About the Book
-
Author:
- George O'Connor
Cover Story: A Little Busy
Drinking Buddy: Eep…
Testosterone Estrogen Level: Girls Rule
Talky Talk: Blessed are the Greek
Bonus Factors: Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch, Art
Bromance Status: Sign Sophie Up!
Cover Story: A Little Busy
Brian: Good picture of the title character, though she seems so preoccupied with shooting her name, she doesn’t notice the attacking giants or the deer running between her legs.
Sophie: I liked how it showed a little bit of everything. It has the guy she turned into a deer in one corner and Otus and Ephialtes in the other.
The Deal:
A graphic novel tells the life of goddess Artemis, one of Zeus’s many daughters with a mortal woman. We’re told various stories from the point of view of her mother, her twin brother Apollo, and various other people in her life.
Drinking Buddy: Eep…
Brian: Oh, Your Highness…I tremble in awe at your skills with the bow and at hunting. The thing is, you kind of have a little tendency to…kill…any man that gets too close to you. If it’s all the same to you, I’ll just leave an offering at your temple…Your Majesty (bows my way out of the room).
Sophie: She’s funny and athletic, I like that. She was smart, the way she killed the giants (two monsters who had their eyes on her and Hera).
Testosterone Estrogen Level: Girls Rule
Brian: Goddess of young women, nature, hunting and archery. She’s the whole package. This woman is so tough that she played midwife at her own brother’s birth…her twin brother.
Artemis took an early vow of chastity, having little use for the company of men, as hunter Actaeon found out to his regret. Even when Artemis befriended hunter Orion, she rebuked his amorous advances, saying they could only be friends. He’d understand that, right?
Sophie: There was a lot of action and it moved very quick. My personal favorite part was with Orion, especially the part where he was determined to kill every animal in the world. He fights a bunch of legendary monsters, including…a gorilla.
Talky Talk: Blessed are the Greek
Brian: This is a warts-and-all view of Greek myths. I was worried I was going to have to have the ‘talk’ with Sophie when we learn that Artemis’s mother, Leto, became pregnant after hanging out with Zeus. And there’s a scene where Zeus, Poseidon, and Ares have a literal pissing contest to create Orion.
But Artemis is the true hero here. Despite her temper, she’s something modern girls can aspire to: athletic, free-spirited, and above all, super-confident.
Please don’t turn me into a stag.
Sophie: It had very accurate portrayals of the gods. I thought Hera’s part was really good. She was very sarcastic, and I’ve always thought of her as the sort of girl who’d be very sarcastic.
Bonus Factor (Brian): Meanwhile, Back at the Ranch
In addition to Artemis’s story, we get a few mini sagas about heroes like Atalanta and Orion.
Bonus Factor (Sophie): The Art
I liked the art. Very crisp lines. The legendary animals were cool, like the bonosos, the catoblepas, and the eale.
Bromance Status: Sign Sophie Up!
A society of nature-loving women who do good deeds and forswear the company of boys forever? Where do I sign my daughter up?
FTC full disclosure: I received no golden drachmas or US dollars for writing this review, though I did get a free copy of the book from Hermes.
