ODY-C Review: Matt Fraction’s Psychedelic Space Odyssey
Matt Fraction and Christian Ward's psychedelic, gender-flipped Odyssey.
By Web Admin
Imagine Homer’s Odyssey rewritten as a queer, gender-flipped space opera, narrated in surging free verse, and painted like the inside of a lava lamp having a religious experience. That is ODY-C, the 2014 Image Comics series from writer Matt Fraction and artist Christian Ward — and it is one of the most gloriously excessive, divisive, and unforgettable comics of the last decade.
This is our honest review. ODY-C is not for everyone; in fact it goes out of its way to be difficult. But readers who lock onto its wavelength find one of the most singular things in modern comics. Here is what it is, how demanding it really is, and whether you should take the trip.
What is ODY-C?
ODY-C is a creator-owned series written by Matt Fraction (Hawkeye, Sex Criminals, Casanova) and drawn and colored by Christian Ward. It launched from Image Comics in November 2014. The concept is audacious: it retells Homer’s Odyssey as an interstellar epic in which almost every major role has been gender-swapped. Odysseus becomes Odyssia, a cunning warrior queen trying to sail home across the cosmos after a decades-long war, dogged by capricious gods and monstrous obstacles.
The first collected volume, “Off to Far Ithicaa,” gathers issues #1–5 and typically runs around US$15. It covers the opening movements of Odyssia’s voyage, including the series’ own spin on the Cyclops and the lotus-eaters.
The gender-flip, and why it matters
This is not a gimmick pasted over the source. Fraction builds a whole cosmology to justify it: in the backstory, the god Zeus, terrified of a prophecy, wipes men out of existence for millennia, leaving a universe of women and a newly invented third gender, the “sebex.” The flip reshapes the myth’s politics of power, desire, and revenge from the ground up. Odyssia’s cunning, rage, and longing for home read differently — and often more sharply — filtered through this reimagined universe.
The verse: a real barrier to entry
Here is the thing you must know before buying. ODY-C is written almost entirely in dense, Homeric free verse, styled after the epic meter of the original poem. Captions and dialogue tumble in long, alliterative, invented-vocabulary lines. It is beautiful read aloud and genuinely challenging read silently, especially at first. Some readers bounce off within a few pages; others describe a moment, usually a chapter or two in, when the rhythm suddenly clicks and the whole book opens up.
Our advice: read the first issue slowly, out loud if you can, and give yourself permission not to catch every reference. The music matters more than parsing every line.
Christian Ward’s art is the main event
Even if the verse defeats you, the visuals will not. Christian Ward’s fully painted, psychedelic artwork is the reason many people own this book. He uses acid-bright color, dissolving forms, and radically inventive page layouts — enormous fold-out-feeling spreads, spiraling panel grids, cosmic vistas that spill off the edges. It is closer to album-cover art or classic 1970s sci-fi illustration than to standard comics. If you love the visual ambition of a Heavy Metal magazine or the far-out end of science fiction, this is a feast.
How it compares to other cosmic comics
If you want to place ODY-C on a shelf, it lives near the maximalist, art-forward end of science fiction comics.
| Book | Vibe | Difficulty | Approx. price |
|---|---|---|---|
| ODY-C, Vol. 1 | Psychedelic epic in verse | Hard | ~US$15 |
| Saga, Vol. 1 | Accessible space opera | Easy | ~US$10 |
| Prophet (2012) | Weird far-future sci-fi | Medium | ~US$10 |
If ODY-C sounds thrilling but intimidating, the friendliest on-ramp to modern indie sci-fi is still Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples’ book — see our Saga, Vol. 1 review — and then work your way toward Fraction and Ward’s deep end.
What to expect if you keep going
Volume 1 is very much an opening movement. Where the original poem sprawls across many islands and trials, Fraction and Ward reinterpret those episodes across the run — a monstrous take on the Cyclops, a drugged idyll standing in for the lotus-eaters, and reworked encounters with figures answering to Circe and the Sirens. The series ran for three collected volumes in total, gradually widening its cosmology and its cast of goddesses. Because each volume leans harder into the poetry and the painted spectacle, readers who click with the first book tend to fall for the rest, while those who struggle early rarely convert. In other words, Volume 1 is an honest audition: if it sings to you, the whole thing will.
It’s also worth setting expectations about density per page. This is not a comic you’ll blow through on a lunch break. A single issue can take as long as a chapter of prose, partly because the verse rewards slow reading and partly because Ward’s spreads demand that you stop and look. Budget time and attention, and treat it more like poetry than a thriller.
Content warning
ODY-C is firmly for adults. Expect frank sexuality and nudity, graphic violence, and mature themes throughout, all rendered in Ward’s vivid style. It is thoughtful rather than gratuitous, but it is explicit, so treat it as an adult purchase.
Who should read it — and who should skip it
- Read it if you love formal ambition, poetry, myth, and art that pushes the page to its limits.
- Read it if you enjoyed Fraction’s Casanova or the trippier corners of science fiction.
- Skip it if you want a fast, plot-driven read, or if dense verse narration sounds like homework rather than fun.
Pros and cons
Pros
- Some of the most jaw-dropping painted art in modern comics
- A genuinely bold, intelligent reinvention of a canonical myth
- Rewards re-reading and reading aloud
- Utterly unlike anything else on the shelf
Cons
- The dense verse is a real barrier — many readers bounce off
- Plot can be hard to follow on a first pass
- Explicit content; strictly for adults
Which edition should you buy?
Because Ward’s color work is the whole point, format matters here.
| Edition | Collects | Approx. price | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Volume 1 paperback | Issues #1–5 | ~US$15 | Trying it out |
| Later volumes (2–3) | Continuing arcs | ~US$17 each | Committed readers |
| Single issues | Oversized art | Varies | Savoring the layouts at scale |
Start with the Volume 1 trade. If the verse clicks and the art hooks you, the story continues across further collections.
AmazonCheck price on AmazonThe verdict
ODY-C is a magnificent risk. It will lose some readers on page one and win others for life. We admire it enormously: it is the kind of ferociously ambitious, art-first comic that only creator-owned publishing makes possible, and Christian Ward’s pages are worth the price alone. Go in knowing it demands effort, and it repays that effort with something you cannot get anywhere else. Find more in the same spirit in our best sci-fi graphic novels guide, our best Image Comics roundup, and the wider Indie & Image hub.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to know Homer’s Odyssey to enjoy ODY-C?
It helps but isn’t required. Knowing the myth lets you appreciate how cleverly Fraction reworks each episode, but the book stands on its own as a strange, beautiful space epic.
Why is ODY-C so hard to read?
It’s written in dense, Homeric free verse with invented vocabulary, and Ward’s layouts are unconventional. Reading a little more slowly — even aloud — usually makes it click within an issue or two.
Is ODY-C appropriate for teenagers?
No. It contains explicit sexual content, nudity, and graphic violence, so it’s strictly an adult read.
Is ODY-C finished?
The series ran for three collected volumes. Volume 1, “Off to Far Ithicaa,” is the essential starting point and the best place to decide whether the book is for you.
For a gentler entry into indie sci-fi, try our Saga review, or browse the best of the publisher in our Image Comics guide.
