Hello folks!

This past week, I went out and caught the newest iteration of Clash of the Titans in my local cineplex, and while I thought the film was okay, I spent most of the time wondering why neither of the writers (there were two of them) had bothered to ever pick up any sort of Greek mythology book and do some research. Heck, I would have settled for them just re-watching the original. However, I am not here today to speak on the sadness that was the new CotT script, I wanted to talk about Greek mythology in comics.

Like any form of popular culture, trends are always coming and going, and comics are no exception. One year there will be 10 new westerns, the next year, zombies will be in every other title. This year though, it seems that the fickle lady that is pop culture has made greek mythology cool again. Everywhere you look, there is a Greek god just waiting to say hello. From Percy Jackson to Marvel’s Hercules, Greek is chic. As I am the editor on MYTHOI (a book that also deals with mythology, though not just that Greek stuff), the increase in the popularity of mythology stands out to me. There are plenty of books out there on the subject right now, but are all of them good? I think not. Let’s take a look at some of the mythology heavy comics that are on the market today:

GREEK STREET from DC comic’s Vertigo imprint takes characters like Opedipus, Dionysis, and Agamemnon and retells their stories in a modern setting . Writer Peter Milligan obviously knows his Greek myths, but he takes a great many liberties with the stores.  Davide Gianfelice provides moody art that fits the story well, but just doesn’t do it for me.

THE OLYMPIANS graphic novels by George O’Conner are a series of books that focus on Greek Gods (Zeus, Athena, Ares) and are aimed at educating and entertaining a younger audience. The art is fun, in an Michael Avon Oeming sort of way, but the story is somewhat lacking. I know this can seem critical of a book aimed at children, but that’s just how I feel.

THE AVENGERS only makes this list because of Ares recent involvement with the Avengers. The only way that this relates at all to mythology is that Ares is in fact the Greek god of war (which he reminds someone of every issue he is in). He is a fun character though, and it’s nice to see him get some play.

OLYMPUS by Devil’s due productions is the story of two brothers that are bound to work for Zeus and wind up tracking down a rogue god. Nathan Edmonson has put together a fun script that builds well from the original material, and Christian Ward has a fin and exciting art style that tells the story well. It’s a shame that this book only lasted 4 issues.

PANTHEON by IDW was just announced at Wondercon and sprang from the mind of  The Shield’s Michael Chiklis. The story, writen by Marc Andreyko focuses Greek Gods returning to a messed up Earth to battle for the fate of mankind against the titans. The art will be by Stephen Molner. This series looks interesting, but series that spring from a celebrity are rarely awesome.

GOD COMPLEX by Image looks at the Greek god Apollo living amongst us mere mortals, and the shenanigans that ensue. Michael Avon Oeming co-writes the book with Daniel Berman, and while Oeming knows his gods, the whole “deity living among us” idea is kind of played out. John Broglia provides art that looks so much like Oeming, I wouldn’t know Michael didn’t do it if not for the credits, which is not a bad thing. This book is still fairly new, so time will tell if the book is any good, but it’s off to a good start.

While there might be plenty of books out right now with a focus on Greek myth, finding one that is a) good and b) true to the source material is no easy thing. Eventually the pop culture bandwagon will move on to something else (I would be partial to clowns being cool again), but until then enjoy all the coolness that Greek myth has to offer. Thanks for stopping in folks, I’ll see you next week.

Greetings folks!

For those that haven’t heard, MYTHOI Births: WIGLAF was just released (you can read it here) and it rocks. Jed and James really kicked @$$ on this one. I was so impressed with the awesomeness of the book, that I went back and read Beowulf. And the Bible. All of it. Furthermore, my list today is ten of my favorite historical epics in honor of Wiglaf. This is a cross-media list, so film, books, video games, and anything else are fair game. If the story is epic, and the time period is.… well, historical, it could be on this list. Enjoy!

1) BRAVEHEART: Oh man, BRAVEHEART is intense. The story is gripping, the battles are fierce, and the kilts are plentiful. Oh, and if you don’t cry at the end of the film, you might be heartless.

2) ASSASSIN’S CREED: The only video game on the list, Assassin’s creed takes the game player back to the time of the crusades to go and kill people (as assassins are wont to do). This one might be a bit of a cheat, but man this game is pretty.

3) MONGOL: A great historical piece about the rise of Genghis Khan, the baddest mamma-jamma this side of Sho-nuff.

4) 300: The movie was a ton of fun, but the comic, about 300 Spartans showing the Persians what’s what, was Frank Miller at his best.

5) LAST OF THE MOHICANS: The Cooper book left me a little cold, but I loved the movie.

6) GLADIATOR: This movie had Russell Crowe at his very best, and Ridley Scott was no slouch either behind the camera. What really gets me every time I watch this movie though, is Joaquin Phoenix just going bat-s#!t crazy as Emperor Commodus.

7) THE MISTS OF AVALON: I’m a big fan Aurthurian legend, and THE MISTS OF AVALON was a  very different and interesting take on the story. I know Mr. Wolff will make fun, but I still liked it.

CLASH OF THE TITANS: The movie that anyone born in the 1980’s saw a thousand times while in school, CLASH is awesome. They are remaking this movie, and it looks pretty awesome, but I don’t know if anything can stack up to the original.

9) THE ILIAD: The ancient Greek poem about the ten year Trojan War. And a great cautionary tail about what can happen when you chase tail. The movie TROY was good, but was only the reader’s digest version of this epic.

10) ROBIN HOOD: Bandits, politics, corruption, sex, the crusades, ROBIN HOOD has it all. There are many versions of this story, but in my opinion, the best one is the animated Disney version. Oo-da-lolly!

Thanks for tuning in folks, and don’t forget to go check out MYTHOI Births: WIGLAF!