OLYMPIA by Curt and Tony PIres (writers) and Alex Diotto (artist) graphic novel. (Image Comics, September 2020) Paperback, 176 pages. Reprints Olympia Issues #1-5 ISBN # 1534315950 / 9781534315952
Summary on the Goodreads website . . . .
Elon is a latchkey kid who spends his days alone reading comic books-until his favorite superhero, Olympian, comes crashing off the page and into reality! But as he nurses his wounded and delirious hero back to health, he discovers Olympian isn't the only thing that came through... something evil followed him.
A comedic yet heartfelt love letter to the comics medium, OLYMPIA is also a meditation on hope and loss, conceived by CURT PIRES (Wyrd) and his father, TONY PIRES, while Tony was undergoing treatment for cancer.
My Four-Star Review on the Goodreads website . . . . .
I read this in the original single issues (November 2019-July 2020). I feel it deserves a rating of 3.5 stars, but Goodreads doesn't permit fractional rankings, so it gets 4 Stars.
I really wanted to rate this higher, as the circumstances behind the book's creation tug at the heartstrings. Curt Pires wrote this story with his father, Tony Pires, as he was hospitalized with cancer. It's a throwback to the glory days of heroic comics, a homage to the creative imagination and art style of Jack Kirby (particularly Thor for Marvel, and Fourth World for DC), told in old school fashion with a few modern-day twists thrown into the mix.
The first half of the story shows more creativity than the latter half, which evolves into the climatic battle. Elon, the lonely, abused at school latchkey kid is a very sympathetic character. With an absentee father and a hard-working mother (nurse) he spends his time after school alone reading comic books. When his favorite super-hero, Olympian, crosses into Elon's world and comes crashing into the forest his life is changed forever.
Just before this event Elon was reading the last of his Olympian comics, which ended in a cliff-hanger. Elon bikes to his local comic shop, only to learn that the title has been cancelled. Olympian suffered a major defeat before entering Elon's world. Elon nurses him back to health, and together they seek to find the comics writer to learn how the Olympian can win the final battle as his enemies pursue him into this world.
While the art does a decent job of emulating the Kirby magic (especially in the battle scenes), Alex Diotto's style is a far cry from the best of Kirby. However, it does evoke the feel of the Golden Age and helps enhance Pire's nostalgic story. Plus, the color work of Dee Cunniffe helps elevate Diotto’s art and provides a bit more clarity to some of the simpler panels.
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