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Athena
The goddess Athena is reborn into our modern world! Written by Doug Murray and illustrated by Paul Renaud and Fabiano Neves, this collection also features a complete cover gallery.
104 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 2009
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29 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
February 19, 2018
The real goddess Athena is coming for these guys and she is not happy.
This is basically Athena's butt as she goes in and out hospitals that have the shortest gowns you have ever seen.
Also blonde, really?
So bad.
This is basically Athena's butt as she goes in and out hospitals that have the shortest gowns you have ever seen.
Also blonde, really?
So bad.
May 7, 2015
"Athena" -- starring the Divine Backside of Godly Grecian Wisdom... and oh yeah, the goddess Athena.
Okay, I'll admit it. The idea of the ancient Greek goddess Athena reappearing in modern times and kicking butt is kind of a cool one, but here's the thing... you have to have a decent story behind the gimmick. Sadly, Doug Murray doesn't manage that; instead we get endless shots of Athena's bottom and a plot that is one part lame cop drama and one part bad "modern" Trojan War.
A naked woman is found unconscious in Greece, and is taken to a hospital. That night, she wakes up and goes wandering off to the Parthenon. One almost-rape and lightning bolt later, and Athena is back in the hospital... where she dons skin-tight clothes and decides to go to New York.
"Several years later" (of course, Athena is no older and thinks nothing of this), she's a police detective in the NYPD and everybody thinks she's awesome. They also come up with contrived reasons to cram her into skintight clothes and have her gyrate sexily at a special competition at Paris' club... yeah, you can see where this is going.
It turns out that Paris has run off with the local gangster Manny's girlfriend, so Manny and his henchmen surround Paris' mansion. Along with her forgettable police sidekick and her brother Ares, Athena must stop the minor conflict... with her bullet-repelling metal bra.
Doug Murray needs to go back to Comic College right away, because he doesn't seem to realize that you need more than a naked bottom and a sexy costume to make a good comic book. And no, jamming in a "modern" version of the Trojan War doesn't help -- it just feels contrived, especially since nobody notices it.
Then again, the real draw of this comic book obviously isn't the scintillating plot -- it's the T&A. Most of the story involves Athena either bouncing around in skintight clothes, or bouncing around in a thong and a small metal breastplate held in place with BANDAGES. There's one hilariously awful scene where Athena shows her surprise by twisting her torso so both her breasts AND butt are facing the reader.
You've got glaring errors (since when is the Parthenon on a CLIFF?), choppy editing (we repeatedly get several pages of backstory RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCENE) and gaping plot holes. The dialogue is clunky ("I will send you to my uncle, Hades. Tartarus is the proper place for one such as you"). And the ending is just a mess -- Murray chickens out on making a REAL finale, so he just has Athena and Ares whining about how fighting with guns isn't "real" war, and lecturing everybody about it.
The worst part is Athena herself, because she is the worst kind of heroine: a Mary Sue. She's superpowered, has a sex kitten body, is an amazing dancer, and she's the bestest awesomest most wonderfullest police detective EVER... and she turns into a scantily-clad goddess who kills people without a qualm. But she's still awesome.
Give "Athena" a pass unless you're looking for a limply-plotted comic that is more interested in sexy women than in any kind of actual story or art. No ifs, ands or butts.
Okay, I'll admit it. The idea of the ancient Greek goddess Athena reappearing in modern times and kicking butt is kind of a cool one, but here's the thing... you have to have a decent story behind the gimmick. Sadly, Doug Murray doesn't manage that; instead we get endless shots of Athena's bottom and a plot that is one part lame cop drama and one part bad "modern" Trojan War.
A naked woman is found unconscious in Greece, and is taken to a hospital. That night, she wakes up and goes wandering off to the Parthenon. One almost-rape and lightning bolt later, and Athena is back in the hospital... where she dons skin-tight clothes and decides to go to New York.
"Several years later" (of course, Athena is no older and thinks nothing of this), she's a police detective in the NYPD and everybody thinks she's awesome. They also come up with contrived reasons to cram her into skintight clothes and have her gyrate sexily at a special competition at Paris' club... yeah, you can see where this is going.
It turns out that Paris has run off with the local gangster Manny's girlfriend, so Manny and his henchmen surround Paris' mansion. Along with her forgettable police sidekick and her brother Ares, Athena must stop the minor conflict... with her bullet-repelling metal bra.
Doug Murray needs to go back to Comic College right away, because he doesn't seem to realize that you need more than a naked bottom and a sexy costume to make a good comic book. And no, jamming in a "modern" version of the Trojan War doesn't help -- it just feels contrived, especially since nobody notices it.
Then again, the real draw of this comic book obviously isn't the scintillating plot -- it's the T&A. Most of the story involves Athena either bouncing around in skintight clothes, or bouncing around in a thong and a small metal breastplate held in place with BANDAGES. There's one hilariously awful scene where Athena shows her surprise by twisting her torso so both her breasts AND butt are facing the reader.
You've got glaring errors (since when is the Parthenon on a CLIFF?), choppy editing (we repeatedly get several pages of backstory RIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A SCENE) and gaping plot holes. The dialogue is clunky ("I will send you to my uncle, Hades. Tartarus is the proper place for one such as you"). And the ending is just a mess -- Murray chickens out on making a REAL finale, so he just has Athena and Ares whining about how fighting with guns isn't "real" war, and lecturing everybody about it.
The worst part is Athena herself, because she is the worst kind of heroine: a Mary Sue. She's superpowered, has a sex kitten body, is an amazing dancer, and she's the bestest awesomest most wonderfullest police detective EVER... and she turns into a scantily-clad goddess who kills people without a qualm. But she's still awesome.
Give "Athena" a pass unless you're looking for a limply-plotted comic that is more interested in sexy women than in any kind of actual story or art. No ifs, ands or butts.
January 2, 2017
(I read the individual digital issues rather than the collected version)
There's two or three stories squished into this 4-issue mini-series, and none of them is particularly well done. You've got your mysterious rebirth of Athena of Greek myth in modern day, which is eventually kind of explained but never really resolved. Then you've got flashbacks to Greek myths, which help set the stage some, but also never really get resolved. And then you've got a modern reinterpretation of the Trojan War with two mob families, which ends up being the central plot, but its resolution is just pretty much idiotic. None of the stories gets the development it needs, and the relationships between them never justify the staging and set-up. And the art has a tendency to the Dynamite style - overly sexualized poses of Athena for little reason, and a less-than impressive amount of detail on everyone else (many of the mobsters look alike, for example). There are a couple of interesting ideas brought up here, but they aren't presented well or developed well. I can't recommend this.
There's two or three stories squished into this 4-issue mini-series, and none of them is particularly well done. You've got your mysterious rebirth of Athena of Greek myth in modern day, which is eventually kind of explained but never really resolved. Then you've got flashbacks to Greek myths, which help set the stage some, but also never really get resolved. And then you've got a modern reinterpretation of the Trojan War with two mob families, which ends up being the central plot, but its resolution is just pretty much idiotic. None of the stories gets the development it needs, and the relationships between them never justify the staging and set-up. And the art has a tendency to the Dynamite style - overly sexualized poses of Athena for little reason, and a less-than impressive amount of detail on everyone else (many of the mobsters look alike, for example). There are a couple of interesting ideas brought up here, but they aren't presented well or developed well. I can't recommend this.
July 28, 2022
While the artwork is beautiful and the retelling of the stories of the Greek gods is ok, the volume is a weak introduction to what was likely intended to be a longer series. The main character's abilities make perfect for her job and the gods still protect her from death in times of crisis. Her true purpose is not revealed here, so it almost feels like a waste of time. Add to that the bland dialogue, the abrupt jumps in the story between modern and mythological times, and the literal deus ex machinas and you get a confusing mess.
The goddess Athena wakes up in modern times, with no memories of her past self. She does have the other gods watching over her as she moves from Greece to the US, working for the police. She excels at interrogation thanks to her innate abilities that were not forgotten. Her father Zeus has a plan for her, only returning her memories, powers and equipment when she is in mortal danger.
The goddess Athena wakes up in modern times, with no memories of her past self. She does have the other gods watching over her as she moves from Greece to the US, working for the police. She excels at interrogation thanks to her innate abilities that were not forgotten. Her father Zeus has a plan for her, only returning her memories, powers and equipment when she is in mortal danger.
February 13, 2021
#Readathon2021 - Graphic Novels // Maria Reads Youtube Channel
This is a retelling of the Trojan war if it took place in modern-day America. Some people complained that Athena was blonde but that is how ancient Greeks described her - blonde and blue-eyed. However, why does she have to fight wearing a bikini bottom? Ancient Greeks fought wearing really short skirts, sorry chitons. She could have been sexy AND historically accurate at the same time.
This is a retelling of the Trojan war if it took place in modern-day America. Some people complained that Athena was blonde but that is how ancient Greeks described her - blonde and blue-eyed. However, why does she have to fight wearing a bikini bottom? Ancient Greeks fought wearing really short skirts, sorry chitons. She could have been sexy AND historically accurate at the same time.
October 20, 2021
There’s a heavy irony in a story which holds as its theme the decline of humanity, the loss of ancient qualities, and does so in a poorly executed comic which completely misrepresents Greek mythology and in particular the tales of the Trojan war.
The writing is confused and cliche-ridden, the art sloppy, and the whole notion of Athena as a hypersexualised amnesiac superhero who helps the police as an undercover (barely under cover) agent is just crass. This is dismal, although there were moments where the art did try to do justice to ancient myths - just not enough of them. The attempt to update the story of Helen of Troy to modern gangland is a failed ripoff of the Romeo + Juliet movie. Just bad.
The writing is confused and cliche-ridden, the art sloppy, and the whole notion of Athena as a hypersexualised amnesiac superhero who helps the police as an undercover (barely under cover) agent is just crass. This is dismal, although there were moments where the art did try to do justice to ancient myths - just not enough of them. The attempt to update the story of Helen of Troy to modern gangland is a failed ripoff of the Romeo + Juliet movie. Just bad.
July 23, 2020
Good grief this was awful. Comics is probably my favorite medium and it really hurts when something like this hits the shelves. Especially when that something isn't done tongue-in-cheek, but done seriously.
I'm sure I've tried to write stuff like this when I was about 12 or so and my friends and I would all giggle, but I think my stuff had better dialogue and was kind of cheeky. This was cheeky alright, out vey!
My advice, stay away!
I'm sure I've tried to write stuff like this when I was about 12 or so and my friends and I would all giggle, but I think my stuff had better dialogue and was kind of cheeky. This was cheeky alright, out vey!
My advice, stay away!
March 3, 2022
TW: death, murder, war themes, cheating, attempted sexual assault, blood
I can tell this was illustrated by a dude because of how Athena was drawn in a too short hospital gown (almost at the top of the thighs) that had her backside exposed and showed that in as many shots as possible.
Same goes with the other Athena. What was her armour? Pretty sure she also had her arse exposed. And then the artwork at the end had a few where Athena was in a thong?! For what reason?!
I can tell this was illustrated by a dude because of how Athena was drawn in a too short hospital gown (almost at the top of the thighs) that had her backside exposed and showed that in as many shots as possible.
Same goes with the other Athena. What was her armour? Pretty sure she also had her arse exposed. And then the artwork at the end had a few where Athena was in a thong?! For what reason?!
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November 27, 2019This book don’t deserve any stars because of it’s ridiculous storyline and sexist graphics towards women! Like why! Why on earth would anyone even decide to publish such a content. Women do not wear skimpy clothes and walk in reality also none would even think of using it for battle. While the men are drawn fully clothed the women are in skimpy wears because that’s how we are in real life!
May 2, 2023
I read the four single issues I received via a Humble Bundle.
The artwork is good, nothing fancy, just good ,but most of the work goes into drawing Athena in the nude. The story on the other hand is abysmal, not worth your time. I am starting to dislike Dynamite Entertainment. It seems that they spend most of their time drawing scantily clad heroines. Put some effort in the story, guys.
The artwork is good, nothing fancy, just good ,but most of the work goes into drawing Athena in the nude. The story on the other hand is abysmal, not worth your time. I am starting to dislike Dynamite Entertainment. It seems that they spend most of their time drawing scantily clad heroines. Put some effort in the story, guys.
July 8, 2022
Great art stupid story
The art in this comic was really good and the characters were so easily identifiable. However the story was like a 3rd grader wrote it. The jumps in PoV and the pointlessness of the action just made me want my time back.
The art in this comic was really good and the characters were so easily identifiable. However the story was like a 3rd grader wrote it. The jumps in PoV and the pointlessness of the action just made me want my time back.
June 26, 2021
Whoa. This was a tough read. I couldn't finish it. It read like a bad Fox show about Diana in the modern world.
August 18, 2022
"Athena* promises much but delivers little more than a sad, unimaginative, derivative mash up of "10th Muse", " Witchblade" and "Wonder Woman" .
October 5, 2023
While the artwork and concept is nice, the book is ridiculously over-sexualized. Hoped for better.
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March 13, 2011not a good read, the writing is quite patchy, and the story is rushed, the book is 100 pages long or so, but to give the story and for that matter the dialogue the room it needs to breathe i could see it running to 200 or more, in fact i could easily see it as a full 12 month series, that'd be 300 pages, and would be enough to fully develop the characters and the, it has to be said intriguing concept of ancient gods in a modern world with no memory of who they are which was interesting enough to have kept me reading, as is the often sumptuous art. if a second volume would to chance across my path then i may read it in the hopes for an improvement.
October 16, 2012
This is a story about a 'what if' situation if the Greek Gods were real and lived in the modern world. There is a moralistic point at the end of the story saying how 'ignoble' humanity today, obsessed with war and wealth.
...well, Ancient Greece wasn't that different either, mate! The Greek Alliance went into a war, if you believe the Homeric lore, because of what was essentially a lover's tiff. If you look at Aristotle's Athenian Constitution you will find a politics of backstabbing and aristocratic values as a barrier to social mobility. I disagree with the premise fundamentally.
With all that said. I thought Athena was a pretty cool character, pretty badass
...well, Ancient Greece wasn't that different either, mate! The Greek Alliance went into a war, if you believe the Homeric lore, because of what was essentially a lover's tiff. If you look at Aristotle's Athenian Constitution you will find a politics of backstabbing and aristocratic values as a barrier to social mobility. I disagree with the premise fundamentally.
With all that said. I thought Athena was a pretty cool character, pretty badass
July 6, 2015
I really wanted to like this book. I am drawn to Athena as a deity for her complexity and particularly for her craft and learning aspects. This book left all of that out in favor of weak action and skimpy outfits. I feel like the author could have done so much more with this, but instead of being original, it was derivative and one dimensional. I particularly object to the skimpy outfits, since Athena is generally depicted as modest. This just was not very good.
May 12, 2011
I think 2.5 is an appropriate score. Its not horrible nor is it a classic , the story is a little bland and dry at times , though the art is really hot. I bought mine for $2 at a Free Comic Book Day Sale so my expectations were lowered considerably.
November 27, 2012
Just bad. Pick a book of the Ancient Greece myths - that' would be much better read
May 10, 2011
So incredibly LAME!
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews