Perseus (graphic novel)

Perseus is a fantasy graphic novel published by Dark Horse. The book is based on the Greek myth of Perseus, though it changes quite a bit about the story. It follows Persues throughout his life, up until his quest to kill Medusa and his battle against Cetus

Characters

 * Perseus
 * Andromeda
 * Danae
 * Polydectes
 * Zeus
 * Athena
 * Hermes
 * Medusa
 * Cetus
 * The Grey Sisters
 * Dieno
 * Enyo
 * Pemphredo
 * Acrisius

Plot
A king, known as Acrisius, seeks out an oracle to find out how he will die so that he can avoid it. Once he finds the oracle, he demands to know his death and is told that his grandson will grow to be an extremely powerful warrior and will kill him with his skills. Shocked and terrified by the news, Acrisius returns home and has his daughter, Danae, promise to never have a child. Danae promises, but sadly goes back on her word later that night when she is seduced by a handsome young man who turns out to be the god Zeus.

The next morning, Danae finds out she is pregnant and is locked in the basement by Acrisius. Acrisius takes some time to think before deciding the best way to save himself is to exile Danae. He locks her in a box and kicks her off a mountain into the ocean with her newborn son. However, both survive with the help of an eagle, a symbol of Zeus.

Danae and her son, who she has named Perseus, wash up on the island of Serifos and are taken in by an old couple who help Danae raise Perseus. Unknown to Perseus, Zeus is also helping raise him. At age seventeen, Perseus decides to go to a party hosted by King Polydectes. Perseus shows off in front of the partygoers, attempting to impress a princess named Andromeda, while Danae searches for food, encountering Polydectes himself. Polydectes flirts with Danae, who rejects him outright. Polydectes attempts to convince Danae to marry him until meeting Perseus, who he recognizes as one of Zeus' sons.

Perseus terrifies Polydectes so much that he instantly leaves while Perseus continues his attempts to court Andromeda. The next day, a messenger arrives and announces that Poseidon is angry at Serifos for not honoring him like other gods and is sending the sea monster Cetus to wipe out the island. This sends Serifos into a panic, with Polydectes attempting to find a way to solve the problem. The messenger reveals that the Gorgon Medusa has been seen on the island and that she can turn anything to stone even as just a head. Realizing what he is suggesting, Polydectes claims he will never send someone on such a dangerous mission, that is until Perseus offers to do it.

Polydectes realizes that without Perseus he'll be free to marry Danae, so he allows him to go out on his impossible quest. Perseus heads out, saying goodbye to his mother and hugging Andromeda, who he has become quick friends with. However, after watching him struggle to battle a mear wild boar, the gods Hermes and Athena come down to help Perseus. Hermes gives him a sword and his winged boots while Athena gives him a mirror shield, as Medusa's abilities only work if you see her head on. They then inform him that the Grey Sisters know where Madusa is.

Meanwhile, Polydectes, who is convinced that Perseus will die on his quest, decides to come up with a real plan to defeat Cetus. Polydectes realizes that Poseidon is angry because they don't honor him, and so he will make Cetus leave if they do so, also realizing that a sacrifice is the greatest form of honor to a god. Polydectes concludes that he must sacrifice someone to make Poseidon leave them. Andromeda then marches in and chastises Polydectes for letting Perseus out on his own, with Polydectes becoming more and more aggressive until he has his guards grab Andromeda and take her away.

Later, after a brief encounter with a bear, Perseus meets the Grey Sisters, three witches who share a single eye that they share, and asks where Madusa is. They become vaguer and more confusing with each thing they say and Perseus becomes so angry at this he takes their eye and threatens to crush it if they don't tell him. They point in the direction of Madusa's cave and Perseus walks off, throwing their eye into the forest for them to find. He passes through the garden of Hera and meets the Nymphs of the garden, who he tells his story to. They give him a bag to put Medusa's head in and a helmet that turns him invisible whenever he wears it and he once again sets off while Polydectes gives a fake announcement that Perseus is dead and Andromeda has decided to sacrifice herself to stop Cetus.

Perseus finally makes it to Medusa's cave, where he has his final battle with the Gorgon. He must fight the entire battle backward, as he has to stare into his mirror shield to see Medusa without dying. He stabs at Medusa quite a few times and manages to get a few hits on her until he randomly leaves. It turns out that this is a part of Perseus' plan, as due to her battle Medusa is extremely tired and falls asleep, at which point Perseus sneaks back in and cuts off her head, quickly putting it in the bag before flying back home, where he is just in time to see Polydectes tying a naked Andromeda to a rock. Polydectes, who has lost all grasp of sanity, tells Andromeda that this is to teach her a lesson before quickly giving a speech to his people.

His speech is interrupted by Perseus, who demands to know what's going on. Polydectes attempts to run, only for Perseus to stop him and begin battling him until Cetus shows up, bursting forth from the ocean and letting out a powerful roar. He attempts to eat Andromeda, but Perseus turns his attention to the creature, battling it for quite some time until Polydectes attempts to throw Andromeda into Cetus' mouth. She is saved by Perseus, who uses Medusa's head to turn Polydectes to stone before continuing his fight with Cetus. After a long fought battle, Cetus is defeated and its corpse crashes into the side of a hill and falls into the ocean with the now petrified Polydectes. After all of this, Andromeda and Perseus grow to become more than just friends and the man who saved Perseus as a child becomes the new king.

Many years later, Acrisius decides to go to Serifos to watch an Olympic-like event which has multiple different people competing in various sports. Unfortunately for Acrisius, Perseus is one of the people competing and, after a failed throw of a discus, accidentally kills Acrisius with a loud "thwack".

Publication History
The writer of the comic has always been a fan of mythology in general and knew that one day he wanted to make something based on one of his favorite myths. Once they finally managed to get a script ready, they pitched to many companies but were eventually accepted by Dark Horse. According to them, the changes in the story were made to make it feel a bit more modern despite it taking place far in the past.

Trivia

 * The comic's art style has very thick lines and bright colors. This was to emphasize the rather over the top nature of most Greek myths.