Olympia #5 (of 5) out this week from Image Comics is the end of the road for the passion project from Curt Pires and his late father, Tony Pires.
Recap
Olympia #5 finishes the story of comic fan Elon, who encounters his favorite superhero Olympian. However, things aren’t quite right with Olympian, which leads to an invasion by the villain, Vilayne.
Olympia #5 Greater Story
It is best to read Olympia as a trade due to previous issues putting forth character development and artwork improvements for this finale. Olympia as a whole is a passion project by Curt Pires and his father Tony, who was battling cancer as he worked on it. These two, in turn, reflect the primary characters of Elon and comic creator Kirby Spiegelman. Elon finds solace in his lonely life through the Olympian comics created by Kirby. Kirby however already felt dead from life’s misfortune including a divorce. With Olympian’s appearance, the conversation between creators and fans take form.
Kirby starts to take the effect Olympian has on others a little more seriously. This gives him a greater appreciation for his creation in Olympia #5 to the point of calling him a son. Even if Olympian can seem a little dull when executing his plan to stop Vilayne. Elon, in response, takes the inspirations from Olympian and Kirby to become a better person ready to face hardships. It’s a pretty standard sappy story, but a wholesome one nonetheless between a father and son.
Art of Passion
Throughout the series, Alex Diotto’s pencils and ink develop and improve with each issue. This finale comes with a greater variety of shorthand detail and expression. Every wrinkle, angle, and panel feels carefully crafted to fit the setting. Not to mention the cinematic styles of momentum of the page’s panels. In one page, is the use of repeating panels with subtle changes to display the changes Kirby goes through and contrasting that are the action scenes where the inconsistent panels reflect the chaotic situations. Where the iconic Kirby Krackle fits perfectly.
The colors by Dee Cunniffe look deceptively simple in Olympia #5 when it comes to characters and architecture. Unlike the sky, which features a watercolor-like appearance that highlights the atmosphere of the setting. Yet it’s the amount of those simple colors that really strikes at the reader—especially when the lighter and darker colors reveal detail in close-ups.
The lettering by Micah Myers comes to show how the characters reach out to one another. The word balloons are completely contained in panels, never going out of bounds. This makes the words spoken by characters feel like they are directly talking to the reader. Shouting, continuing on from the first issue, meanwhile is trying to reach out to someone else in the story. Which more often than not allows characters to speak in the same panel, offering them equal ground.
Olympia #5 Ends One Story For A New One
Olympia #5 marks the end of a project where a father and son share what they love. Curt Pires is already pushing himself to new ideas with the likes of Youth. But before he joins the ranks of legends, don’t forget about the series where Pires and the artists show why they love comics. Between the critical moments in time, it’s best to enjoy the moments and what each brings to an even greater narrative.
What do you all think? Is Olympia #5 the finale the series deserved? Leave your thoughts in the comments.
