Olympians: Dionysos

Starred review from December 15, 2021
Discover "a new type of god" in this final installment in the outstanding Olympians series. Depicted eerily as an enigmatic, unclothed figure wrapped in flames, Hestia, goddess of hearth and home--and the oldest of the Olympians--narrates this strange and wild tale of Dionysos' birth and rise. The youngest of the gods, Dionysos is conceived by a human mother and raised first as a girl then as a boy before he goes on to invent wine, vanquish death itself, and ultimately claim his seat on Mount Olympus with the rest of his immortal clan. Though not immune to tender feelings (such as when he meets the spirit of his dead mother, Semele, in the realm of Hades and when he marries Ariadne after she's dumped by that cad Theseus), Dionysos generally comes off as a slap-happy party animal. He cavorts through the illustrations shirtless, displaying appropriately godlike charm and charisma as he dispenses his marvelous beverage far and wide and gathers followers--of both the mythological and racially diverse human variety--for wild rumpuses. "The Olympians may be deathless, but no god is as alive as Dionysos," Hestia observes. More than any of his fellow deities, he is "a god of the people. Of humans. Because he was born of them." The pages of this well-conceived graphic novel are laid out using an irregular grid that emphasizes some panels while retaining flow. All major characters present as White. A by turns epic, amusing, and tragic caper that's even more toastworthy (for obvious reasons) than its 11 predecessors. (sources, resources, discussion questions, endnotes) (Graphic mythology. 10-14)

COPYRIGHT(2021) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.