The Lightning Thief: The Graphic Novel

nimocool - Percy Jackson is a twelve-year-old boy with dyslexia and ADHD, who has been expelled from every school he has ever attended. When his class takes a field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, his pre-algebra teacher Mrs. Dodds transforms into a Fury and attacks him. Percy's Latin teacher Mr. Brunner throws Percy a magic sword named Anaklusmos or the English translation, Riptide, and sends Mrs. Dodds to Tartarus. When Percy come out, he finds that nobody remembers Mrs. Dodds and Mr. Brunner acts same. When Percy and his mother Sally go to Montauk, his best-friend Grover Underwood comes to tell them to leave immediately. They drive away in a horrible storm, and a Minotaur takes Sally in a blinding flash of light. In anger, Percy kills the Minotaur and takes one of its horns. He wakes up three days later, healed by nectar and ambrosia, at Camp Half-Blood. Grover reveals himself to be a satyr, and Mr. Brunner reveals himself to be Chiron the centaur. As nobody knows who Percy's godly father is, he is placed in the Hermes (the god of messengers, travelers, and thieves) cabin. After several water-related incidents, a trident mark appears above Percy's head, this is revealed to be his father, Poseidon, claiming him. The Oracle tells Percy to find the stolen master lightning bolt of Zeus, because the god thinks that Percy is to blame for stealing the lightning bolt. After defeating several monsters including Medusa herself, they find Hades, who actually took Sally. Apparently, his helm of darkness (his symbol of power) seems to have been lost too. Hades also blames Percy for stealing his helm and wants to kill Percy and his mother and release all the dead back into the real world. They use magical pearls, a gift from a Myriad, to save themselves from Hades and discover that Ares actually has the bolt. Percy challenges Ares to a duel and wins, to his own surprise. Lord Hades realizes that Percy did not steal his helm of darkness, so he returns Sally safely. After the bolt is given back to Zeus, Percy's friend, Luke Castellan, is revealed to be the lightning thief and the number one servant of the Lord of the Titans, Kronos. Luke tries to kill Percy by calling on a pit scorpion, but luckily Percy manages to kill it. Unfortunately, Luke had gotten away. The story ends with Percy deciding to spend the school year with Sally.

Starred review from October 4, 2010
Venditti's adaptation of the critically acclaimed first installment of the Percy Jackson & the Olympians series faces a daunting challenge: to present a beloved, contemporary, young adult fantasy novel as a 128-page visual narrative. But the team succeeds in spectacular fashion. Venditti (The Surrogates) takes the story of the half-blood Percy—who discovers that he is both the son of a god and the prime suspect in a theft of cosmic implications—and forges an adaptation that does justice not simply to Riordan's story but works perfectly as a graphic novel. The book retains the excellent pacing of the original and gives a face to Riordan's vision of the mythological made modern. Futaki's artwork is exemplary, but what leaves such a lasting impression is Villarrubia's coloring, which reveals both subtlety and spectacle when needed. The graphic novel compression must, of necessity, sacrifice something, namely some of the humor of the original. Ages 10–up.

March 1, 2011

Gr 4 Up-Riordan's highly popular "Olympians" series (Hyperion/Disney) is now a graphic novel. Half-Blood Percy Jackson is the son of a mortal mother and the Greek god Poseidon, which explains why he has always felt out of place among his schoolmates. After learning of his paternity, he is charged with the dangerous mission of locating his Uncle Zeus's missing lightning bolt and returning this symbol of power to its rightful owner. Expert editing keeps the salient parts of the story intact while showcasing the additional storytelling capabilities that the graphic format allows. Excellent panel layout makes the story line easy to follow. The use of angled panels in highly dramatic action scenes is particularly effective. As readers follow Percy's adventures, they are also keenly aware of his personal struggles, as facial expressions help readers to relate to this boy "who doesn't fit in." Illustrations brilliantly illuminate the story, portraying seamless world-blending, from typical school drama and well-known U.S. landmarks to mythological elements. A man seated in one panel casually stands to reveal his true identity as a centaur, the eerie woman seated in the attic is an Oracle, and the Nereid of the undersea kingdom seems a natural part of Percy's world. This blend of mythology and magic with realistic action and adventure brings an added dimension and delightful nuances to this adaptation of the well-known novel. Both ardent followers of Riordan's books and those new to the series will not be disappointed.-Barbara M. Moon, Suffolk Cooperative Library System, Bellport, NY

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2010
Grades 6-9 How could it have taken five years to see a graphic-novel adaptation of such a successful property as the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series, and one that, with its heroic destinies and epic action, seems tailor-made to the format? Riordans original, like Harry Potter as if reimagined by Neil Gaiman, hits all the straightforward archetypes, with young Percy Jackson clued into the secret that hes actually the son of Greek god Poseidon, then educated at Camp Half-Blood with the other illegitimate demigods before embarking on a heros journey to stop a war of the Olympians. But Riordan also injected a sense of thorny reality with twists like Percys good-for-nothing stepfather and the entrance to Hades residing in a soulless Los Angeles. Where the slick and flashy movie version failed, Vendittis sharp-edged writing and Futakis gritty and unprecious art capture the same sense of grunge amid the wonder. A timely release that can be recommended with George OConnors recent Olympians graphic novels, proving that while five years may seem too long, at least the wait was worth it.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)