ODY-C #1 Review

writer: Matt Fraction / artist: Christian Ward Matt Fraction BAAAACK! Ok, Matt Fraction didn’t go anywhere, he’s got arguably two of the best comic books active right now in Hawkeye and Sex Criminals and a ridiculously slept on but still excellent book in Satellite Sam, so I guess I should say: Matt Fraction BAAAACK WITH NEW SHIIIIT! The much hyped and anticipated debut of ODY-C, a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey is the newest book written by Fraction and he is joined by Christian Ward on the art. The early press for this book was that this is the Odyssey with the gender roles changed and happening in space. But that’s like saying the movie 2001: Space Odyssey is about monkeys standing around a black monolith. It barely scratches the surface. Enter your new favorite woman badass protagonist in an Image Comic book (which is becoming a really crowded field in the best possible way), Oddysia, fresh off of the sacking of Troiia. (Come on lit nerds, this is super cool already and we just got started.) After winning the decade long war, Oddysia and her generals plan to return to their respective homes, but as you already know, that might get complicated.

I don’t really know what to talk about first and why this premier issue is incredibly different and weird and awesome and inspiring. We can start with Christian Ward’s art and the chaotic order it commands. Almost nothing is clean or defined. Everything looks like liquid poured into a narrative per page. It feels large and endless an…