By Rachel Smythe
I was about a 100 pages into Kinsey’s recommended Six of Crows last week when I was hospitalized for an emergency appendectomy. The surgery went well, but recovery has been slow. Between managing pain, digestion, and a slew of medications, my attention span was shot, and I had to put aside the gritty, fantasy heist story. I tried a couple of other books, but anything with a plot more involved than, like, solitaire, and I lost the thread.
Luckily, I ran across* the fluffiest of fluff, which made my final day in the hospital bearable! Lore Olympus is a weekly web comic that retells the Greek myth of Hades and Persephone in a modern setting. The art is incredibly lush, and the story reads like the most indulgent of fan-fiction. Is there an extremely wealthy but emotional distant man who falls uncontrollably in love with a manic pixie dream girl? Well, I mean, that’s just canon. Are there sumptuous parties in elaborate mansions? Check! Beautiful and improbable clothes? Check! An absurd amount of dogs? Check!
There’s 23 chapters up right now, and it updates on Sundays. Each chapter consists of a single scroll down panel with some really interesting vertical composition, which I found particularly easy to navigate on my phone in bed, making it the perfect companion for required bed rest.
*Via a Twitter thread on “middle school weird girls” and the subset of “the ancient mythology stans,” in which I full-on recognized myself.
Biblio-therapy 
Sigh, so, spoiler warning: it turns out the day after I recommend this excellent escapist fantasy, it takes a sharp turn into rape territory. I was real mad at first, feeling like this was almost a betrayal since I just wanted something to relax with, but after thinking about it for a bit, I think I’m just not the primary audience for it, and that this isn’t necessary a bad thing for that primary audience.
Reading the comments on the most recent episode, many fans of the comic seem very young and still working out what entails consent. If this comic can help them understand that no one should have sex if they don’t want to, regardless of what anyone (including themselves) says or does, then that can only be a good thing.
It really is an adorable comic and really well done, which probably makes the (non-graphic) rape scene even more effectively heart-wrenching. I’m really hoping the future updates help.
Have you read Song of Achilles? Or the new one out by that author, Circe? I have read them both and liked them fine, but they may be even more up your alley. (Once you’re up to plot reading again.)
Ooh, I for sure need to check those out! I love Greek mythology, but found The Iliad and The Odyssey a bit much, with all the repetitive poetry.