The Odyssey

The graphic novel, like Homer’s epic poem, begins with a proem, or introduction to the song. First, the author invokes the “Muse,” a mythological figure believed to inspire art. Then, the author describes his subject, which in this case is “that man of many troubles, Odysseus, skilled in all ways of contending” (1). As the proem declares, the story will follow Odysseus’s journey home after fighting in the 10-year Trojan War. The invocation to the Muse is a common opening for ancient epic poems, and this tradition places an immediate emphasis on The Role of Divine Intervention in Human Affairs.

This theme is further emphasized in the story’s opening scene, which is set on Mount Olympus, the home of the gods. Hinds depicts Olympus as a bright green paradise above the clouds, emphasizing the deities’ rarified existence, and as Zeus and Athena’s conversation reveals, Odysseus’s arduous journey is only permitted to come to an end because of the gods’ intervention. As Zeus remarks, the reason Odysseus has had to suffer so much in the first place is because of Poseidon, who “hates him for blinding his son Polyphemus the Cyclops” (4). However, this scene proves that the harm the gods can do to mortals is offset by the good. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, loves Odysseus and supports him throughout the story, and her sly version of help proves invaluable to his cause. She gets her father to help Odysseus return home and then visits Odysseus’s son Telemachus to encourage him to search for news about his father. Thus, Athena’s will is the driving force behind the actions of Books 1-4 as she takes advantage of Poseidon’s absence to help Odysseus and then coaxes Odysseus’s son into a coming-of-age journey through a quest to learn about his heroic father.

The story’s thematic focus on The Importance of Family Loyalty first appears with Telemachus’s activities as he embraces his role as the son and heir of Odysseus. At the beginning of Book 2, Telemachus calls an assembly for the first time “since Odysseus left for Troy” (14), demonstrating that he is now assuming his family responsibilities. Likewise, his journey to Pylos and Sparta highlights his loyalty to his father. Penelope, the wife of Odysseus, is also a model of love and loyalty, for she remains faithful to Odysseus despite his long absence, using trickery to keep her numerous suitors at bay. She constantly longs for Odysseus’s return, and in the illustration, Hinds often uses dull, earthy tones to highlight her sullen emotional state. (A prime example of this pattern occurs with her first appearance in the book, on Page 11.)

The chaotic situation in Ithaca also illustrates The Challenges of Heroism and Leadership. Without its heroic leader to guide the city, Ithaca rapidly devolves into chaos as the unruly suitors take over Odysseus’s home and squander his wealth, threatening to destroy all law and order in the kingless kingdom. Odysseus’s very lineage is therefore at stake, especially when the suitors begin plotting to kill Odysseus’s only son, Telemachus. In Book 3 and Book 4, the dysfunction reigning in Ithaca is juxtaposed with two cities that are ruled justly by great heroes: Pylos, where Telemachus finds the pious King Nestor celebrating a festival of the god Poseidon, and Sparta, where Telemachus is treated to a lavish feast by King Menelaus and his wife Helen. Both Nestor and Menelaus exhibit the generosity and hospitality befitting an ancient Greek leader and hero—qualities that have been cheapened by the suitors’ unruly reign on Ithaca. Thus, even though Telemachus does not find his father during his journey, he does learn important lessons about heroism and leadership—lessons that he has been unable to learn at home in the absence of a suitable male role model.

Just as Ithaca is juxtaposed with other Greek cities like Pylos and Sparta, Odysseus and his family are juxtaposed throughout the story with the hero Agamemnon and his family. At the very beginning of the graphic novel, for example, Zeus and Athena recall that Agamemnon was murdered by Aegisthus when he came from Troy and was eventually avenged by his son, Orestes. Just as Agamemnon had to face his enemy Aegisthus when he came home, Odysseus must now face the suitors. Likewise, just as Orestes “justly” avenged Agamemnon, Telemachus must now assume the adult responsibilities of his family legacy in order to help Odysseus. however, the example of Agamemnon also builds suspense, indicating the magnitude of the threat that Odysseus faces.