Olympus #1 (by Nathan Edmondson and Christian Ward) – I’m a total sucker for the Greek myths, I’ll get that out of the way right now. So when someone writes a comic about the characters in Greek myths in modern times, couples it with a noir-ish crime book, and throws in a little action… I’d say I’m the target audience there. So what exactly is Olympus about? Without spoiling too much, Castor and Pollux are Zeus’ Repo Men, going after his stolen goods, catching myth-y criminals, and generally trying to enjoy their immortal lives on Earth. What works best about this issue is that Edmonson deftly introduces the concept for those who don’t know much about myths, and has fun while he’s doing it. In addition, this issue works as a pilot of sorts, a done-in-one in adventure that still teases the upcoming arc of the book. And Christian Ward creates some dynamic compositions, though he works far better in full page splashes that tightly paneled pages, which tend to come off as a bit of a confusing mess. And although I’m a little tired of what’s becoming the “creatures of myth/fiction/history are hard boiled detectives going after their kind” sub-genre of indie comics (see Mercy Sparx, Perhapanauts, etc.), I’m a fan enough of the subject matter to check out the second issue, and see how the characters and plot threads seeded in this pilot/zero issue pan out.

The book doesn’t come out until May 20th, but we’ve got your exclusive look at the first five pages right here (click on the images to see ‘em large and in charge):