How did I not get on Lore Olympus before today?

I recently received a gifted copy of Lore Olympus from the publisher. I was excited about this one because I’ve been wanting to get more into graphic novels and why not restart that with something that modernizes Greek mythology. But omg, I didn’t actually realize that this story would be so good. And now I’m asking myself why I didn’t pick this up on Webtoons before today?

Here’s more about Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Experience the propulsive love story of two Greek gods—Hades and Persephone—brought to life with lavish artwork and an irresistible contemporary voice.

Scandalous gossip, wild parties, and forbidden love—witness what the gods do after dark in this stylish and contemporary reimagining of one of mythology’s most well-known stories from creator Rachel Smythe. Featuring a brand-new, exclusive short story, Smythe’s original Eisner-nominated web-comic Lore Olympus brings the Greek Pantheon into the modern age with this sharply perceptive and romantic graphic novel.

This volume collects episodes 1-25 of the #1 WEBTOON comic, Lore Olympus.

Find it on Amazon | Find it on Bookshop.org

My thoughts

Ok, I’m going to keep this brief because I was really in love with the first volume of Lore Olympus enough that I went online and read the rest of the series on Webtoons. Yep, if you needed a mythological romance between the most notorious couples of the Underworld, then this is the one for you.

It centers around the love of Hades and Persephone and they’re probably my favorite couple from all of myths. When I heard that this story was based on that, I was so ready for it. However, I didn’t think it would be a modern take on this mythology. I loved the modernization (which is only within Olympus. The real world is still living in the BCE area) and it lends itself so well to the wild lives these gods and goddesses live. I wonder if that says a lot about modern society, but let’s not get into that.

On top of being the story between Hades and Persephone, there’s also additional stories from all the other Greek gods, which makes it more exciting. The issues these gods face are so closely related to the ones we have in real life that you won’t have any problems with relating to the story.

And the romance. OMG, I think this might be the first time I’m reading a romantic graphic novel as most of the ones I read are filled with murder and revenge, so it’s a wonderful departure from those gorey stories and reading about the modern romantic problems set with Greek gods just works. You’ll want to keep reading just to see if Persephone and Hades get together in the end (spoiler alert: they do).

So if you’re a fan of Greek mythology and all the retellings coming out nowadays, I would highly recommend this one. Start with the webtoon, fall in love, and then pick up a copy of the volumes for your bookshelf. I know I’ll definitely get the rest for mine.