What if Homer's Odyssey was a Sci-Fi Tale - Advanced Review
- Luis Godoy II
- 6 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Odyssey #1
Creators:
Bruno Catarino (writer)
Erwin J. Azzora (artist)
Where to Find:
Solicit:
WHY are we adapting this epic Homer classic as sci-fi? Is the original not enough? The many adaptations over the years? The upcoming Christopher Nolan blockbuster movie?
This may shock you, but NO, those aren't "enough".
Our goal when adapting The Odyssey as a sci-fi space opera was to bring it to the 21st century and RECAPTURE the same sense of WONDER and IMPOSSIBLE ODDS that the original had in ancient times.
In the 21st century, the sea has almost no mysteries left. Space does.
In the 21st century, the distance between Troy and Ithaca are almost meaningless. But if they were separated by light-years of never-ending void...
In the 21st century, we know there are no Gods who rule the world. Oligarchs do. AI does.
And that's why, in the 21st century, we chose to retell this story through a sci-fi prism, set in space, in a galaxy far far away...
REVIEW
I was lucky enough to get an advanced review of The Odyssey #1. The book is 100% done if you're wondering. If you know the Odyssey, you know Odysseus is lost for a decade after the trojan wars and went thru so many harrowing obstacles like monsters, gods and temptresses. Most of know the high level story pretty well. I would imagine most of us had to read it at one point in high school.
Bruno and Erwin have decided to adapt this well know tale but they are twisting it through a Sci-Fi lense. All the major characters are there but not necessarily in the forms you remember. Troy is a planet instead of a major city. Odyssey's journey takes place in space instead of the sea. Technology abounds, changing the story in profound yet familiar ways.
I was surprised on how much I remembered the original story while reading this issue.
The dialog of the comic flows well without feeling like its full of exposition. Bruno adapted the language well to fit this new setting. It does help that seafaring and spacefaring do have a lot of overlap, at least as most sci-fi, like Star Trek, use a lot of naval terms for their spaceways.
As you see from the three preview pages above, the art is gorgeous. It has the ancient tone with its colors but the design work is very futuristic. A smart choice for such an adaption. There is a a lot of texture on every page and panel. It makes you examine each one a bit more slowly.
If I were to add any type of criticism, It would be that the naming of the people and places did not go far enough. Example, Ithaca could have been called Ithaca-II to add to the sci-fi feel but that is really just a personal preference, rather than anything. If you're a fan of greek stories such as the Odyssey or just sci-fi stories you will enjoy this tale and its new sci-fi bend. Go check it out on Kickstarter, its live right now and comment on the page that Comic Book Yeti sent you.
This was Luis from Comic Book Yeti, don't forget to heart the article it really helps tell us what type of articles you like. Thanks again, signing off with more reviews from the Yeti Cave. Be good, do good, and read comics! Find me on the CBY discord or BlueSky @luisgodoyii.bsky.social.
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