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Immortals: Gods and Heroes
Spinning from the upcoming epic 3-D film Immortals from visionary director Tarsem Singh (The Fall, The Cell) and starring Mickey Rourke and Henry Cavill comes Immortals: Gods and Heroes, a stunning, two-sided hardcover featuring ALL-NEW tales of Greek myths as you've never seen them before! Featuring incredible untold tales by Jock (Detective Comics, The Losers), Brian Clevinger (Atomic Robo), Francesco Francavilla (Black Panther), Dennis Calero (X-Men Noir), David Gallaher (Hulk), Ben McCool (Captain America, Memoir), Ron Marz (Witchblade, Green Lantern), Jimmy Palmiotti & Justin Gray (Jonah Hex), and MANY more! PLUS! We reveal the winners of the 'BECOME IMMORTAL!' contest (sponsored by Fandango and Relativity Media), as two lucky contestants are cast in the book as Immortal gods!
111 pages, Kindle Edition
First published October 18, 2011
3 people are currently reading
68 people want to read
About the author
Brian Clevinger
226 books94 followersBrian Clevinger is best known as the author of the most popular sprite webcomic, and one of the most popular webcomics overall, 8-Bit Theater. He is also the author of the self-published novel Nuklear Age. Clevinger has recently received attention for his Eisner-nominated print comic Atomic Robo.
Claiming that his "favorite comics are the ones where the jokes are on the reader," Clevinger is an expert in using anti-climax, interface alterations, and the occasional false ending to play with the reader's expectations. It is a testament to both his sense of humor and his writing skills that these "jokes on the reader" are usually beloved by his fanbase.
Claiming that his "favorite comics are the ones where the jokes are on the reader," Clevinger is an expert in using anti-climax, interface alterations, and the occasional false ending to play with the reader's expectations. It is a testament to both his sense of humor and his writing skills that these "jokes on the reader" are usually beloved by his fanbase.
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
May 11, 2017
Immortals: Gods and Heroes is a series of short stories that provides the background and setting for the movie Immortals. In a series of 11 stories, 6 about the gods and 5 about heroes we see the entire arc of the story. Each short piece is written and illustrated by a different author and artist. For the most part all the writing is uniformly good. The art varies in range from beautiful to good. So, no matter what you thought of the movie-if you like reading about Greek myths and stories set in those myths you'd enjoy this Graphic Novel.
In the stories related to the gods we see the rise of Kronos to become King of the Titans. We are shown the birth of Zeus and how his mother protected him from Kronos. Eventually Zeus and his kin depose Kronos and become gods. But the Titans are not done-we are shown the epic battles in the heavens between gods and Titans. Finally we see the creation of Tartaros with the joining together of the three powerful siblings-Zeus, Posiedon and Hades in its creation.
The stories related to the heroes show us why Zeus decides to dwell among the humans. We see the motivation of Hyperion after the death of his loved ones. We see Theseus training and being mentored by Zeus, in the guise of an old teacher. We also have an excellent story behind the Beast and where he came from.
Some of the stories are truly well done. Masterpieces of prose complemented by superb art. The rest cover the range from very good to just good. The art styles are similar. None of them are bad. But not all of them are of the same quality.
Thus, just as any anthology is the sum of the stories that make it whole. This graphic novel taken in totality deserves a 3 star rating. People who enjoyed the movie or are fans of Greek myths will enjoy these tales. I am glad to add this to my graphic novel collection.
In the stories related to the gods we see the rise of Kronos to become King of the Titans. We are shown the birth of Zeus and how his mother protected him from Kronos. Eventually Zeus and his kin depose Kronos and become gods. But the Titans are not done-we are shown the epic battles in the heavens between gods and Titans. Finally we see the creation of Tartaros with the joining together of the three powerful siblings-Zeus, Posiedon and Hades in its creation.
The stories related to the heroes show us why Zeus decides to dwell among the humans. We see the motivation of Hyperion after the death of his loved ones. We see Theseus training and being mentored by Zeus, in the guise of an old teacher. We also have an excellent story behind the Beast and where he came from.
Some of the stories are truly well done. Masterpieces of prose complemented by superb art. The rest cover the range from very good to just good. The art styles are similar. None of them are bad. But not all of them are of the same quality.
Thus, just as any anthology is the sum of the stories that make it whole. This graphic novel taken in totality deserves a 3 star rating. People who enjoyed the movie or are fans of Greek myths will enjoy these tales. I am glad to add this to my graphic novel collection.
May 16, 2019
***random library find***
A very compelling story I enjoyed the entire book. It was short but I really like the way everything was brought to life with the artwork and the speech bubbles. 1st time I read any sort of mythology like this.
I really like the art in:
"The War Of The Gods"
And
"The Old Man's Warning"
I thought the story was very good and I honestly didn't know that it was a screen place Flash movie until I got to the very end of the book.
A very compelling story I enjoyed the entire book. It was short but I really like the way everything was brought to life with the artwork and the speech bubbles. 1st time I read any sort of mythology like this.
I really like the art in:
"The War Of The Gods"
And
"The Old Man's Warning"
I thought the story was very good and I honestly didn't know that it was a screen place Flash movie until I got to the very end of the book.
December 22, 2015
(This review may contain spoilers).
Having seen and thoroughly enjoyed the movie Immortals, I was excited when I originally realised there were comic tie-ins for the movie... so I bought it and although it has taken me a while to get to it, I did really enjoy reading each of these comics.
It was interesting to see the versions of the myths and how the characters were depicted. I did notice a vast difference in some of the artwork... and the final story was virtually no dialogue, but I thought it was still really effective.
It was intriguing to see, in the first story, that Zeus was raised by humans. I liked the images of Rhea and how the actions of her husband affected her desire to save Zeus... and I did think it was good that Zeus' compassion showed as a thread through each of the stories.
I thought it was interesting to see the origin of the Epirus Bow... though I did feel a lot of sympathy for the cyclops and how Ares deceived him. I wasn't sure if the story directly following that one was meant to be an alternate... or if it was continuing with the deception; but I thought it demonstrated Ares' arrogance and thirst for war really well, despite the fact that he didn't seem to have a lot of depth outside of that.
I did enjoy seeing Zeus and Poseidon interacting together when they went to ask Hades for aid. I thought that Hades' favour was a good one... and I did like the final scene in that story.
Prometheus was an awful person in this anthology and I cringed when I saw the images of what he did to people. I thought it was a good demonstration of why the Olympians and the Titans ended up at war with each other.
I thought it was sad to see the story where Zeus could see the potential path humans could have taken and considered wiping them out... but he cared about them and could see good in them. It was interesting to see that being the main reason behind the law not to interfere with humans as gods.
I disliked Hyperion just as much in this anthology, even though I did feel some empathy for him. I just thought he was an awful person.
I liked the fact that a lot of the artwork did have the feel of the movie. I was disappointed to reach the end of the anthology, because I enjoyed reading it so much.
Having seen and thoroughly enjoyed the movie Immortals, I was excited when I originally realised there were comic tie-ins for the movie... so I bought it and although it has taken me a while to get to it, I did really enjoy reading each of these comics.
It was interesting to see the versions of the myths and how the characters were depicted. I did notice a vast difference in some of the artwork... and the final story was virtually no dialogue, but I thought it was still really effective.
It was intriguing to see, in the first story, that Zeus was raised by humans. I liked the images of Rhea and how the actions of her husband affected her desire to save Zeus... and I did think it was good that Zeus' compassion showed as a thread through each of the stories.
I thought it was interesting to see the origin of the Epirus Bow... though I did feel a lot of sympathy for the cyclops and how Ares deceived him. I wasn't sure if the story directly following that one was meant to be an alternate... or if it was continuing with the deception; but I thought it demonstrated Ares' arrogance and thirst for war really well, despite the fact that he didn't seem to have a lot of depth outside of that.
I did enjoy seeing Zeus and Poseidon interacting together when they went to ask Hades for aid. I thought that Hades' favour was a good one... and I did like the final scene in that story.
Prometheus was an awful person in this anthology and I cringed when I saw the images of what he did to people. I thought it was a good demonstration of why the Olympians and the Titans ended up at war with each other.
I thought it was sad to see the story where Zeus could see the potential path humans could have taken and considered wiping them out... but he cared about them and could see good in them. It was interesting to see that being the main reason behind the law not to interfere with humans as gods.
I disliked Hyperion just as much in this anthology, even though I did feel some empathy for him. I just thought he was an awful person.
I liked the fact that a lot of the artwork did have the feel of the movie. I was disappointed to reach the end of the anthology, because I enjoyed reading it so much.
June 12, 2020
What an odd thing this is.
What we have here is a prequel comic for a movie that very few people remember/saw, ‘Immortals’. That alone should be the kiss of death for this endeavor, since we all know the kind of reputation tie-ins have (rightfully) earned. Generally they are cheap cash-ins with little to no effort made to make them halfway decent, relying on the marketability of the property it’s promoting.
So now let me tell why this book is amazing.
Seriously, it’s almost unreal how great this book turned out. For starters it’s one of the sexiest hardcover graphic novels I’ve come across in my collecting. A beautiful watercolor portrait of Ares the god of war is framed by goldleaf imprinted onto a faux leather hard cover with no dust jacket. Most of not all marvel and DC hard covers pale in comparison to the production on this one.
Next, the stories themselves. What we have is a collection of 11 short stories over the course of about 110 pages that detail the backdrop for the film. It fills in the gap‘s that go unexplained in the film, such as the war between the guards and the Titans, the building of Tartarus, and more importantly the reasons why in the film Zeus chooses to live among the humans, and the origin of the Beast, a very formidable antagonist in the film. Suffice to say, it’s a bloody origin to say the least.
The writing of each story ranges from good to masterful. There is seriously not one weak story contained in this collection. Each writer has a great style on their own, but also knows when to pull back and allow their artist to take control. And goodness gracious the art! Again not a single weak artist to be found here. Each story has a distinct look due to the very wide variety of artists, ranging from more or less typical comic book styling to scratchy abstract formats to superbly painted murals that could be viewed completely on their own as original artworks. This book oozes passion from every orifice.
The only real negative I can think of with this collection is that there is no satisfactory conclusion at the end of the story. Each short story leads into the next and it all ends with essentially the comic saying “well, now watch the movie to finish the story!” Normally that would be a problem but in this case I really don’t think it is. The collection makes it abundantly clear that this was never meant to stand on its own, it was made to supplement the film. This is not essential to read in order to understand the film, and vice versa. So the only real point of contention is that I don’t know how hard the film is to find nowadays. I found a Blu-ray copy at my local big lots for $1.50 a couple of years ago, and I personally think the film is amazing. Others may disagree but that’s all up to personal opinion.
In the end what I recommend this collection? That’s a tough one. I would say get it on the strength of some of the stories themselves both in writing and artistically. But just be aware that if you have no access to the film then you only be getting a portion of the overall intended appeal. But even then, it’s only really in the last five stories where things start to happen that are result in the film; most everything before that stands on its own.
TL;DR: this prequel tie-in has not right to be as good as it is. Get it if you like the film, get it if you don’t. It’s good.
What we have here is a prequel comic for a movie that very few people remember/saw, ‘Immortals’. That alone should be the kiss of death for this endeavor, since we all know the kind of reputation tie-ins have (rightfully) earned. Generally they are cheap cash-ins with little to no effort made to make them halfway decent, relying on the marketability of the property it’s promoting.
So now let me tell why this book is amazing.
Seriously, it’s almost unreal how great this book turned out. For starters it’s one of the sexiest hardcover graphic novels I’ve come across in my collecting. A beautiful watercolor portrait of Ares the god of war is framed by goldleaf imprinted onto a faux leather hard cover with no dust jacket. Most of not all marvel and DC hard covers pale in comparison to the production on this one.
Next, the stories themselves. What we have is a collection of 11 short stories over the course of about 110 pages that detail the backdrop for the film. It fills in the gap‘s that go unexplained in the film, such as the war between the guards and the Titans, the building of Tartarus, and more importantly the reasons why in the film Zeus chooses to live among the humans, and the origin of the Beast, a very formidable antagonist in the film. Suffice to say, it’s a bloody origin to say the least.
The writing of each story ranges from good to masterful. There is seriously not one weak story contained in this collection. Each writer has a great style on their own, but also knows when to pull back and allow their artist to take control. And goodness gracious the art! Again not a single weak artist to be found here. Each story has a distinct look due to the very wide variety of artists, ranging from more or less typical comic book styling to scratchy abstract formats to superbly painted murals that could be viewed completely on their own as original artworks. This book oozes passion from every orifice.
The only real negative I can think of with this collection is that there is no satisfactory conclusion at the end of the story. Each short story leads into the next and it all ends with essentially the comic saying “well, now watch the movie to finish the story!” Normally that would be a problem but in this case I really don’t think it is. The collection makes it abundantly clear that this was never meant to stand on its own, it was made to supplement the film. This is not essential to read in order to understand the film, and vice versa. So the only real point of contention is that I don’t know how hard the film is to find nowadays. I found a Blu-ray copy at my local big lots for $1.50 a couple of years ago, and I personally think the film is amazing. Others may disagree but that’s all up to personal opinion.
In the end what I recommend this collection? That’s a tough one. I would say get it on the strength of some of the stories themselves both in writing and artistically. But just be aware that if you have no access to the film then you only be getting a portion of the overall intended appeal. But even then, it’s only really in the last five stories where things start to happen that are result in the film; most everything before that stands on its own.
TL;DR: this prequel tie-in has not right to be as good as it is. Get it if you like the film, get it if you don’t. It’s good.
December 29, 2020
A volume of short stories that preceded the 2011 film of the same name.
The volume is split into two distinct parts, one for each of the names in the subtitle.
Overall, the book is a serviceable affair, although the stories in the second section have a more cohesive narrative flow.
The quality varies wildly from story to story as well. With some, like 'The Age of Hyperion', a short, well-hewn of a man bent until broken, the art and story meld gorgeously. Others, such as 'Dungeon of the Damned' are as roughly assembled as the prison in the tale.
Not a bad book per se, but nothing to thank the Gods for either.
The volume is split into two distinct parts, one for each of the names in the subtitle.
Overall, the book is a serviceable affair, although the stories in the second section have a more cohesive narrative flow.
The quality varies wildly from story to story as well. With some, like 'The Age of Hyperion', a short, well-hewn of a man bent until broken, the art and story meld gorgeously. Others, such as 'Dungeon of the Damned' are as roughly assembled as the prison in the tale.
Not a bad book per se, but nothing to thank the Gods for either.
August 12, 2023
Not gonna lie, but I really loved the lore and unique visual aesthetic of the movie when it came out. Felt bad that it didn't receive much attention and was sort of left as it was. So, imagine my joy at finding this companion piece.
The art is quite good, especially concerning the parts about the Titans and war in the heaven. The stories felt a bit more even towards the end. But I did enjoy reading them.
The art is quite good, especially concerning the parts about the Titans and war in the heaven. The stories felt a bit more even towards the end. But I did enjoy reading them.
April 26, 2022
A cool re imagining of some of the old greek gods and titans. I particularly liked the Prometheus as torturer of humans, and not just a good guy, like he is presented most often.
A great master piece, it a lot of different art styles, that combine different views and personalities of the same gods, truly a great work.
A great master piece, it a lot of different art styles, that combine different views and personalities of the same gods, truly a great work.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 24, 2020
DNF at page 30.
I'm really not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. If you know Greek myth, there's nothing new here. The art and writing are both okay but nothing memorable. I basically got bored since I already knew what was going to happen.
I'm really not sure what I expected, but it wasn't this. If you know Greek myth, there's nothing new here. The art and writing are both okay but nothing memorable. I basically got bored since I already knew what was going to happen.
August 22, 2022
Who doesn't love Greek mythology?? And to experience it in a graphic novel with different lettering, artists, writers is one of the best samplings of creativity in the GN genre. Kudos to this book and its creators.
October 9, 2023
Beautiful Artwork and wonderful prelude to the film. Greatly enjoyed it.
October 18, 2015
Really love the movie, so I was excited when I saw the book on a shelf one day. I guess I had to many expectation because of the movie being so good, but this book had a few interesting parts and illustrations. It was also great how they split the book up into chapters. It made it easier to read and gave people a break in between the stories. In part one of the book called "Gods", it was cool how it started off with an introduction before gettign to the illustrations. I also liked how the people who made the book showed the story of Kronos, his wife, and their children. It was cool to see a different version than what is typically told. It was also cool seeign a lot of the stories that were not told in the movie, like the Titans and why the Gods of Olympus decided to put them in their prison. I especially liked the battle seens of the war between the Gods and the Titans. It was also cool to see the backstory of the main object that was in the movie.
In part two of the book called "Heroes", I liked see the story behind Hyperion, even though it was basically told in the movie. This gives it a lot more depth than what is told in the movie. I liked the drawings in most of the book, except for the chapter called "The Laws of Zeus". I don't know what happened to the illustrations there, but but some parts look pasted on there, like they photoshopped some of it. I don't know, it just some of the drawings felt like they didn't fit together and were just pasted together by different artists. Although it was cool seeing some of the stories behind some of the characters, it got kind of boring towards the end with it being kind of slow and lacking all the action from the first part.
In part two of the book called "Heroes", I liked see the story behind Hyperion, even though it was basically told in the movie. This gives it a lot more depth than what is told in the movie. I liked the drawings in most of the book, except for the chapter called "The Laws of Zeus". I don't know what happened to the illustrations there, but but some parts look pasted on there, like they photoshopped some of it. I don't know, it just some of the drawings felt like they didn't fit together and were just pasted together by different artists. Although it was cool seeing some of the stories behind some of the characters, it got kind of boring towards the end with it being kind of slow and lacking all the action from the first part.
June 10, 2012
I gave this one 2 stars based on the art only. Their is some lovely art and the book itself is beautifully designed. Beyond that, I just wanted to rip my hair out. Greek mythology was my religion growing up. I believed in it far more than the religion forced upon me by my family. As a result I know it by heart. This is based on the film that came out recently which was very beautiful to look at and had Mickey Rourke in it (that's a separate obsession) so it was worth watching for me as a visual experience. The changes to basic Greek mythology were annoying to say the least, but I am not one to spend time watching a film and bitching all the way through it. I try to take the good things from it and deal with the stuff that pisses me off. The book carries that problem even further. It seriously made me so mad I wanted to hurl the book across the room several times--I don't understand why the need to change such a rich tapestry of ideas. The changes are mostly quite stupid as well. The only story I enjoyed at all was one that was specifically connected to the film about a character known as "the beast" that eventually becomes the Minotaur (yeah, that's what I said "becomes" not born as...see what I mean?)---the back story to that character was somewhat interesting. Other than that I say shame on the authors for not relying on the original myths. They are plenty interesting enough to make a graphic novel.
November 7, 2014
I really liked this graphic novel!
I thought it was an excellent depiction if producers would make a prequel to the movie, Immortals.
The artwork was beautiful and the storyline provided so much history to the movie. It was a great read.
I thought it was an excellent depiction if producers would make a prequel to the movie, Immortals.
The artwork was beautiful and the storyline provided so much history to the movie. It was a great read.
March 11, 2015
The graphics were pretty cool I liked some artist more than others. Seemed a little rushed but since it was just a movie tie-in I understand. I've never watched the whole movie in one sitting and this didn't make want to rush to watch it now.
April 14, 2012
Awesome prequel to the movie.
June 8, 2012
Some of the mythology was off & they kept changing artists. Beside that, would be a 4 star read.
February 18, 2013
The six page Jock story is like the greatest thing ever.
June 16, 2013
Pretty cool prequel to the awesome movie!
December 4, 2011
This is a must read for those who love the film Immortals.
January 16, 2014
I'm not claiming to be a Greek mythology expert over here, but this book was a bit off.
March 30, 2017
I liked the movie Immortals Farley well, and when I saw this tie in graphic novel I was intrigued. Seeing the beginning of Kronos throwing his children into the depths and what led Rhea to try to save Zeus was neat. The point of whether she saved Zeus our love for him, hatred of Kronos, or vengeance for the other children. The point being that though her intentions may not have been out of goodness, the outcome served a greater purpose.
I liked the story of how he was raised by humans and how that gave him some compassion for them. A thread of that is shown throughout each of the stories. Seeing how the epic Epirus Bow was made was also a cool point for the book. There are variations between the two (movie vs novel), but the same story is told.
I liked the story of how he was raised by humans and how that gave him some compassion for them. A thread of that is shown throughout each of the stories. Seeing how the epic Epirus Bow was made was also a cool point for the book. There are variations between the two (movie vs novel), but the same story is told.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews