Blandine Le Callet

Ancient Greek plays are one of the biggest gaps in my reading history, so I had almost no knowledge of Medea when I opened the cover of this book. She seems to be considered a major villain, but this retelling casts her as a strong-willed woman making her way boldly through a word dominated by men and their obsession with producing male heirs. She narrates the book, exposing the truth hidden by the legends and myths that make her look weak, crazed or evil.

The book excises the presence of Greek gods directly affecting the story but still has a couple of supernatural elements that, frankly, I could have done without.

The first half is pretty compelling as we see Medea grow up under her domineering father and then greet the arrival of Jason and his Argonauts. The book bogs down a bit in the middle as Medea finds herself mired in slow and repetitive court intrigue as she moves from place to place in Greece and the supernatural elements start to ramp up.

FOR REFERENCE:

Collects Médée, Tome 1 : L'ombre d'Hécate, Médée 2 : Le couteau dans la plaie, Médée, Tome 3 : L'épouse barbare, Médée, and Tome 4 : La Chair et le Sang.

Contents: Chapter One. Hecate's Shadow -- Chapter Two. The Knife in the Wound -- Chapter Three. The Barbarian Wife -- Chapter Four. Flesh and Blood, Part One -- Chapter Five. Flesh and Blood, Part Two -- Genealogy -- Appendices -- The Creators… (more)

This was a beautifully drawn graphic novel about the life of Medea, a woman who has been vilified over the centuries as one of the worst villains to have ever existed. This graphic novel reimagines her life and the choices that would have led her to commit atrocities like murdering her own children and other grave acts of betrayal and horror. It is a treatise about power, who gets to have it, and why women are vilified worse than men when they commit the same acts terrible acts. This is a translation of a French graphic novel that was recently published by Dark Horse, and I feel like a better job could have been done in regards to proofreading the translation. There were instances where a word was used incorrectly and it distracted me from the story. But, overall, I really enjoyed the beautiful artwork and the retelling of these myths.… (more)