Growing up, I was a big fan of Greek myths. There was something about those stories that were endlessly fascinating, from major stories like “The Odyssey” to smaller tales involving Olympians like Zeus, Hera, Aphrodite and more. They felt like something magical that also translated to the real world well, and I couldn’t get enough.
I wasn’t the only one though, as cartoonist George O’Connor was a fan as well. He grew up obsessed with the Olympians, and that has helped drive him to create his magnum opus: his own interpretations of the stories behind the 12 greatest of the Olympians. As a fellow fan of the gods, I was enthused at the idea of reading comic adaptations of these stories, and O’Connor’s work through First Second Books did nothing short but enthrall me. His work is tremendous, and he does a marvelous job of weaving together some very complex stories into singular narratives.
The latest volume dropped on January 27th, and it focuses on Ares, the God of War, and I spoke with O’Connor about the book, his history with the Greek gods, why he has taken this project on, and much more. Thanks to O’Connor for chatting with me, and if you or your children are interested in the Olympians yourselves, I couldn’t recommend his work enough.
With things like the Percy Jackson series increasing the popularity of Greek myths amongst younger readers, it’s a good time to be focusing on them as a creator. For you, though, what made you want to tell the tales of these gods in comic form?
GO: I was infatuated with the Greek Gods since the third grade, always drawing them and reading retellings of their adventures. This obsession with all things Greek and mythological lead to my exhausting my library’s cache of Greek mythology books, so I branched out into other cultures’ mythologies: Native American, African, Egyptian, Norse. From Norse mythology I got Marvel’s The Mighty Thor, which was my entry point into comics. As a result, mythology and comics have always been inextricably linked in my mind, so it only made sense to retell mythology in comics form. Greek mythology was my first and greatest love, so here we are.
GO: Part of it is that kids seem to have an ease with and attraction to multisyllabic names and factoids—think dinosaurs. Nearly every child goes through a phase in which they can rattle off the names of triceratops and velociraptor and what they ate and who they fought. The other part, a huge part for me growing up, is that reading about Greek myths, drawing Greek mythology—these stories were full of violence and monsters and sex and all kinds of stuff that I wouldn’t have been able to read about or draw without a trip to the principal’s office. By virtue of being classic, Greek mythology gets a pass on the sort of stuff we try to shield kids from, and as a result, actually enriches the reading experience for children.
One thing I thought was interesting was in the back of Aphrodite how you talked about your difficulty in distilling the image of the Goddess of Love with your art. You definitely have your own flavor with each of them. I’m curious, how much of bringing these characters to life was focused on previously established looks, and how much was built around you doing what felt right to you?
GO: The first step I take is to see if there are any visual cues in the ancient texts as to what the god or goddess in question looked like. The ancient Greeks were somewhat loathe to give too many physical details about what their deities looked like- I guess if a god could appear as a man, or a bull, or a swan, or what have you, physical descriptions are fleeting at best. But the old authors will drop a few details, here and there. I think for many people the popular conception of Poseidon is a white haired man of the sea, but in several sources, like both the Orphic and Homeric hymns, he is specifically mentioned as having dark hair. So my Poseidon is a dark haired god.
Continued belowBeyond that, I do look at many sources, both ancient and modern, to try and get the feel of my design for each god just right. You mentioned Aphrodite—aside from a few mentions of her eye color (the same as the sea) and her eyelashes (dark) I couldn’t find many ancient written descriptions of her appearance. I did know that the ancient Greeks viewed her as being foreign, and exotic—and, as the sole Olympian not blood related to Zeus, I saw that as an opportunity to bring some color into the family. Moreover, the ideal of feminine beauty has changed quite a bit since the heyday of Aphrodite. Her hair I straight up copped from Botticelli, but her face, figure and complexion are a mix of Sofia Vergara and Beyonce.
GO: Poseidon was, hands down, the most difficult book to write. I try to find the relatable human side of each god and sometimes, yeah, that can be tricky, especially if the god in question is a zero-to–crazy-in-60-seconds water god. But that’s also the part I enjoy the most. Trying to find the personality of these gods, as interpreted through these old stories–that’s the whole reason I do the series. The real trickiest part of creating Olympians is the thumbnailing stage. Trying to cram all my ideas into a coherently laid out comic, hoo boy, that’s tough.
Ares as a god seems like one that might have been difficult. For a god of war, he was most famously known as the losing side in the Trojan War (to Athena, who always seemed to play his role better), and even in the terms of the rest of the Olympians, he was pretty unlikable in stories. Were there any unique difficulties that came with bringing that volume to life?
GO: Ares has been, traditionally, the closest thing the Olympians have to a straight-up villain—he’s a psychopathic murdering machine—but in my research I did turn up an interesting trait of his that appears in several stories. In the Iliad, he is the only god who is seen to really mourn the death of one of his children, a minor character, the Greek hero Askalaphos. There are other myths too, wherein Ares is shown to be, if not a devoted father, than at least a caring one. That became something for me to build a more sympathetic portrayal of Ares off of, rather than just show him as a two-dimensional killer. The trickiest part of Ares was distilling the subject matter—the Iliad—into a sixty-six page comic that didn’t feel like a graphic Cliff’s Notes, and that painted a coherent portrait of the personality of the god.
I love the backmatter, from the afterword you write to the study questions. Why do you include that? Is it in hopes that those who read it will take their interest in these gods beyond the book?
GO: Yeah, it’s also why I include a bibliography and suggested reading. I love things like commentary tracks and easter eggs, stuff that enhances the whole experience of a work of art. For me, it’s a chance for me to make a few jokes, impart a little something of my personality, and point out something interesting I discovered in my own readings that I feel might be of interest to other like-minded folks. So many people think of research as something boring, but for me it can lead down such a wonderful rabbit hole of weird discovery.
GO: I’ve always felt that the perceived depiction of violence and bloodshed is more arresting than an explicit display of it. Gore can get very tiresome and very desensitizing very quickly. The opening sequence of Ares: Bringer of War, in which he massacres a platoon of Athenian soldiers, is probably the most violent thing I’ve depicted in the series so far, but there’s not all that much blood. I think the gruesomeness and horror of what Ares does is still conveyed effectively without bogging it down in blood and entrails.
You’ve worked with seven of the Olympians so far, so you’re more than halfway. Out of all of the tales you’ve tackled so far, which one was the most fun for you to work on? Is there a god you personally enjoy the most?
GO: My two favorite gods to write are Hera and Hermes, with Athena coming in right behind. I’ve already done Hera’s book, but Hermes is going to have to wait until volume #10. I honestly don’t know if I have one favorite tale to single out—every book so far has had multiple high points for me- I think I would have had trouble writing and drawing these otherwise. That said, I think Hera: The Goddess and Her Glory is my fave, all together, with my favorite bit in that being her interaction with Zeus and Io.
Speaking of, it’s obvious why Zeus was first, but how did you decide the order of the rest?
GO: Zeus was the natural god to go to for book number one—as king of the gods we follow his narrative thread throughout all the books. The rest of the order of the series was decided through a combination of various reasons. Athena was volume two because I wanted to (A) focus on a goddess, (B) focus on a second generation Olympian, and (C) her story, especially in how it relates to her mother Metis, functioned very much as a direct sequel to Zeus. Pretty much the rest of the series was determined by whether or not I was building off of stories or characters previously established in earlier volumes, trying to get a good selection of male and female characters, and finally, spacing out my favorite gods so I always had something to look forward to. That’s why Hermes is #10, for instance, saving him for later.
Apollo’s up next, and he’s one of the most complicated and interesting of them all. What’s your process for bringing one of these tales to life, from research to release?
GO: Like you said, research is first. I read and read, ancient accounts, not retellings. It’s part of the job of a storyteller to add your own twist to retellings, and I want to make sure I’m not accidentally appropriating another reteller’s embellishments.
Then I spend a lot of time in my sketchbooks, sketching the characters, writing notes, drawing key scenes. I talk the ear off of anyone around me at this point, as I try and figure out my hook for each god’s depiction. With Apollo, for instance, I’ve talked a lot about how, for such a well-loved god, he’s pretty much a creep in most of his myths. I’ll muse upon this, why does he act the way he does, why was he depicted this wat, what would he be like in person if I were to meet him.
After I have a handle on him, I go to thumbnails (so hard!), and from thumbnails to rough sketches. I finalize the script at this point too, and from there I go to finished artwork, then colors, then finally, ship it off to the printer and collapse for a couple of weeks. This whole process can take anywhere from six months to over a year (looking at you, Poseidon). It’s a lot of work, and I’m always working right up to the deadline, but, seriously, for a Greek Myth nerd like me, I have the best job in the world.