This might seem a disingenuous way to start a review but I don't think I can improve on these extracts from the blurb on the back cover: ‘This striking comic book collection is the perfect introduction to the world of the gods – containing six tales full of love, loss, greed, envy and bravery. Bursting with detail and humour, James Davies’ retelling of the Greek myths will delight readers of all ages.’
The stories are told in comic-strip format with all sorts of grotesque characters, amusingly drawn. The main stories are of Pandora's Box, Theseus and the Minotaur, Perseus and Medusa, Orpheus and Eurydice, the Trojan Horse and the Labours of Heracles, each told in six pages. Interspersed are pages illustrating the main gods, heroes, heroines and mythical creatures (the deadlier the better!).
What made this book so compelling for me (as someone who is familiar with the myths) was the casual humour. Here are some examples. When Kronos heard that one of his children would overthrow him ‘So, naturally, he started to eat them’. That ‘naturally’ is very clever! One of the young Athenians in the queue to be fed to the Minotaur cries out ‘But I've got a note from my mum’. When Perseus gets out of the box (his first words are ‘I need a wee’) and is out fishing with Diktys, he asks ‘What sort of fish is this?’ to which the fisherman (in pirate mode for some bizarre reason) replies ‘Argh, that'd be a sandal, lad’. Orpheus’ comment on entering Tartarus is ‘I'm just visiting. Love what you've done with the place’. And there's a note pinned to the Wooden Horse: ‘Dear Paris, we give up. Sorry about all that war. Here's horse for you – it's a Greek tradition – honest. See you soon, (signed) Odysseus’.
This really is a book for everyone, from primary school children to the most gnarled of old gnarled Classicists. It's the ideal present.
Open access
