Webtoon Review: Lore Olympus

Lore Olympus

Webtoon

Rachel Smythe

There is a lot that can be said about Greek mythology.

Mythology, in general, has covered such a wide spectrum of experiences. In fact, one can find a story about the gods which relates to virtually anything. Now, in this day and age, it is being revitalized, almost single-handed, by Rachel Smythe. Her comic Lore Olympus debuted on “Webtoon” an app that you can download on your mobile device. “Webtoon” lets you read original comics by unique creators instantaneously. The only drawback to this is that sometimes these comics aren’t finished and you’ll have to wait until the comic you’re currently reading is updated. If you’re anything like me, though, that doesn’t bother you at all. Lore Olympus follows the love story of Hades, God, and King of the Underworld, and Persephone, Goddess of spring, as they try to make their way through life, re-told through modern eyes. Persephone is a 19-year-old Goddess trying to figure out how to make it on her own, without her overbearing mother controlling her life. Meanwhile, Hades is a king (although he’s more like a CEO), in his own domain, who wants to find someone to settle down with, but is too self-conscious and a tad too awkward to figure out how those things work. This comic will have you laughing one minute and crying the next as you follow along, hoping these two lovable dorks can figure themselves out.

Lore Olympus has been taking people by storm, and Smythe has eighteen thousand likes and nearly twenty-two thousand followers on her Facebook page for the comic alone. Smythe brilliantly illustrates an amusing cast of Greek Gods and Goddesses from Aphrodite to Hermes. While the story does mainly focuses on the two main characters, we also get to glimpse behind the curtain for many other relationships between the Gods and Goddesses. Smythe even shows us the turmoil in the marriage of Hera, Queen of the Gods, and Zeus, the infamously promiscuous king. There is something for every fan, especially if you grew up reading mythology as a child. 

The only issue I have with Lore Olympus would have to be the grammatical errors. Very occasionally sentence structures will be written backwards, or words will be misspelled. However, It is done in such a way that you can always understand the artist’s intent. This leads me to believe the errors are caused by the fact that English may not be Smythe’s first language. Though this happens so little, It could be due to her busy schedule instead. Perhaps the mistakes are just overlooked. Nevertheless, it is such a small complaint compared to the rest of this wonderful comic. The art is beautiful, and the story is captivating. Trust me, you won’t regret reading “Lore Olympus”. The best part about the whole thing is that you can read it right now on Webtoon for free!

Lore Olympus is currently on “episode” number 88, and it updates every Sunday (or Saturday night, roughly around 9 pm).

This comic does have some sensitive themes and mature content. It follows along with the theme of the original story of Persephone, so viewer discretion is advised.