In the tenth volume of the Olympians series, we meet Hermes, the god of so many things, it would take up half this review to list them. Known mostly for his speed and mischievous nature, he was also good-natured enough to win over any detractors. His stories are told by a wandering traveler with a dog companion to his host for the night.

There are five stories told in this volume, though only four are told by our traveler and one by the host, who believes his story explains the others. To convince his host that his stories are worthy of hearing, the traveler tells a tale that explains why dogs sniff each others’ back sides. Also told are the stories of Hermes’ birth and entry into Olympus, his son Pan, and his part in helping Zeus defeat Typhon, the last son of Mother Earth. The story told by the host is of Hermes and Zeus saving a couple who is hospitable to them, while passing judgement on their neighbors who were not. There is a well executed twist here that I will not spoil.

These tales show the many sides of Hermes. Even though he is a trickster, his tricks are not mean or malicious. He does steal his half-brother Apollo’s sacred cows when he is only one day old, but he makes a trade with Apollo for the lyre he just invented, that the normally vindictive god feels is more than fair. He even wins over Hera, who is normally not pleased with Zeus’ roaming eye or the progeny it produces. He is also very loyal to his father, promising to come back for him when Typhon attacks the Olympians. He does so, with his own son Pan, and they are instrumental in helping Zeus defeat the father of monsters.

O’Connor really outdid himself with this volume. Not only for the skillful twist at the end, but also for the way he portrays Hermes. Throughout the volume, you almost never see Hermes’ eyes. They are also covered under a tortoise shell or helmet. It gives him a mysterious quality, but also as O’Connor mentions at the end of the book, as the god of liars, he doesn’t want you to see his eyes, so it's very telling the few times we do. The Hermes-Apollo chase is one of the best bits of comedy you will read in a long time. And O’Connor’s note on it at the end just makes it all the funny. I also really loved how he connected some of the roles Hermes played, such as from thieves and liars, to language and eloquence, to politicians. The panels showing this are priceless.

Of all the volumes of Olympians so far, this one is by far the most good-natured. The stories have a mostly humorous bend, though Hermes can be serious when necessary. But he is never shown to be vengeful, jealous or vindictive. He is just trying to help. And there’s nothing wrong with having a little fun along the way.

Once again, George O'Connor delivers a great graphic novel highlighting one of the Olympians. This time, the focus is on Hermes. A trickster of a God, at one day old he is annoying Apollo and impressing Zeus and Hera. Hermes is granted many duties in the hopes he won't cause trouble. The framing of this one is nicely done. Another excellent Olympians comic.

Thank you to by George O'Connor, First Second Books, and NetGalley for allowing me the extreme pleasure of access to an advanced reader copy of “Olympians: Hermes: Tales of the Trickster” for an honest review.

This was a delightful edition to the O’Connor series of the Mythic Greek/Roman gods & goddess. I loved how much humor went into these stories -- you might say, like Hermes, they were very “quick” witted and “fast” paced.

This might be my favorite of George O'Connor's olympians series so far.

I really loved the use of humor in the volume. Very true to the character of Hermes himself. And the artwork seems to get better with each volume too.

My favorite thing about this one was that I learned all new stories. I previously knew nothing about Hermes' origins, and had never heard/read about the other stories the author picked either.

I would highly recommend this if you are looking for an introduction into the olympian Greek Gods, and this one in particular for Hermes is a great jumping off point. i read it in one sitting, so it is easy to digest!

George O'Connor continues his series on the Olympians with Hermes. Hermes is a trickster among his many attributes as becomes clear in stories told to Argus by Aesop that reveal his origins, his relationship with other Olympians, and major life events. The book also sets up future tales. In all a very nice addition to this series.

I want to thank Netgalley and First Second Books for the chance to review this title.

I was interested in this one because my students read Percy Jackson in the summer and I thought I could do a project with this series, but the quality of the ARC made it hard to read and I bailed. It seemed interesting though and I will pick up a physical copy to read and evaluate because what I was able to read was interesting

Another great Olympians book. This is my favorite series to recommend to readers that are struggling with the mythology portion of their classes. These books make the stories accessible and understandable. I can't wait until all the books are out so I can get a complete set. The art is gorgeous, and beautifully consistent. Even volumes later, I can tell exactly who each God or goddess is, without needing to be told, because this author gives each Olympian a style and sticks with it. You can tell he's passionate about Greek mythology, because he puts so much effort into these books. I cannot wait for more, and I cannot recommend these highly enough.

There are obviously several factors that make George O'Connor's Olympian series such a relish, among these the stellar design of each protagonist, the characterization, the narrative technique, its near universality in accessibility -- and all of these continue through this tenth entry, Hermes: Tales of the Trickster.

To this point in the greater story, Hermes has been nearly everywhere yet absolutely nowhere. He's been the most prominent cursory character this entire time, dipping into each narrative with a now signature fast-talking, fast-paced style… as well as with a touch mystery. So when we see Hermes zipping through the night as an infant vandal, or executing a dizzying number of functions, the latter which O'Connor deftly illustrates, suddenly what we've glimpsed before begins to make some sense. We begin to get an understanding of just who this wise guy is, someone who's cleverly always in the mix of everything.

O'Connor states that Hermes is his favorite, and his sheer enthusiasm for portraying the character is palpable. He's having as much fun telling this tale as Hermes himself appears to be in all his sly high jinks. Even though Typhon with his monstrous grandeur attempts to steal the story, Hermes is by far the capital thief here of our attention.

O'Connor's faithfulness to the classical myths along with his intuitive insight into these gods is probably the most compelling element of his series, as well as his ability to structure things in a greater, overreaching arc. Seeing that Argos the giant is finally the conclusion to what started seven books ago, or more profoundly, realizing that Hermes shares deep parallels with his father Zeus that not even mythological scholars of today will highlight, to say nothing of the twist in the ending, all make for a more satisfying read than simply taking this story at face value, especially as we slowly come to the conclusion of the series.

The mystery is uncovered -- we finally see Hermes' face...! And he's handsome, too! Just to fully see Hermes, isn't that enough to warrant reading?

Hermes is the god of peacemakers, astronomy, calendars, and writing. He is also the god of thieves and liars, language, and politicians. He has many other categories that he is the god of, but he is most known for being a trickster. Hermes: Tales of the Trickster is a graphic novel depicting many of his exploits. O’Connor continues his Olympians series with this tenth volume. The graphics and format are the same as the other books, but since each book is about a different Olympian, readers do not need to read them in any particular order. These stories of Hermes are quickly devoured and will please most readers of mythology and/or graphic novels.

This review will be posted on social media closer to the review date:

In this 10th Olympians book we’re introduced to Hermes’ origin story and some of his adventures, as well as looking at a few of the adventures of his son, Pan.

I think this is my favorite Olympians book of all so far. Hermes’ tales are much more fun and lighthearted than a lot of the others. His first adventure is worthy of several giggles. In the back of the book O’Connor says Hermes is his favorite of the Greek gods and it shows. You can tell he had lots of fun with this one. I’d never heard about the ties between Aesop and Hermes before or the myth explaining why dogs sniff each others’ backsides (which was humorous). Another great addition to this graphic novel series that retells classic myths in graphic novel format. If you’re gonna study the Greek myths, this series is a fun and memorable way to do it. Students will be super happy when this comes in to our library.

Notes on content: No language issues. Though Greek gods are known to sleep around, there’s no graphic details and the most intimacy on page is a hug. Some people are scantily clad or naked but speech bubbles, page edges, and other things are tactfully employed to keep things decent. There are some battles, but nothing super gory in this one. (It says that Typhon takes Zeus’ sinews at one point, but they aren’t shown and he looks fine.)

Another enjoyable volume to the Olympians graphic novel series. Unlike the other volumes, the stories included in this graphic novel were all new to me. I love learning new stuff! Since I read the ARC of this, a lot of the text was squished together and had issue of spacing which made it hard to read. I hope the publishers do fix this in the actual print edition. The illustrations were a bit grainy too, but that might be due to the electronic format? Here's hoping. Like always, O'Connor provides a great list of further reading recommendations and an author's note. This is a fun series for those who are already caught up with Rick Riordan's books and can't get enough of mythology.

I absolutely adore George O"Connor and have read quite a few of his books. Hermes is the latest addition and a god that I often overlooked. But with the flashy graphics and the tremendous wit that is infused on every page, this is definetely a book that any kid- young and the young at heart will want to have on their book shelves.


A full review will be posted on my Goodreads in January.

I've always loved mythology and grew up on it, reading myths from around the world. So when I saw this, I had to request it.

Aaah, the joys of reading an ARC. Many of the words and sentences lack spacing between them so theyruntgetherlikethis. Ack. Well over half the text was like that, making for challenging reading. I do hope that's corrected in the final copy since it seriously interfered with the reading. The artwork was meh, kind of blurry at times and lacking in detail though some of Apollo's facial expressions were very well done.

The story, now, that was a good one. I'm reasonably familiar with Greek mythology but a lot of the stories and details were new to me, and they were woven into a cohesive storyline with an ending that I didn't see coming. I was pretty sure I knew the identity of the traveler - Nope! I was wrong. :D

Most of the stories had tot do with Hermes, naturally since this is his book, and man, infant Hermes was a charming and mischievous rascal. His poor mother!

At the end of the book were biographies of some of the key figures in the story, a bibliography, footnotes, and some discussion questions. And yay, I learned more new things!

The text was a major challenge to read and the artwork was nothing special (not that I could do any better), but I enjoyed the story, and now I want to see if my library has any of the other books in this series.

Another fine addition to an already excellent series. O'Conner's comic book style take on the Greek myths repeatedly prove popular with both our younger and adult readers.

The 10th volume of George O'Connor's Olympians series brings out the trickster. No, not Loki; the other trickster. Hermes - the winged feet guy? - is the god of tricksters and thieves, animal husbandry, trade and merchants, sleep, contests and athletes, astronomy, language, and he happens to also be a guide for the dead. From his humble beginnings as an infant who had a penchant for cattle rustling (he's the god of that, too) to his adventures with his son, Pan, O'Connor provides a nice overview of Hermes, framed as a series of stories told by a character who is not exactly what he seems. There are additional mythological figure biographies, a bibliography, footnotes, and discussion questions. The Olympians collection is a good graphic novel go-to series for kids' collections; they're a good additional resource for research reports, and kids enjoy reading about the Olympians. I display my set with my Percy Jackson books, and it generates a lot of interest, especially when you booktalk the series as the basis for Percy Jackson. (Nothing about Mount Olympus being at the top of the Empire State Building in O'Connor, but who knows, right?)

Hermes is the tenth book in George O’Connor’s stellar illustrated Greek gods series, and really, at this point there’s little to say that every household, especially but not exclusively, those with children, should have these books on the shelf and just automatically add them as O’Connor comes up with them. They’re just that good.

This one opens with a former slave and his dog traveling the countryside until they stop at a cottage where a many-eyed figure is the watchman over a very fine cow tethered outside. In exchange for some food and wine, the traveler offers to tell the watchman some stories, all of which, as one might imagine from the title, deal with Hermes. Logically enough, they begin with his birth and then his first act as an infant—stealing Apollo’s cattle. Apollo tries to convince the other Olympians that this newborn is a menace, but little Hermes charms even Hera (“I should be angry” she thinks, but finds it impossible) and so he’s granted his place on Mt. Olympus. Various other Hermes-centered tales follow, as well as a run-down of all the things he is “god of,” such as thieves, athletics, guard dogs, and many more. As is typical of the series, O’Connor broadens the focus beyond the titular god, and so we get an adventure or two from Pan (Hermes’ son), a decent-sized interlude of the battle against Typhon (Hermes comes in mostly just at the end), and a host of references to other myths, such as the story of Io, dog-headed men, and more. They stories are concise and quick-paced, and the tone, perhaps more than in the others thanks to the nature of Hermes, is more sardonic/modern pop-like than a few of the others. I admit now and then the language pulled me a little out, but that’s a minor complaint.

After the narrative, we get the usual backmatter of the series: a glossary, a quick-notes page on a few individuals from the narrative, a bibliography/for further reading section, a few discussion questions, and the always-fascinating author notes, which serve to personalize the voice behind the stories and to offer up some interesting details, such as how several of the illustrations are based off of famous statues of Hermes. As for the illustration, it’s highly adaptable to the context of the story, employing light and pastel to mirror/create one kind of mood and handily switching to darker, more jagged images for scenes such as the battle with Typhon. There’s never any confusion in terms of what is being depicted and space is effectively employed to enhance action. Hermes is just one more excellent entry in a top-notch series and one I can’t recommend enough for homes and libraries (any school librarian who doesn’t have these on the shelves should be charged with negligence).

I've only read one other graphic novel by O'Connor and that was Zeus. I wasn't a big fan but I love Greek mythology and it has been 8 or so graphic novels since then so I decided to give him another try. While I did enjoy the story of Hermes more, I still felt something is missing. The drawings don't grab me and the narrative is very straight forward almost to the point of being dull, which I feel mythology is anything but.

I love these Greek God graphics they are always interesting, and it gives so many different stories/myths of their characters. I never really gave much thought to Hermes he's not as popular as Zeus, Hera, Ares, or Athena. He is a fun, inventive, wearer of many hats. Like many of the Greek Gods he has multiple disciplines and he's fast so he can do much with a little time, and he was a super cute baby.

I love greek mythology so that's why I want to read this book. The story is great but I'm not very fan of the drawings.

I have read most of the books in this series. I enjoyed them as much as this one. Looking forward to more.