George O'Connor

Boom! Pow! Crash! Greek Gods as you’ve never seen them before! The strong, larger-than-life heroes of the Olympians can summon lightning, control the sea, turn invisible, or transform themselves into any animal they choose. Superheroes? No! Greek gods. The ancient pantheon comes to explosive life in this new series where myth meets comic books. Epic battles, daring quests, and terrible monsters await readers within the pages of these books. Volume 2, Athena: Grey-Eyed Goddess, is the tale of the goddess of wisdom and war, recounting her many adventures. Review in 3/15 Kirkus Following the series opener that chronicled Zeus’s origin story, O’Connor’s next relates the details of his daughter Athena’s birth and some of the stories about her. The three Fates narrate in stately language, briefly recapping the rise of the Olympians before turning to Zeus’s relationship with Metis, which ends when he eats her to avoid his prophesied overthrow by their child. Following Athena’s miraculous emergence from his head, fully grown, she struggles to find her place in the world and among the gods. The Fates go on to recount how she adopted the first name Pallas and acquired the components of her Aegis, which includes the story of Perseus and Andromeda, and Athena’s confrontation with Arachne. While less unified in narrative structure than the previous book, this nevertheless shares its strengths—a balance between heightened narration and colloquial dialogue, superb graphic storytelling with extended wordless action sequences, energetic backmatter and a palpable fondness for the subject matter. Up next? Hera. (author’s note, character profiles, “G[r]eek Notes,” discussion questions, bibliography) (Graphic mythology. 8-14) GEORGE O'CONNOR is the author of several picture books, including the New York Times bestseller Kapow!, Kersplash, and Sally and the Some-thing. His debut graphic novel, Journey into Mohawk Country, was published by First Second, as was Adam Rapp's Ball Peen Hammer, which O'Connor illustrated.

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