premise is fairly simple: what if such and such ancient story had happened in such and such weird futuristic, galaxy-spanning setting and what if "y" male characters were "x" female characters?
Except it's not. A gender-swapped, futuristic Odyssey would have been very interesting. This here is basically a lesbian power fantasy (with a bearded lady Hera for some reason) trying to be feminist - which it is not.
The main problem is that Fraction seems to fall into a completely unoriginal trap, thinking "this is SF and mythology and the Gods can do pretty much as they please, so anything goes", which shows not only a fundamental lack in understanding the causal structure of epics and mythology, but also leads to a lack of internal consistency.
For instance, in this case the Odyssey happens simply to entertain the Gods who are bored after the end of the Trojan War. Immediately, you can take Homer off the table. Yes, the Gods, being Gods, were abundantly cruel in various instances; but they were always bound by cosmic, as well as divine laws. There is a very specific cause (two in fact) for the Trojan War, which has nothing to do with Helen. There are very specific reasons why the Odyssey unfolds as it does and in the series of events that it does and that is what makes it an enduring epic. Sure, you can change things around and mix stuff up, but if the premise is reimagined Homer, then you need to maintain this causality, not just drop names and locations and have a many-breasted Cyclops (interestingly, modeled after an Ephesian Artemis, it seems) repeatedly crying that she was hurt by "All-men" (as opposed to "No-man" or "No One" in the original, which also carries an integral theme, here completely wasted).
There is more, as well as some solid ideas planted here and there, but In the end, the main problem is that this comic seems to try to cater to specific tastes and trends of the age, completely ignoring the rules of its source material. If this is the story you want to tell, fine by me but forget Homer; in this instance he is nothing more than a marketing ploy.
If you want a genuine female view of the Odyssey, better read Margaret Atwood's Penelopiad.
Except it's not. A gender-swapped, futuristic Odyssey would have been very interesting. This here is basically a lesbian power fantasy (with a bearded lady Hera for some reason) trying to be feminist - which it is not.
The main problem is that Fraction seems to fall into a completely unoriginal trap, thinking "this is SF and mythology and the Gods can do pretty much as they please, so anything goes", which shows not only a fundamental lack in understanding the causal structure of epics and mythology, but also leads to a lack of internal consistency.
For instance, in this case the Odyssey happens simply to entertain the Gods who are bored after the end of the Trojan War. Immediately, you can take Homer off the table. Yes, the Gods, being Gods, were abundantly cruel in various instances; but they were always bound by cosmic, as well as divine laws. There is a very specific cause (two in fact) for the Trojan War, which has nothing to do with Helen. There are very specific reasons why the Odyssey unfolds as it does and in the series of events that it does and that is what makes it an enduring epic. Sure, you can change things around and mix stuff up, but if the premise is reimagined Homer, then you need to maintain this causality, not just drop names and locations and have a many-breasted Cyclops (interestingly, modeled after an Ephesian Artemis, it seems) repeatedly crying that she was hurt by "All-men" (as opposed to "No-man" or "No One" in the original, which also carries an integral theme, here completely wasted).
There is more, as well as some solid ideas planted here and there, but In the end, the main problem is that this comic seems to try to cater to specific tastes and trends of the age, completely ignoring the rules of its source material. If this is the story you want to tell, fine by me but forget Homer; in this instance he is nothing more than a marketing ploy.
If you want a genuine female view of the Odyssey, better read Margaret Atwood's Penelopiad.
June 14, 2016
I was initially going to give this four stars, and then I started reading all the negative reviews. So many of them complain about how confusing this book is, which in a way highlights exactly what I liked about it. But how can that be, since in general I like clarity in writing, but then that's more important in non-fiction, and this is fiction , but still, why would I give this one a pass? Perhaps because I am distinguishing between weird, which this book is, and confusing, which I do not think it is. The artwork and the writing are wildly imaginative, taking the well know classic, and twisting it amazing ways, throwing gender on its head, and filling the universe with women, and almost no men, which is refreshing (and that's really not the whole story since gender is rather fluid in this universe), but at no point did I feel the author was being deliberately obtuse. I read slowly and carefully, and the richness of the story came through in all it's garish, hallucinogenic glory. So consider my extra star maybe a bit of a cheeky flip of the finger to all the people who have slagged this book off in confusion, and dragged its rating down to something less than I think it deserves.
I particularly liked the scenes with the cyclops, which were extraordinarily gruesome and harrowing, and the creature itself was brilliantly nasty in design and execution. I definitely plan on reading the next volume.
I particularly liked the scenes with the cyclops, which were extraordinarily gruesome and harrowing, and the creature itself was brilliantly nasty in design and execution. I definitely plan on reading the next volume.
September 10, 2015
Thanks to Christian Ward's lush, psychedelic art, ODY-C reads as much as a homage to wigged-out 70s/80s Eurocomix as it does to Homer - an oral-tradition hand-me-down of Metal Hurlant, maybe. Matt Fraction's writing on his Odyssey update is just as stylised, and potentially baffling until you twig what's going on. Hexameter for the heroes, modern dialogue for the Olympians - an effective way of showing that our mortal cast's actions take place in a cosmos bound and circumscribed by the divine.
Taken together, the art and script are a deliberate alienation tactic - this feels weird. And it probably should feel weird. Fraction, in creating a gender-flipped universe, is trying to rewrite and reverse mythology's erasure of women: an erasure coded into the DNA of our oldest stories. It's no surprise that the attempt feels so different. But the question of whether this particular alienation strategy is hitting that excellent goal is still very much open, five issues in. The hexameter rhythm is often awkward, the gods' sweary disagreements feel a bit tawdry, and the incidents Fraction remixes are, inevitably, very familiar. But there are pages where art, colour, page design, and writing work together sublimely, and Ward's voluptuous lines are a treat throughout. I read it in single issues, which I think is wise - five in a row is a very rich meal indeed.
Taken together, the art and script are a deliberate alienation tactic - this feels weird. And it probably should feel weird. Fraction, in creating a gender-flipped universe, is trying to rewrite and reverse mythology's erasure of women: an erasure coded into the DNA of our oldest stories. It's no surprise that the attempt feels so different. But the question of whether this particular alienation strategy is hitting that excellent goal is still very much open, five issues in. The hexameter rhythm is often awkward, the gods' sweary disagreements feel a bit tawdry, and the incidents Fraction remixes are, inevitably, very familiar. But there are pages where art, colour, page design, and writing work together sublimely, and Ward's voluptuous lines are a treat throughout. I read it in single issues, which I think is wise - five in a row is a very rich meal indeed.
June 30, 2016
A generous 2 star. After a few pages I kind of zoned out and decided that instead of falling asleep or just giving up I was gonna speed read it. Its a modern (?) take on the classics Odyssey which I love and I thought I would enjoy but...nope. The writing style is a throw back to old literature ( i guess) and you might consider it poetic or beautiful but I just didn't like it, it reminds me of something Grand Morrison would write and I have had it with him lately. The story has a twist and puts a feminine spin on it which was cool at first but like I said I didn't like the writing. The art is also borderline crap, sorry I didn't find it attractive or well done. I can't recommend this book, pass.
January 23, 2019
This was so very confusing to me. I don't think I'm smart enough to get it, I guess, because very little made sense to me.
While I enjoyed having a female centric story, I've read other stories that do it better. Also, the art was colorful and stunning, but also a bit messy and damn confusing itself at times.
So, I won't be continuing with this series, but I'm sure there's an audience for it.
While I enjoyed having a female centric story, I've read other stories that do it better. Also, the art was colorful and stunning, but also a bit messy and damn confusing itself at times.
So, I won't be continuing with this series, but I'm sure there's an audience for it.
May 19, 2015
This ones a bit odd because while it did look pretty as hell and did keep me interested enough to keep reading - I'm not sure that I actually understood it? And I don't mean like Fractions Casanova that has some parts that you're not supposed to get but you eventually get the overall arc, I was left feeling kinda "huh...okay then...".
It's Homers Odyssey but they've changed all the myth characters into woman and also made it a rather trippy comic. Enjoyed it. Don't think I'll be reading anymore though.
It's Homers Odyssey but they've changed all the myth characters into woman and also made it a rather trippy comic. Enjoyed it. Don't think I'll be reading anymore though.
January 4, 2020
I don't really know what to make of this series. First things first, love the art. The more outlandish and psychedelic, the better!
And I think it helps to have at least a cursory idea of the Odyssey in its original form. Updating it with the near-extinction of the male sex is an interesting twist.
But I did find it hard to get into, and I'm not sure why. I will keep reading.
(a weak) 3.5
And I think it helps to have at least a cursory idea of the Odyssey in its original form. Updating it with the near-extinction of the male sex is an interesting twist.
But I did find it hard to get into, and I'm not sure why. I will keep reading.
(a weak) 3.5
August 18, 2015
Five stars for the art alone; this is one of those graphic novels that can only benefit from the reread (and a note to my future self: brush up on the actual Odyssey before you do so, it could only help!)
August 26, 2015
Watch my full review here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QAII...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5QAII...
August 15, 2018
Matt Fraction and Christian Ward's ODY-C rewrites the Homer's Odyssey in the mode of Jodorowsky influenced psychedelic space opera-reversing genders, bending genders, and throwing some genders to the four winds of the universe. The gods also play a profound role in the book, but in some ways, Zeus is made central and even more capricious than Zeus's role in Homer. Fraction writes in a poetic and faux-epic monologue, but never goes into pure pastiche or parody and retains some of his own flavors. The imaginary is wild: Ward's art is more psychedelic than even Mobius's Métal hurlant work but also very feminine despite its wildness. It's not perfect, and sometimes the abstractness of the art makes the action a little hard to follow, it is always interesting.
July 13, 2017
OH LORD. Gender-bent comic book retelling of The Odyssey - in space? So great! There is a diverse cast of characters of many body types, sexualities, genders, race, etc. It's very interesting to see a sci-fi based story almost entirely dominated by a complete class of characters that aren't only straight white men. I could recommend this to a bunch of my friends and they would feel well represented.
The artwork in ODY-C is amazing. I can not get over how intricate and detailed and complex the visuals were in this story! I would just stare at the panels for quite a while. I'm hoping I can snag a signed print for myself!!
As for its status as a retelling of The Odyssey, it does a pretty great job. I can see the parallels between the stories, but it isn't just an exact replica of Homer's work. Things are similar enough to create and interesting comparison, but different enough that it stands alone on it's merit.
I would say, being familiar with The Odyssey probably helps while reading this comic. The Odyssey itself can be a pretty complex read (epic poems always get me) and it can make this retelling a bit harder to digest. However, this may not be the case for you!!
In any case, if you like or want to get into comics or sci-fi stuff, this is a good comic to add to your collection.
The artwork in ODY-C is amazing. I can not get over how intricate and detailed and complex the visuals were in this story! I would just stare at the panels for quite a while. I'm hoping I can snag a signed print for myself!!
As for its status as a retelling of The Odyssey, it does a pretty great job. I can see the parallels between the stories, but it isn't just an exact replica of Homer's work. Things are similar enough to create and interesting comparison, but different enough that it stands alone on it's merit.
I would say, being familiar with The Odyssey probably helps while reading this comic. The Odyssey itself can be a pretty complex read (epic poems always get me) and it can make this retelling a bit harder to digest. However, this may not be the case for you!!
In any case, if you like or want to get into comics or sci-fi stuff, this is a good comic to add to your collection.
April 18, 2020
Christian Ward's art is without doubt one of the most compelling and striking styles out there, and thus is a very ambitious comic both in terms of art and story. Does that make it good? I don't think so. Sometimes you can try so hard to be innovative and groundbreaking and visually bizarre that in between you lose sight of how to tell an actual story. There is no grasp of characterization or plot or even really story here at all. Is the reader supposed to bring all of that in from the original Odyssey? Because let me tell you, that's not how adaptation works, you can't throw bright art and gender switches at Greek mythology until something sticks and then call that a story. This whole book is a mess, plain and simply, and I think the worst thing is that the creators probably felt very clever and groundbreaking when doing it.
August 10, 2015
Nice art at points and the colouring is fantastic.
…But the rest?
Seriously, what did I just attempt to read??
…But the rest?
Seriously, what did I just attempt to read??
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