Lore Olympus: Volume Five

A relationship is ending, a relationship is beginning, a secret revealed to the audience, and it’s revealed to someone who is furious that the event happened and was hidden from him, oh and the female protagonist disappears. Lore Olympus Volume Five by Rachel Smythe finds Hades and Persephone begin a relationship after the former breaks up with Minthe but things get complicated when we learn how Kore became Persephone.

Covering episodes #103-126 of her webcomic, Smythe zeros in on Persephone’s backstory both from a brief glimpse from her point-of-view but other investigating her life before Olympus. However, the two protagonists don’t take a backseat as Hades attempts to figure out how to deal with his feelings and Persephone tries show more to continue to figure out things, Smythe’s continual work on deepening the characters really pays off in this volume because as the two most important characters gain layers it allows secondary characters to get more layers as well strengthening the overall piece. Once again Smythe’s artwork and choices to denote the different types of immortals—nymphs, gods, Olympians, Titans—makes the worldbuilding better and the colorizing choices allow the reader to realize something is up when a character’s shading darkness or lightens or completely changes for a few panels. Unlike the last volume, this one—though honestly, I was reading it on and off for a month—resonated better. I can’t tell you the reason why because frankly I don’t know why I had the issue with Volume Four, but things clicked for me in this one better maybe more things happening allowed me to appreciate the two protagonist’s struggles more because I knew other things were going actively without them knowing about it.

Lore Olympus Volume Five by Rachel Smythe continues with compelling characters, expanding the narrative out but keeping it from bloating, and great artwork. To say the least the way the volume’s ending has me interested in what is next. show less

After what seems like several volumes of people just emoting and wallowing in their angst, suddenly a plot kicks in as Persephone is revealed to have a major secret that suddenly everyone is interested in uncovering.

It's nice to have something actually happen in this soapy guilty pleasure. Now if only the creator would get better at consistently identifying the characters in name and appearance and work on her scene-to-scene transitions. I would enjoy the story more if I weren't so frequently confused by the shortfalls in the technical aspects of the storytelling.

Rachel Smythe’s Lore Olympus: Volume Five continues her retelling of the myth of Hades and Persephone, collecting episodes 103-126 of the comic that originally appeared on WEBTOON. This volume pics up where the last one ended, with Hades and Minthe dealing with the fallout from their breakup. Thetis begins hatching a scheme to split Zeus and Hera apart before taking Minthe partying. Only while they’re out does Minthe realize that Hades was right and Thetis is not her friend. As the story progresses, Persephone works to adapt to her internship in the Underworld. Apollo sends Thanatos to gather gossip on Persephone from Helios. Once Hades and Persephone do share a kiss, her powers activate and she turns into butterflies. Things seem show more to be going well between Hades and Persephone, but running into Apollo sets her back. Meanwhile, the Fate’s record of Hades and Persephone’s first meeting reaches Hades. Apollo brings his gossip to Zeus, revealing how Kore became “the Bringer of Death.” Despite Hades’ questions, he must wait for any further answers after Persephone goes missing. Hera helps Artemis and Eros to hid Persephone’s’ disappearance from Demeter, but Hades and Hecate’s search for her in the Underworld shows him just how poorly he knows Persephone. As they search, Apollo, Minthe, and Thetis continue to push Zeus to take action against Persephone, building the drama to a head.

Smythe’s creativity is on full display with this volume. Helios appears as a massive god in comparison to the other Olympians as befitting his position as the embodiment of the Sun. I also love that Hades’ search engine of choice is Oracle, using the Google font and colors. Similarly, the Fate’s records of lives take the form of VHS tapes, somehow straddling the Bronze Age world of humans and the high technology of the Olympians’ lives. Like the other trade editions collecting Lore Olympus, Smythe includes bonus features for this book. Specifically, she features behind-the-scenes panel breakdowns and an explanation on how she develops a cover image. This hardcover edition is a great way for fans to add the WEBTOON to their physical bookshelf to revisit these stories and share with friends. show less

The artwork is stunning and this story keeps getting more engaging. I am always so interested to see how Rachel Smythe can "modernize" ancient mythology and it's always so inventive and engaging. This slow burn between Persephone and Hades is starting to steam up. I can't wait for the next installment!

I'm just thrusted into insanity every time I read these. The stuff that happens in each volume is crazy. but I got a kiss!!!! and then pain, but hey at least I got an kiss. Also knowing Kore's back story hurts. I can't wait to read more volumes and find out what happens next. I hope hera fucks up apollo. I can't stand him at all. Also the reunion of hades and Kore is going to be next level I'm so excited.

I still love rereading these as they come out. The story is full of drama, mystery, romance...a very entertaining read especially if you need a quick palate cleanser in between reads.

Oh my gosh, that volume was intense as heck!!!! How could this beee!? CAN'T STOP, WON'T STOP!!!!