considering your issues with lore olympus, is the lore rekindled any better? it's the same plot, no?
fantastic question, i am going to write far too much in response!
in short: yes and no! but also no. with a little yes!
for those who haven't seen, genericpuff (and their background artist banshriek) are essentially "redoing" lore olympus, although that doesn't even begin to cover the work and talent they've put into rekindled. probably the best way i could explain it is they've taken the core pieces of lore olympus and actually given them depth and structure, with a plot that just scratches my brain so good uuugh please read rekindled if you haven't already
i've said this before, but arguably my biggest grievance with myth retellings - and absolutely the case here for lore olympus - is a complete lack of care or understanding of the core myth being "retold." someone who knows the myth, knows the importance and value it held and adheres to that in a retelling, will always be ten thousand times better suited to the story than the most awarded artist out there.
i could easily overlook the degrading art and the weird plot holes if rachel had bothered to do her research and show the original myth any kind of respect; instead, she goes out of her way from page one to disrespect the culture, history, and mythology the story of persephone is taken from. rachel sees these shiny pieces, but she doesn't know how to use them with depth or purpose, so ultimately, she just dresses them up and shoves them into the page. it's a shallow and pedantic story that uses familiar names and history, but never goes anywhere with them. genuinely, you could go to the first wattpad fic of a fourteen year old on the internet for the first time and find the same plot, and i'd argue the fourteen year old would do it better because at least they're excited about it!!!
i'll try not to spoil too much, and it is ongoing, but the way rekindled has taken the original plot and made it work is incredible. persephone's hidden rage, her complex feelings towards demeter, the hierarchy of the gods - all of that is displayed with far more tact, respect, and delight. it uses the basic plot of lore olympus, and the very basic structure, but the similarities end there, because there's depth and connection that never show up in rachel's work.
lore olympus often relied on surface level conversations and plots - it struggled to create intrigue, it couldn't really do secrets or plot reveals in an organic way. concepts of sexuality, feminism, toxic relationships, abuse, power, and systemic dysfunction were broached in the comic, but ultimately handled sloppily, or discarded entirely. this is not a comic where you're going to find a lot of nuance, or you can discuss the nature of a character and acknowledge they have levels to them - what you see is what you get, and what you get ... isn't very good.
rekindled adds a lot more to the characters, giving them meat for the readers to parse through. there's a reverence for the original myth that shows, there's clear research in how the dynamics work (hera inviting persephone to her home is not just hera asking for company, and genericpuff showed their work in a follow up post which made me so! happy!!!) this is a retelling that genuinely enjoys itself, and it's a pleasure to read it, because you know the work is being done. the artwork is gorgeous, naturally, but it's the clear work and delight both genericpuff and banshriek demonstrate, and how they've carved away all the unnecessary floss from the lo version.
it also goes to show that rachel - with all the money and accolades she got from lore olympus - could never do what genericpuff and banshriek are doing for free, on their own time. and that says a lot about her talent, but even more on lore rekindled.
blakekathryn
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