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Crowdfunding Spotlight: Odysseus In Defiance of the Gods – Book Four

By John Freeman on December 30, 2025 • ( 0 )

Laurence Alison and Vű Danh’s version of The Odyssey comes to a final brutal and bloody conclusion with book four of In Defiance of the Gods, publisher PSYComics launching its Kickstarter campaign soon.

As we’ve previously noted, this is no relatively tame Ralph Fiennes version (as in the recent film, The Return), and only time will tell if Christopher Nolan’s cinematic epic will be so bloody. But it’s hard to imagine a heavier-hitting version of the millennia-old myth than we have here.

Having outwitted and battled Polyphemus, giant cannibals, Circe – the transformation witch, the Sirens and the multi heads Scylla, Odysseus ventured into Hades to seek advice on his final return home. The Lord of the Underworld, as with all the other Gods that Odysseus is seeking to defy, also advised against his return. But here, as in the original epic, Odysseus continues unabated and undeterred.

This issue is a brutal denouement of the legend, focusing as it does on Odysseus realisation of his previous sins, the imperative to keep going at all and every cost and, in the final scenes, we see a determination of a deeply psychologically scarred warrior.

The most human and gritty issue so far, this is an incredibly satisfying final arc for a man we may have called evil at the start, heroic part way through and deeply damaged towards the end.

Alison himself describes how his central character grew and “came alive”.

“I was writing a version that I thought would be novel insofar as Odysseus was going to be portrayed as a central villain.

“After all, in book one I had him murder a child and in book two he deceives his crew and has one stoned to death. The odd thing though is, that as you grow to understand your character you see why they did what they did.

“Of course, I’ve seen this throughout my 30-year career as a forensic psychologist, yet it still surprised me as my central character became more human, I felt more empathy and understanding towards him”.

Alison continues, “Of course, his actions are reprehensible, but his motives are coherent. I found it hard to finish writing his story, and by the end I felt a great deal of sorrow for him. I think writing can increase empathic understanding in this way”.

Alison also enthuses about his collaborators final issue. “Vű Danh has grown considerably as a storyteller. His work in issue one was incredible and yet, with each issue, he has managed to improve.

“In this final issue, I’m struggling to think of any comic artist alive or dead that could have moved me to tears with his tender scenes and horrified me with the brutal ones. It’s a staggering achievement and PSYComics are lucky to have him as a key artist on our book”.

With lettering and design beautifully rendered by Neil ‘Bhuna’ Roche and Steve Tanner on editorial, this final issue cannot be missed.

If you have missed out on any of the previous books from this incredible series, fear not. Previous issues will be available as an add-on for the up-and-coming Kickstarter campaign.

The campaign offering the new book with a standard cover by Vu Danh and a variant cover by fan favourite Neil McClements includes a number of rewards and add-ons to whet your appetite, including original art from the artists involved in this fantastic project, and an Odysseus ‘Axe’ T-shirt.

• You can register for the Kickstarter launch here

About the Author
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John Freeman

John is the founder of downthetubes, launched in 1998. He is a comics and magazine editor, writer, and Press Officer for the Lakes International Comic Art Festival. He also runs Crucible Comic Press.

Working in British comics publishing since the 1980s, his credits include editor of titles such as Doctor Who Magazine and Overkill for Marvel UK, Babylon 5 Magazine, Star Trek Magazine, and its successor, Star Trek Explorer, and more. He also edited the comics anthology STRIP Magazine and edited several audio comics for ROK Comics; and has edited several comic collections and graphic novels, including volumes of “Charley’s War” and “Dan Dare”, and Hancock: The Lad Himself, by Stephen Walsh and Keith Page.

He’s the writer of comics such as Pilgrim: Secrets and Lies for B7 Comics; “Crucible”, a creator-owned project with 2000AD artist Smuzz; and “Death Duty” and “Skow Dogs”, with Dave Hailwood.