Independent British comic publisher PSYComics’ stunning adventure, Odysseus: In Defiance of the Gods, continues to build on its successes, the third book in the series now seeking support on Kickstarter.
With two books under their belt and smashing Kickstarter totals (Book Two within 20 minutes!), Laurence Alison (writer) Vu Danh (illustrator) and Neil Roche (lettering and design) have dispatched with Polyphemus, The Lastrygonians, The Lotus Eaters and the merciless winds of Aeolus. And, in Alison’s retelling, which he emphasises is as much about the man as the journey, half of the crew are now dead – some at the hands of Odysseus himself!
Alison’s Odysseus is fearsome – not because of his strength and speed, but because of his merciless war-torn mind. Even the Dark Magik witch Circe, who has transformed all previous sailors on her island into animals to use them for food or work can’t seem to better “He who brings suffering”.
In Book Three though, Odysseus travels to the Underworld to seek consort with the blind prophet Tireisias. And, on the way, he must face Hades, Lord of the Realm of the Dead.
Book Three promises further depth to our lead character as he must face his father, his mother, and the souls of the dead (both friends and foes).
Alison states, “I hated Odysseus at first – he was merciless, psychopathic, fearsome but when you get into the weeds of a character and you know their motives – however misguided, you start to empathise.
This development in writing him was really fascinating, and it became very meta insofar as Odysseus can’t abide the fact he is at the mercy of the Gods and has no say in what he does, where he goes, even what he says. But of course, as his author and with Vu Danh as his illustrator and Neil as the letterer we do have control of every aspect of him”.
He continues, “I hope the readers will feel this deepening and layering of a character that I now feel is alive. Of course, the Odyssey is the greatest journey epic ever told, and we are up against stiff competition with both ‘The Return’ and Nolan’s The Odyssey.
“But there are things you can do in comics you can’t do in films. Readers can linger on an image – figure more stuff out, return to a previous image. Stop and think. Pace things themselves. See the layers – or, of course, just enjoy the adventure and the action!”
In Book Three, the tone darkens, and if possible, gets even grittier, grimmer, and meaner. And there are monsters aplenty – Hades, Tireisias, The Sirens and Scylla.
Breakout artist Vu Danh improves with every issue and his dedication to the art is here for all to see. His mastery of anatomy is likely fuelled by relentless life classes, but his storytelling and sense of wonder and fantasy is also unsurpassed with incredible design work on the Underworld and all its monsters.
The Kickstarter offers the usual goodies – T-shirts (one with an amusing nod to the Nolan film), copies of Book One and Two, a glorious variant cover by Circe / 2000AD artist Simon Harrison, very limited A3 prints, crew portraits and some more ‘grab it now before it’s gone’ original Vu Danh artwork.
• Back Odysseus Book Three here on Kickstarter
In related news, the voting for the annual ComicScene 2026 awards is now open, and PSYComics has made it into two categories!
- Best Crowdunder/Indie Comic with Odysseus
- And Best Publisher
“Any vote would be really appropriate” asks Neil Roche. You can vote here!
- About the Author
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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.
Categories: British Comics, British Comics - Current British Publishers, Comics, Creating Comics, Crowd Funding Projects, downthetubes Comics News, downthetubes News
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