Review: Lore Olympus: Volume Four

Lore Olympus: Volume 4

Written by: Rachel Smythe

Inklore

2022

The fourth volume in the Lore Olympus series continues to be emotional, funny, and thought-provoking.

Lore Olympus: Volume 4 continues to breathe fresh new life into a  webtoon, presenting the same story differently, creating a different feel for the narrative.

Expert Storytelling

Graphic novels can be tricky. The reason is that the art choice, the color, the direction, and the placement of panels influence the story as much as the words do. There have been times when I would not get comics simply because I didn’t like the art style. In those cases, I felt the art direction didn’t capture the story’s direction or the characters correctly, so there was a disconnect between the story and me.

Not in the case of Lore Olympus. I have been hooked since I first discovered Lore Olympus as an ad on Facebook. I fast-pass this webtoon every Saturday when a new episode is released. But reading it in a novel format gives the story a different feel.

Smythe was thoughtful in combining panels and using white space to her advantage. Even in scenes with no dialogue, the emotions bleed off the pages because of the storytelling leading up to that moment and the scene’s structure. Reading them this way creates a different feel to the story because the information is presented differently.

And Smythe’s color choice is fantastic. Colors have meaning, so the fact that the gods are a variety of colors instead of any skin color was brilliant. Persephone’s pink captures her spring element; Hades’ blue skin exudes a coolness that captures the Underworld; purple and gold mean royalty, so they are Zeus, and Hera respectfully is impactful.

Once again, the artistry is fantastic.

Final Thoughts

Lore Olympus: Volume 4 continues to be excellent, tackling serious topics. Smythe continues to mesmerize readers with her impactful storytelling and artistic talent.

• 2022
• Inklore
• Lore Olympus
• Rachel Smythe
• Volume 4