Comic Book Review: Headache written by Lisa Joy, art by Jim Fern
Sarah Pallas is a 19-year-old girl who’s been institutionalized due to recurring nightmares in which her mother is murdered. She’s also Athena, goddess of wisdom and strategy. Her relatives are the Greek gods, and they want her out of the way while Zeus plans the end of human civilization. Sarah must escape from the asylum, recover her memories and thwart her father’s plans–but whose side is her uncle Hades really on?
This graphic novel reimagines the Greek gods as a secret family of immortals who change with the times, blending in with each new era, and currently residing in Manhattan. (Apollo’s a movie star.) They squabble and feud, but most of them are down with the coming world war for one reason or another. Athena objected, so she was given amnesia and locked away–now that she’s back, it’s necessary to kill her. Death isn’t permanent for gods, more like a long quiet vacation, but it would put her out of the way long enough for Zeus’ plan to succeed.
To be honest, this is more of a graphic novelette, and feels very stripped down. Events happen bang bang bang, and characterization is sparse. (Surprisingly to me at least, Aphrodite is the most complex character in the story, resentful of her position as the goddess of love and beauty–indeed, sick unto death of it.) Sarah is more action film heroine than anything else, with her ability to kick butt in hand-to-hand combat prioritized more than her brains. (The author’s prior work is in action TV.) And then there’s her “bad boy” thing for Hades….
Persephone shows up just long enough to explain that her marriage to Hades is in name only, which theoretically makes Sarah and his mutual attraction okay as long as you ignore the part where she’s sleeping with her uncle. Erm. Diana’s characterization is reduced to being sexually attracted to her twin brother Apollo and resentful that he doesn’t reciprocate.
The art is decent, but feels pedestrian; the fantasy sections could use a little more “pop.”
Mildly recommended to fans of modern retellings of Greek mythology, especially if you preferred the “fighty” bits of Buffy to the “talky” bits.
