BREAKING NEWS: Hear a podcast interview with creator Paul Benjamin at Fanboy Radio

Let's face it, for many of us, high school is the most intense, gut-wrenching, brutal and humiliating experience we'll ever have in life. (Not for me, mind you. I was never a geek. Unlike all of you. Seriously, anyone who reads manga and checks out TOKYOPOP's website has to be a nerd.)

"If only I were a demigod," you've frequently thought. "Then High School would have been a total breeze." Well, I hate to dash your dweebish musings, but according to the world of Pantheon High, being a teenage demigod is full of its own challenges and hardships. (And by the way, if you're into mythology and manga, you've entered a whole new echelon of geekdom.)

Okay, here's Pantheon High's inspired setup: Demigod teenagers. High School. Los Angeles. That's a winning trifecta, folks. Set in modern-day Los Angeles, several demigod teenagers from Greek, Norse, Japanese and Egyptian pantheons attend an exclusive school in the Hollywood Hills. Just like any school, there are bullies. Only, these bad eggs are the children of evil gods--and they've unleashed a plan to usher in Armageddon. Now four unlikely heroes from different cliques must band together to stop them: Aziza, a hot-headed prima donna; Grace, a sword-wielding bookworm; Griffin, a loner with a death wish; and Yukio, an excellent athlete and student.

It's The Breakfast Club meets Clash of the Titans. How cool is that?

I mean, that's almost as cool as this book's amazing art. Steven and Megumi Cummings have done what no other global manga artists have ever done--they have painstakingly hand-toned every page of this manga! Look, Mom! Just like they do it in Japan!

And I better not forget Paul Benjamin, writer extraordinaire. He's the biggest nerd behind this whole Pantheon High project. Check this out. This is how he came up with the idea for the book: “A few years ago, I was talking with a fellow geek about how D&D cleric characters have a direct connection to their deities. Pray to Thor for a bolt of lightning to smite your enemy and it actually happens. Imagine having a direct line to your god! I began playing with ideas for incorporating the ancient gods into our modern day world.”

Dungeons and Dragons and mythology and manga? Now that's entering the realm of the uber dorks! Man, I can't even begin to imagine what torture Paul Benjamin went through in high school. Even if he was a demigod, he would have been teased mercilessly!

Well, you know what I always say: Making manga is the best revenge!

~Paul Morrissey, Super Cool Guy and Editor Who Was Never a Nerd

Welcome to Pantheon High! You’re not here because you’re smarter, faster or stronger than other kids. You’re better than other kids because you’re the child of a god and a mortal. As a demigod, you’ll get the best education a child of Greek, Norse, Japanese or Egyptian divinity can receive. Here at our Los Angeles based campus, you’ll study subjects ranging from Algebra to Mythstory under noted instructors such as Greece’s oldest mortal, Tithonus, and Japan’s mistress of combat, Ms. Hitomi Hachiman. And let’s not forget our very own Fighting Chimeras--divine league basketball champions two years running. Keep at ‘em, Coach Hercules! You may have heard prophecies or seen visions of a great doom looming over the school, but the End Of All Things is no excuse for tardiness and absences will go on your permanent record. The challenges at a school for demigods are great, but if anyone can face them it’s the students of… Pantheon High!

Writer Paul Benjamin earned his Mythstory teaching credentials as a writer/editor for esteemed European graphic novel publisher, Humanoids, in the trenches of  Hollywood and as a teaching assistant in LA. At Humanoids Paul edited titles including The Metabarons, I Am Legion and Olympus. Paul’s writing credits include The Wolverine Encyclopedia, Metal Hurlant and the-comic-with-the-best-title-ever Monkey Vs. Lemur: Crisis of Infinite Critters. You can read his webcomic Sci-Fu at www.sci-fu.com. Check out the latest news about Paul at his site.

Hear a podcast interview with Paul at Fanboy Radio   The interview originally aired March 28, 2007 at 1 PM on KTCU 88.7 in Dallas/Fort Worth. The podcast download is here

The article, Manga, American Style, includes a mini-interview with Paul.

Artists Steven and Megumi Cummings impressed the school board with their pencil, ink and hand-toning skills on Batman, Deadshot, Excalibur, Flash, Green Lantern, Elektra, Humanoids’ L’armee des anges and other titles before joining the Pantheon High faculty. When she’s not inking manga, Megumi produces a line of divinely cute clothing, bags and accessories available at www.sweethoneycomplex.com. The Cummings also volunteer at a soup kitchen every week to inspire the students at Pantheon High.

Grace Morgenstern: Grace is an overachiever, just like her parents. Her mother is a prominent African American politician and her dad is a Hollywood producer. Of course, that made for a media circus over the summer when one of her mom’s political rivals revealed that Grace’s mom had an affair with Tyr, the Norse god of war, back when she was studying abroad in Norway. Now that the cat is out of the bag, Grace has been transferred to Pantheon High.

Powers: Grace is a thinker, not a fighter, so finding out she’s half war god has turned her world upside down. Now that she is doing more than just reading books, she’s discovered that she is incredibly strong, has innate combat skills and can field strip an AK-47 with her eyes closed.

Yukio Takahashi: Yukio’s name means, “Gets what he wants” and it has always proven true. When Yukio was little, his father, a gardener turned Los Angeles real estate tycoon, told Yukio that his mother had left them to pursue her career. When Yukio turned 16, his dad revealed that Yukio’s mother was actually Benten, one of the seven Japanese gods of luck. It may seem like he gets whatever he wants, but deep down he wonders if he has ever achieved anything on his own.

Powers: Yukio loves to take chances and he always gets through challenges by the skin of his teeth thanks to his incredible luck. Things just fall into place for Yukio, especially those things that are important to teenage boys, like catching glimpses of naked girls, impressing the opposite sex and kicking ass.

Aziza Ra

Her mom is a high-powered attorney and her dad is the Egyptian sun god, Ra. Aziza uses her parents’ status to her advantage at every possible opportunity and she’s without a doubt the most popular girl in school. After all, she is the daughter of Ra, king of the Egyptian gods.

Powers: Anytime she’s under pressure, whether turned on by a boy or pissed off at an enemy, Aziza’s body temperature increases to the point where she can melt steel with a touch. It’s frustrating because just when she wants to act too cool for school, she gets hot and everyone can see that she cares about things more than she wants to admit.

Griffin Pierce

Griffin is an orphan and an outcast at Pantheon High. He spent years moving from one foster home to another, never fitting in. A few years ago, he learned that his father is actually Hades, the Greek god of death. That didn’t help. It turns out Griffin’s mom abandoned him as a child, killing herself so that she could spend more time with Hades.

Powers: Though he has little control over his godly powers, Griffin can sometimes cause people to find themselves temporarily in the midst of a horrible punishment appropriate to their sins.

What a premise: high school for the “teenaged demigod” crowd. This tale is entertaining on quite a few levels.

It delivers a manga experience with some American sensibilities that, frankly, elevates this work over many other manga titles. Truly, I believe that Pantheon High achieved what I have been hoping to see for a very long time: an OEL book that is superior to many of the TOKYOPOP manga fare.

Perhaps the source of this opinion is somewhat tainted: I grew up reading superhero comic books and I still do. I’ve been getting into manga and manhwa slowly over the past 3 years and enjoying quite a few of the books that I bring home. My love for American comics and my growing fascination with manga have created a unique dilemma: I see where each one is weaker than the other.

I wish my American comics were more like manga: faster, more energetic, more out there in terms of taking storytelling risks that I haven’t seen before. But I also wish manga was more like American comics: storylines that go somewhere faster, with a large cast and that wastes no time exposing me to their particular version of their world.

I've felt that both of these goals have been reached in only two series that I’ve read: Lone Wolf and Cub and Planetes.
Add Pantheon High to that list.

It’s a fun read that is chock full of mythological references while depicting a varied and diverse version of 90210 starring the children of the gods. I read this first volume and was pleasantly surprised by the art. It looks and feels right. The artists are more than qualified to deliver the story in a style that says “I’m manga!” and with a density of storytelling not frequently seen in American or manga titles as of late. The artwork reminds me of the art in I”S in a good way, as it’ll pull you in just as easily as any other TOKYOPOP book.

The story is excellent and does a great job of introducing the main characters, teachers, the general student body, pervs and troublemakers that make up this tale.

BIG PLUS: the storyline reaches its conclusion in this same volume. How refreshing to start off on a new title and have a complete story, not volume 1 of 36.

If you went to high school at any time for any length of time, you’ll be right at home with Pantheon High. I am, and I’ve been out of high school for longer than most and this title was open, friendly, entertaining and delightful for me. Take a chance and I’m sure that Pantheon High will not disappoint you.

~MangaLife Review by Javier Lugo



Stunning in its ambition, Benjamin's detailed story imagines all of the characters of the various world mythologies living together in one universe-and sending their children to the same high school in Los Angeles.

Sullen Grace is the daughter of Tyr, Norse god of war; reckless Griffin, child of Hades and raised by adopted human parents, flirts with suicide and tries to bribe Charon to take him home; Yukio, son of the Japanese goddess of luck, skirts by on his innate good fortune; and Aziza, daughter of Egyptian sun god Ra, can use her body to generate intense heat.

When a group of renegade mythological students puts the rest of the student body to sleep so that they can carry out their plan to ascend to godhood alongside their parents, the four fight back together. There are laughs aplenty throughout the school day, and there is something utterly charming about immortal beings talking fluid 21st-century teenspeak. The intricate and detailed artwork includes tons of clever puns and historical references hidden throughout; a much-needed glossary at the end points out the mythical background of many of the sight gags and references.

This is truly a one-of-a-kind work that entertains with intelligence and humor.

Publisher's Weekly 2.6.07



Other praise for Pantheon High:

http://willow-dot-com.livejournal.com/15909.html

http://www.mangalife.com/reviews/PantheonHighv1.htm

http://comicpants.com/?p=1253

http://www.sequentialtart.com/reports.php?ID=5164&issue=2007-03-01

http://www.comicbookbin.com/pantheonhigh001.html

http://www.mania.com/53378.html

http://comics.ign.com/articles/766/766198p1.html

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/right-turn-only/2007-02-20

http://reviews.publishersweekly.com/bd.aspx?isbn=1598167340&pub=pw

http://comicsnob.com/2007/02/06/review-pantheon-high-1/

http://anime.about.com/od/manga/a/aa012807.htm

http://www.chrisroberson.net/ramble.html