Lore Olympus Read-A-Likes

The third week of March is World Folktales and Fables week!  As a huge fan of tales and their ilk, I’ve decided to share some fun comics about gods and their very human shenanigans, with a focus towards Persephone's story (and a bonus!).

YA Reads

Lore Olympus by Rachel Smythe

Currently a very hot topic with comic fans everywhere, this is a retelling of the age old tale of Hades and Persephone. Don’t let that fool you though! While you might have heard the tale of Hades and Persephone before, Rachel Smythe’s version has modernized it into a very dramatic high school drama of sorts that makes it a fun ride throughout. It was originally a webtoon, on the comic platform by app giant LINE, Webtoon. Due to its popularity, it’s been picked up by Del Ray and published in physical form. Volume 1 has been released, and covered chapters 1-25. If you can’t wait (like me!), head on over to Webtoon and continue reading the saga! It just hit chapter 190, and author Smythe is taking a hiatus to prep more chapters for us impatient readers! All we can do is…reread the whole thing again! (Tip for readers of the webtoon version – the physical copy has an extra that wasn't released on the website. So if you've read the webtoon but not the hard copy, make sure to check that out too!)

Punderworld by Linda Sejic

Punderworld is Hades and Persephone’s romance…but 100% more awkward. If you thought your crush was bad, Hades and Persephone have been crushing on each other for two centuries. Liquid courage at a festival finally give them that little push needed…but as Greek gods would have it, meddlesome is their middle name. Misunderstandings abound and you can only hope that Hades and Persephone’s long awaited relationship will eventually blossom happily! This is another published webtoon-turned-graphic novel, also available on Webtoon. Season 1 has ended, so similarly to Lore Olympus, Punderworld is in hiatus.

Persephone by Loïc Locatelli-Kournwsky

This is a retelling of Demeter and Persephone, in a modernized, fantastical world. Persephone is a growing teenage girl that struggles to find herself in the shadow of her mother’s heroic presence. As she begins to have recurring nightmares, Persephone starts to wonder about all the secrets being kept from her. Things are not as they seem as she starts off on an adventure to find out exactly what those secrets are and how they affect her.

Adult Reads

Persephone: Hades' Torment by Allison Shaw

Hades and Persephone’s love story is a classic, and if you haven’t had enough of it from Lore Olympus, definitely check out this version out. This retelling is more faithful to it’s ancient Greece setting, and is more suitable towards the adults, as the UST ranks up (by a lot). If you love spicier romance novels, this is the retelling you’re looking for. The single volume covers the whole story, so no waiting needed here! You can pick this up and finish it as you wait for Lore Olympus to return from hiatus.

The Wicked + The Divine by Kieron Gillen

If you’re looking for the more mind-bending side of godly chaos, look no further than The Wicked + The Divine. It’s a wild ride straight from the start, and you’ll be scratching your heads…but unable to put the volume down. Twelve gods are reborn over and over again into young adults. Their presence is a supernova to the regular people, and like a supernova, they’re always gone in two years. The cycle has begun again, but this time, things seem a little bit different. This story addresses the themes of life and death, as the gods are reborn and while they gain the brilliance and superpowers of gods, there’s also an immediate expiration date to their lives.

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

I had to sneak this in. Nothing to really do with the Greek Pantheon, but Neil Gaiman never fails to deliver. American Gods is a novel, turned live-action drama, turned graphic novel(s). Gods are more human than ever, and as time progresses, humanity starts to believe enough in other things that new gods are born. But gods are as petty as humans (perhaps more so since, y’know, gods and egos!) The story definitely doesn’t go where you expect it, and it’s a wild ride to the end.