OLYMPUS
Writer(s): Geoff Johns & Kris Grimminger
Artist: Butch Guice
Olympus follows a group of student archaeologists as they uncover an ancient greek vase appearing to be Pandora's Box. Well....the moment they discover what they have in their hands, all hell breaks loose. A huge storm erupts out of a clear blue sky, and as they try to get to dry land they are boarded by some unsavory thieves. The thieves mistakenly board the students' vessel in a misguided belief that it was carrying smuggled diamonds. In the end the storm rocks the boat back and forth knocking everybody out and eventually beaching the remainning ship on a odd looking island. A statue of Zeus stands tall over a large portion of the island and the archealogists start to realize...maybe the island is actually the home of the greek gods, OLYMPUS. The rest of the story from here has students and crooks both making their way to the top of the island in the hopes that placing the vase in its' supposed resting place will set things right and help them to return home. Various greek mythological creatures attack the group as they make their trek up, a Cyclops, Minotaur, Gorgon, etc., you name it, these people ran into it. The story ends very cookie cutter, the students aka good guys end up surviving and making their way back home, along with the one or two misunderstood crooks.
The writing overall for this trade...wasn't too shabby. Geoff Johns & Kris Grimminger write this mini and whereas Johns' prominence is already well established, I am now interested in seeing what else Grimminger has written. Though well-written, the story is not perfect though. You have the cliched bad guy who is really good at heart, the dumb blonde who actually is smart, and of course the ending itself which....well...its a smidge corny. All of that being said though if you can suspend your cyncism for a bit and just enjoy this trade for what it is, it's not bad at all.
One of the best things about this trade is the art of Butch Guice. Guice has a very sharp, gritty style in this trade that you can clearly see permeating throughout the panels. From his penciling of the giant Cyclops to his depiction of the Minotaurs' Maze, you are treated to some nice illustrations that still maintain a sense of reality to them. Guice is unique in this title, his style reminding me of more recent work by Jock in Green Arrow Year One. The sketch gallery at the end of this trade is something to really geek out over too...I mean some of Guice's work in these sketches...yeah....intricate is the word folks.
Overall, though the story for this trade is only moderately above average, Butch Guice's pencils push it over the edge. B-
