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Lore Olympus

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Lore Olympus
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The banner art for Lore Olympus
Author(s)Rachel Smythe
WebsiteWEBTOON
Current status/scheduleUpdates every Sunday
Launch dateMarch 4, 2018
Publisher(s)WEBTOON
Genre(s)Romance
Rating(s)9.77 Stars on WEBTOON

Lore Olympus is a romance webcomic created by New Zealand artist Rachel Smythe.[1] The comic is a modern retelling of the relationship between the Greek goddess and god Persephone and Hades. It began publishing weekly on WEBTOON in March 2018.[2] Lore Olympus is currently the most popular comic on the WEBTOON platform; as of January 2020 it had 299 million views,[3] and as of August 2020 WEBTOON reported that it had 4.1 million subscribers.[4] The comic has been nominated for an Eisner Award[5][6] and a Ringo Award,[7][8] and a television series based on the comic is under development.[9]

Plot and themes

Lore Olympus is an adaptation of the classic Greek myth, ‘The Abduction of Persephone' in a mostly modern setting.[2][10] The webcomic includes modern technology such as smartphones, sports cars, and tabloids.[11][12] However, scenes in the realm of the mortals take place in the time of the original myths.[12] The comic deals with strong themes of rape, harassment, abuse, and trauma.[13]

The story begins with Hades attending a party of Zeus's after his partner Minthe breaks up with him.[14] Persephone has been allowed to leave the mortal realm and visit Olympus by her mother, Demeter.[15] Hades takes notice of Persephone and comments to his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon that Persephone's beauty rivals that of Aphrodite. Out of jealousy, Aphrodite calls on her son, Eros, to get Persephone extremely intoxicated and dump her in the back seat of Hades' car in an attempt to have her embarrass herself in front of Hades. After their initial encounter from this incident, Hades and Persephone both express an interest in each other and become a couple.[14]

Plots in season one of the webcomic include Persephone seeking Hades' help to bring back friends who died when mortals uprooted sacred plants, a scheme by Minthe, Thanatos and Thetis to ruin Persephone's reputation, the rape of Persephone by Apollo, and Persephone's conflicted thoughts over a college scholarship that requires her to refrain from sex.[16]

Major characters

The following characters are central to plot lines in the comic and make regular appearances:

  • Persephone is the goddess of spring, depicted as a young pink woman. She is a naive, warmhearted newcomer to Olympian life, and is searching for her independence.[2] Persephone is 19 years old. She has prehensile hair which responds to her emotions in varying levels, sometimes by growing or sprouting flowers. She strives to become self-sufficient and to maintain a positive, hard-working attitude. While a kind, caring and somewhat naive individual, Persephone also harbours a dark secret. She allegedly massacred a mortal village for unknowingly uprooting her handmaidens, the sacred flower nymphs. Persephone is a candidate of The Goddesses of Eternal Maidenhood, a group who have all sworn an oath of virginity for all eternity. However, she is working on leaving the group, because she is no longer a virgin due to being raped by Apollo. She is also an intern at Underworld Corp working as a Shade Coordinator.
  • Hades is the god of the Underworld and brother to Zeus and Poseidon, depicted as a blue businessman.[2] The reviewer for Love in Panels! described Hades as "the ultimate sensitive emo guy."[14] Unlike in traditional mythology, Hades is not related to Persephone; Smythe changed this to avoid a story about incest.[17] Hades is a member of the Six Traitors Dynasty.
  • Hera is the goddess of marriage and family, Queen of the gods, and Zeus' wife, depicted as a petite golden woman with long, perfectly coiffed hair. She is constantly seen drinking or smoking and is unhappy in her marriage to Zeus. Hera is a member of the Six Traitors Dynasty.[citation needed] Hera in Lore Olympus is a feminist.[14]
  • Eros is the god of love and son of Aphrodite. He is depicted as a tall, muscular pink man who enthusiastically creates and supports relationships. Eros has seven younger siblings from his mother, and has a relationship with Psyche.
  • Zeus is the King of the gods and Hades' and Poseidon's brother, depicted as a purple businessman with long straight hair. Zeus is an adulterer[2] who shows constant promiscuous behavior. Zeus is a member of the Six Traitors Dynasty.
  • Apollo is the god of the sun, music and prophecy, depicted as a purple, burly playboy who is interested in Persephone. He is deeply arrogant and believes everyone likes him. He rapes Persephone, and believes that they are in a relationship and then tries to force her to become his Olympian, but she refuses. He is Artemis' twin brother.
  • Artemis is the goddess of the hunt and a member of The Goddesses of Eternal Maidenhood. She is Persephone's best friend and roommate and is Apollo's twin sister. Artemis is depicted as a feisty, purple tomboy who looks out for Persephone and is generally ignorant of her brother's bad personality traits.
  • Hecate is the goddess of magic. She is depicted as a dark blue woman with black hair and neon-green cat eyes. She is Hades' assistant and friend, and often serves as a protector to Persephone in the Underworld.
  • Demeter is the goddess of the harvest and agriculture in the Mortal Realm, depicted as a tall, green woman with long purple hair. She is shown to be an overprotective helicopter parent towards Persephone, who is shown in flashbacks to give her daughter very little freedom in the mortal realm.Demeter is a member of the Six Traitors Dynasty.
  • Ares is the god of war and is one of the sons of Zeus and Hera as well as brother to Hebe. He is also dating Aphrodite and appears to have a history with Persephone. He has the ability to make people become enraged against their will.
  • Hestia is the goddess of the hearth and home. Hestia is the founder and leader of The Goddesses of Eternal Maidenhood and is a member of the Six Traitors Dynasty.
  • Aphrodite is the goddess of love and mother of Eros. She is depicted as a purple woman with a keen fashion sense. Ares and Aphrodite have an open relationship.
  • Psyche is a human from the Mortal Realm. She was originally a princess who was to be wed to an elderly wealthy merchant before Eros abducted her. She currently lives in Olympus, disguised as a purple nymph serving Aphrodite.
  • Thetis, a sea nymph and Minthe's toxic manipulative best friend. She is Zeus's Personal secretary that he sleeps with occasionally in his office when he is stressed out at home.
  • Minthe is a red river nymph that lives in the Underworld. She is Hades' personal assistant and physically and emotionally abusive ex-girlfriend of Hades.[citation needed]
  • Thanatos is the God of death.

The characters in Lore Olympus are each defined by a particular color. According to columnist Nahlia Bonfiglo, "Hades is depicted in dark colors—blues, purples, and blacks—that match his setting. The underworld is likewise illustrated in dark hues, making Persephone and all of her bold, bright colors pop even more."[2]

Publication

The webcomic updates weekly on Webtoon,[3] and readers with the "Webtoon Fast Pass" can access pages earlier. By August 2020, 120 episodes had been published, and Smythe said that she had an ending in mind for the series.[18]

Smythe creates Lore Olympus using Photoshop and a Wacom Cintiq Pro drawing tablet.[1]

Influences

On her website for Lore Olympus, Smythe lists some of the sources that she uses for the comic:[19]

Reception

In 2019, WEBTOON announced that Lore Olympus had been viewed over 299 million times, making it the most viewed webcomic on the platform.[3][20][21] As of May 2020, Lore Olympus is the most popular webtoon on the platform, with over 3.9 million subscribers.[4]

In an article for The Daily Dot, columnist Nahila Bonfiglio recommended the webcomic, saying: "There are many reasons to read Lore Olympus, but the simplest is to see Smythe’s brilliant take on the myth. Her story is flawlessly enthralling, heartwarming, and painful. The characters confront timeless issues through a modern lens, breaking down the romanticization of rape and abduction with grace and intrigue. Smythe updates the series every Sunday, and new readers will find themselves awaiting that notification with bated breath." Bonfiglio also praised the art, saying: "[Smythe's] captivating way of telling her tale often involves carefully considered colors, panels completely without words and even—sometimes—music."[2]

The Beat declared Lore Olympus to be one of the 100 best comics of the 2010s, describing Smythe's art as "breathtaking" and making good use of the webtoon format, and saying that the modern setting made the story "feel as fresh and urgent as eavesdropping on your (very wealthy, very messy) neighbors."[10]

Critical Darlings reviewer Kaitlin Konecke said that "the drawings allow us to see how Persephone feels. It’s a visceral way to tell a story, with graphics allowing us to see inside the mind of Persephone and convey the complicated array of emotions that follow a trauma such as sexual assault and rape." Konecke also praised the depiction of assault from a female writer, saying that Smythe and others "are not just telling us, but showing us. And in doing so, they make women and survivors feel seen."[15]

A reviewer for Love in Panels! praised the decision to give Persephone more agency than in the original story, saying that "it's that agency, her claiming of her own body and sexuality, that pulls me like a magnet to these tales."[14]

Awards

Year Category Institution or publication Result Notes Ref.
2020 Best Webcomic Ringo Awards Nominated Winner to be announced on October 24, 2020 [22]
2019 Best Webcomic Eisner Awards Nominated Lost to The Contradictions by Sophie Yanow [5][6]
2019 Best Colorist Ringo Awards Nominated Lost to Tamra Bonvillain [7][8]

Television series

In October 2019, Deadline reported that the Jim Henson Company had entered into a partnership with WEBTOON to create an animated series based on Lore Olympus. This partnership is WEBTOON's first adaptation deal.[9][18][23][11] It is unclear whether Smythe would be involved in the adaptation.[18]

References

  1. ^ a b Downes, Siobhan (2019-11-11). "Kiwi artist's web comic to be made into series by The Jim Henson Company". Stuff. Retrieved 2020-10-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  2. ^ a b c d e f g Bonfiglio, Nahila (2020-02-21). "Why You Should Drop Everything And Start Reading 'Lore Olympus'". The Daily Dot. Retrieved 2020-03-24.
  3. ^ a b c Adams, Tim (20 January 2020). "Webtoon Announces Over 100 Billion Views in 2019, Lore Olympus Ranks #1". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2020-08-20.
  4. ^ a b "Lore Olympus". WEBTOON. Retrieved 2020-08-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. ^ a b McMillan, Graeme (26 April 2019). "Eisner Award Nominees Revealed". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b McMillan, Graeme (20 July 2019). "Eisner Awards: The Complete Winners List". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 20 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  7. ^ a b "2019 Ringo Awards". RingoAwards.com. Retrieved 2020-08-20.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ a b "Webtoon Celebrates 12 Creators on Ringo Award Nominations". Good Nerd, Bad Nerd. 2019-08-21. Retrieved 20 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. ^ a b "'Lore Olympus': Webtoon And The Jim Henson Company Will Partner For YA Animated Series'". Deadline.com. October 10, 2019. Retrieved 12 October 2019.
  10. ^ a b Beat Staff (2019-12-11). "The 100 Best Comics of the Decade". The Beat. Retrieved 2020-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ a b Kaplan, Avery (2019-10-11). "Webtoon and Jim Henson Company partner for LORE OLYMPUS series". The Beat. Retrieved 2020-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ a b Kaplan, Avery (2019-08-13). "A Year of Free Comics: Drama for the gods in LORE OLYMPUS". The Beat. Retrieved 2020-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Lore Olympus Improves the Myths by Tackling Problematic Themes Head On". Comic Book Resources. 2020-06-21. Retrieved 2020-08-28.
  14. ^ a b c d e Suzanne (September 19, 2018). "Review: Lore Olympus, by Rachel Smythe". Love in Panels!. Retrieved 2020-08-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ a b Konecke, Kaitlin (November 3, 2019). "Women Are Using Animation and Comics to Tell Stories of Assault". Critical Darlings. Retrieved 2020-08-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ Chappell, Caitlin (2020-08-02). "Lore Olympus: What You Missed in Season 1 of the Webtoon Comic". Comic Book Resources. Retrieved 2020-08-28.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Story FAQ". Masterlist. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  18. ^ a b c "Greek Myth-Based Lore Olympus Webtoon Becoming YA Animated Series". ScreenRant. 2019-10-10. Retrieved 2020-08-27.
  19. ^ "Basic FAQ". Masterlist. Retrieved 2020-03-28.
  20. ^ MacDonald, Heidi (2020-01-17). "Sales Charts: The Top 30 comics on Webtoon in 2019". The Beat. Retrieved 2020-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ Tantimedh, Adi (2019-09-02). "WEBTOON is the World's Most Successful Comics Publisher – And You Hadn't Heard of it Till Now". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved 2020-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  22. ^ "Ringo Awards". Ringo Awards. Retrieved 30 August 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ Williams, Tommy (October 2019). "Webtoon's Popular Comic LORE OLYMPUS is Being Adapted into an Animated Series". GeekTyrant. Retrieved 2020-08-27.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
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