Olympus GN
Publisher: Humanoids/DC
Writers: Geoff Johns and Kris Grimminger
Artist: Butch Guice
When you have four people, two students, and two teachers, searching a remote island for some kind of ancient artifacts, you’ve got a recipe for disaster. Thus is the case with the Humanoids graphic novel Olympus! Written by DC superstar Geoff Johns (GL Rebirth), and Kris Grimminger (The Possessed), and illustrated by Butch Guice (Captain America)!
The students are your typical youths. One interested in the actual archaeological expedition, and one more interested in getting a good tan for spring break. The two young girls are sisters that seem at odds at first, but throughout the story show their true admiration for each other’s lifestyle. The two teachers, Brent Marks and Gail Walker, are somewhat average in the beginning, as well. Later, we see that they have a few qualities that come in handy, and also are very emotionally attached to this expedition. All things seem to be going fine, until the last day when they try to kick back and relax after finding only one thing. An ancient pot that has a type of hieroglyphics on it that tell of the downward spiral of man. After reading the inscription, the weather suddenly turns from sunny to hurricane-like conditions. The adventurous group then encounters another ship. One that contains modern day pirates. The situation turns even worse when the storm tosses the ship violently onto a beach nearby. When everyone gets out, though, they’re all shocked to find themselves misplaced on some foreign island that looks like a paradise. A short few minutes later they find out that this paradise is home to creatures only thought to be mythological. Now the real adventure begins!
OK, so, here’s the deal with Olympus. I’m a big fan of Greek gods and all that stuff, but if you’re not, this book isn’t going to impress you. It had a lot of the typical elements that most comics or graphic novels have these days. Tons of action, eye candy, and the sort, but not a great amount of substance or meat to the story itself. It isn’t terrible or anything, but when you have the reputation that Geoff Johns does as a writer, frankly I was expecting a lot more from the story. Butch Guice is a solid artist and does a good job with the people, the scenery, and especially the mythological creatures. There was one scene, though, where these man-eating birds took off a guy’s head, and it wasn’t quite clear what was going on until I turned the page. Guice did a great job on the cyclops, though. It was really huge and scary looking, and picked up a pirate and chomped down on him! In closing, I’d just like to mention that this is definitely a mature read due to a lot of language and some sexual innuendo. Rating 2.5/5
Billy Dunleavy
billy@comicattack.net
