Keraunos: A Graphic Novel (2023)

This is a project that I started back in 2020, when I came across a story in Greek mythology that didn’t technically happen. In the Greek poet Hesiod’s Theogony, or the Ancient Greek creation myth, he states that before Zeus was married to Hera, he was married to Metis, a daughter of one of the titans, but it was foretold by Gaia that their children would overthrow him; first a wise daughter, and then a son more powerful than Zeus to overthrow him. Zeus would not allow this to happen, so he subsumed Metis’s essence into his mind to act as his conscience. However, Metis was pregnant with their first child at the time, so eventually one day Zeus gets a splitting headache and cracks open his skull, whereupon Athena, Goddess of war and wisdom, is born fully grown in full battle armor. Then…. Greek mythology just kind of happens? And the story about Zeus’s future usurper isn’t touched upon again. Well then, I thought “What if it did happen? What would that look like? What if this kid was born?” And there came the inception of Keraunos, the ragnarok of Greek Mythology (and no, I have not played the God of War video games).

I will also state, that this idea also came around the time certain contentious things were happening in the news… nationally… on a frightening level, so this lead me to start examining and asking questions about the democratic process and the functions of a representative democracy, government, and why our society is the way it is. What is democracy? What is fascism? What is anti-fascism? What does justice mean? And also exploring how that can tie into bigger existential questions of systems of power, religion, and beliefs. This isn’t just a story of “The king is dead, long live the king,” but a story examining these systems of power that we’ve constructed and what our beliefs mean to us. I’m not saying I have all of the answers to these questions, but I do hope that this can provoke discussion of those topics in a meaningful way.

So, in short, below is the initial concept piece of Keraunos’s confrontation with his father, Zeus; the first chapter (pages 1-10) or prelude to the story, and two “highlight pages'“ for what’s to come in the future, featuring Keraunos’s “birth” or debut, and a double page spread of Keraunos visiting with Khaos, the embodiment of the universe and all creation. This is an entire semester’s worth of research and truly a labor of love. I will be sure to provide updates on this as soon as I am able to. Until then, I hope you enjoy!