Ther
e’s some satisfying symmetry to reviewing a gender-bent, acid trip of a reworked classic and absolutely hating every second of it (see my review for Pussy, King of Pirates from earlier in the year) and reviewing a gender-bent, acid trip of a reworked classic and absolutely loving it (see my review of ODY-C, right here!).
First off, the coloring and the artwork are dazzling and delightful. There is a full page panel of Zeus, in all her glory (oh, yeah, small plot detail, Zeus eradicates men from this whole psychedelic sci fi realm), squeezes her father, Chronos, in her thunder thighs and rips his head off. I want this scene wallpapered on at least five walls in my house.
For all the plot, of lack thereof, that was in Pussy, King of Pirates, that washed over me and only left me with squelching shoes and socks, I eagerly boarded ODY-C’s boat to Crazy Town via the tunnel scene in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. From planet to crazy, Sextillion from Saga planet, I will gladly buckle up for this outer space ancient Greece fantasy.
There’s so much gender philosophy and symbolism to unpack, probably more than I’m willing to dig into. I mean, in ODY-C, the Greek pantheon could all be fierce contenders on RuPaul’s Drag Race. Hera sports a beard giving us Mathu Andersen realness. Zeus is the love child of Willam and Latrice Royale that the world needs. Dionysus is like a Raja or Sharon Needles ensemble come to life.
Oh, and there’s also a fun drinking game I invented for the read, if you are interested in consuming your weight in alcohol. One drink every time the illustrator managed to turn something into a sex organ lookalike. Chug when you get to the penis shaped battering ram. Normally I find art like this to be erring on the side of the try-hard provocation, but here, it manages to pull off a pretty cheeky and entertainingly naughty game of I-Spy.
