... this blogger gave to thee...
Needless to say 2021 has been "fun" in as many ways as 2020 was, so finding those little things that made you happy or took your attention fully away from what's been going on was really important for our own sanity. For me, the thing that took me fully out of the pandemic world, away from anxiety, stress and grief, the thing made me ridiculously stupidly happy, was Rachel Smythe's web comic, Lore Olympus.
The modern adaptation of the Greek myth, "The Abduction of Persephone" was created by New Zealand based designer and illustrator, Rachel Smythe, as a weekly web comic, which is hosted on the platform WEBTOON. The series is a spin on the traditional lore surround the Greek Gods, and specifically serialises the relationship between Hades, King of the Underworld, and Persephone, Goddess of Spring. It is written by Smythe, as a soft and romantic, will they won't they, love story, though she doesn't shy away from highlighting the characters emotional fragility and the after affects of traumatic events.
This is steering away from the traditional myth, in which Hades is so in love with the young Goddess, that he abducts her, and tricks her into eating a pomegranate seed, a food of the Underworld, meaning she has remain there and could only return to Olympus for half the year. In Smythes lore, the attraction is mutual, both characters meeting in a roundabout way at a party, Hades head already turned by the beauty of Persephone, before they've even been introduced, going as far as commenting to his brothers (Zeus and Poseidon) that "Honestly, I think she puts Aphrodite to shame." (Lore Olympus, Episode 3, March 4th 2018)
Hades heart pounding, love at first sight, sweater boy reaction to seeing Persephone for the first time, is basically all you need to know about the King of the Underworld. In the world of Lore Olympus, he's very much the misunderstood deity, who while running Underworld Corp and deciding what happens to the souls of mortals after after they die and enter the Underworld, perpetuates the image of the cold, hard and malevolent businessman. But in fact he's a soft, damaged and kind person, and those are the qualities that Persephone brings out in him as their relationship grows.
Persephone herself is a sweet, naïve and hard working (though slightly feral) goddess, who lives an incredibly sheltered life with her mother Demeter, to the point where she doesn't fully understand her potential power, or how to control it, which is dangerous for an emotionally led Goddess. Moving to Olympus to attend school, she's also a candidate to become a member of The Goddesses of Eternal Maidenhood, a group of Olympians who have sworn an oath of eternal virginity, something which isn't entirely in her own hands. In meeting Hades, Persephone finds her truest ally, someone who would do anything and everything to keep her safe and happy...
... needless to say, I instantly fell in love with Hades, Persephone and Lore Olympus, and I devoured about a hundred and forty episodes in the space of a couple of weeks (episode 187 was published on boxing day). I took every spare moment to read a little bit more, and I have steadily become more and more obsessed by this beautiful and compelling series. Honestly, I don't remember fangirling about anything quite as much as this before, and I'm not mad about it.
From the beautiful illustrations, which when you read it online wind, swirl and blend together on the browser, to the limited but vibrant colour scheme and almost soap like arc, it has genuinely been one of the highlight of my year. It has brought me such immense joy that I look forwards to a new episode being published every Sunday, and though I inevitably also forget about it by as soon as Sunday come, I get to be all excited when I remember half way through the day and rush to read the next episode.
And I'm not alone.
Lore Olympus became WEBTOON's most popular comic in 2020, with 963.6 million views and 5.5 million subscribers to the series as of December 28th 2021. It has been nominated for multiple awards for best webcomic, and won Best Graphic Novel and Comic (2021) at the Good Reads Choice Awards and the Harvey Awards, Digital Book of the Year (2021). And to top off 2021, not only was Lore Olympus: Volume One published by Penguin Random House in November (with Volume 2 to follow in February) but it swiftly became a New York Times Best Seller, and it was announced that Netflix alongside the Jim Henson Company was to create an animated series based on Smythes' illustrations due (potentially) for release in 2022. Something to look forward too.
As soon as I heard the book was being published I pre-ordered it. My first ever pre-order in fact, swiftly followed by my second as the sequel was listed. And then in November - as I counted down the days, getting progressively more excited - it dropped through my letterbox. And it was beautiful and I've protectively left in it's envelope until I can find somewhere safe for it to live.
The news of an animated series however, has me both incredibly excited, but also a little scared if I'm honest. A huge part of why I love this webcomic is the illustration style Smythe uses. It's an integral part of what originally drew me to the series, Hades tall, broad and angular image in shades of blue, contrasting Persephone's curved, rounded and petit pink appearance, and other characters in jewel tones of purple, green, gold, red and purple, and there's a beautiful texture to the drawing style, so it's important that the aesthetic it there. However, the idea of Jim Henson, whose work I've adored throughout my life but associate so strongly with Muppets and puppetry in films, such as Labyrinth (1986) or Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)... I don't know if I want that aesthetic for Lore Olympus. But I can't find anything to say it will be puppets, maybe it won't be or maybe it will and I'll love it, but I guess only time will tell.
Frankly if I don't post anything else for the 12 Days this year, or if you don't read or take any other recommendation, go and seek out Lore Olympus, please. I can't in writing explain how much this series means to me, or how much joy it's brought over the past year, but it's special.
Merry Christmas! Part two soon...
Link || Lore Olympus Netflix Release Date: When Will The Animated Series Air? by Ripan Majumdar via Otakuart
Link || Netflix's Lore Olympus: Are We Eyeing Towards 2022 Release? by Lokesh Bhardwaj via Gizmo Story
Link || The Jim Henson Company & Webtoons: Lore Olympus Animated Series via Pomegranet
Listening: All I Want For Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey
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