ODY-C, Vol. 1: Off to Far Ithica

Here's something. I never post reviews. Ever.Here's something else. This incredible book made me post my very first review. Ever.ODY-C amazed me from the very first page. I am a huge fan of Homer's original, but Matt Fraction and Christian Ward transformed this story into something both utterly original and delightfully familiar.First of all, not a spoiler: Most male characters in the Odyssey become female characters in ODY-C. This is amazing. Odyssia is a badass. Zeus is a badass. Poseidon is a badass.The art and the story take on lives of their own. Fraction's writing is poetry, and Ward's art follows suit. ODY-C is an acid trip and an action movie rolled into one, full of strong women warriors. It is my drug of choice. I wholeheartedly recommend it, even if you've never bought a comic or graphic novel in your life. I cannot wait for the subsequent installments.

An ambitious project well executed. At times it's a tad dense, especially at the beginning, but I think I had that reaction partially because I have read of Matt Fraction's work that I was expecting his typical style, and this is different. That said, once you get into the rhythm of the book it is SO GOOD. An interesting retelling of the Odyssey, and then there's Christian Ward's art which is MIND BLOWING. I actually met him (and Matt) at a convention and he is so low-key about his work, but this is one of the most incredible visual experiences I've had in comics. Matt Fraction actually says the same thing about it, which tells you something. Definitely recommended.

Fantastic gender swapped version of the Odyssey in space. The art is beautiful and the story telling is different from most comics. Aside from seldom thought/speech balloons the dialogue is in text boxes as if the story is being told by an unseen narrator. Really enjoyable and different from most comics.

Got it as a gift for someone. The story is a bit too confusing, they loved the colors and the art was nice but if you are looking for something with those kinds of vibrant colors and an interesting story I'd suggest "paper girls".

This trade collects ODY-C #1-5.The Odyssey in space in a universe where nearly all the people and Gods are women. Sounds much more interesting in premise than it ended up in execution. Fraction’s re-imaginings of Greek myth and parts of Odysseus’s journey are brilliant, but suffer under too grand and abstract a vision. The comic isn’t particularly cohesive and it’s often unclear how the scheming of various Gods behind the scenes is affecting the main(?) story of Odyssia’s trip home.Odyssia herself doesn’t connect with the reader well, and other than being told she’s a hero I’m not sure why we’re supposed to be cheering for her successful return (especially since we’re also told she might or might not even want to go home in the first place).I found the art extremely variable. Like the story I think it tries to hard too be abstract, leading to muddled coloring and hard to follow sequences. On the other hand some pages and panels are truly beautiful, capturing the trippy and alien feel they seemed to be going for.ODY-C is a comic I expected to, and wished, I liked more than I did. As a huge fan of both Greek mythology and science fiction this comic seemed right up my alley. Unfortunately I don’t think it worked well nor achieved even close to its full potential.

ODY-C is a great example of how comics are continuing to develop as a medium. A masterful partnership between Ward and Fraction creates a vibrant re-telling of the Odyssey with a very complex re-understanding of gender. The images blow you away and the words make you think. Not for the beginning comics reader, especially one expecting a "typical" comic book, but that is also what makes it great.

Didn't work as a comic for me. Probably the worst thing I have read in a couple years, and that includes some of the boring Battle-world books.

I love this complicated, mind-bending book. It's been ages since I picked up something so challenging and dense, and enjoy each page. The writing is lyrical and poetic, as befits a re-imagining of Homer's work, and the art is beyond anything I've ever seen. This should be required reading for sci-fi and classics lovers, regardless of whether you've liked Fraction's past work or enjoy comic books. This is truly something else that you have to see to believe.