Zeus and the Thunderbolt of Doom

Gr 3-5–In this adaptation of the popular “Heroes in Training” novels, 10-year-old Zeus embraces his destiny as the future King of the Olympians. The young god is a brave yet seemingly ordinary child who lives alone with a fairy and a goat and is constantly being struck by lightning. Earth is controlled by menacing Titans, ruled by King Cronus who has been swallowing Olympians as babies. The first page opens with a close-up of the Oracle of Delphi’s goggles as she peers into the future. The future is not always clear, and as a result, her dialogue cleverly changes as she shares the prophecy that “danger” not “dancers” are lurking, but that a band of Olympians will rise against the giants. After being captured by Titans, Zeus is taken by boat from his home in Crete to the mainland. While trying to defend himself, Zeus pulls the prophesied thunderbolt from the stone and is given a quest from the Oracle to rescue Poseidon from Cronus’s stomach. The first volume concludes with Zeus, Poseidon, and Hera ready to embark on their first quest together, searching for Poseidon’s Trident. With plenty of action and fight scenes between young gods and giants, as well as a variety of mythological characters, the series perfectly lends itself to a graphic novel adaptation.