300

300
by Frank Miller, Lynn Varley

300
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Book Summary Information

Author: Frank Miller, Lynn Varley
Edition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1999-12-15
ISBN: 1569714029
Number of pages: 88
Publisher: Dark Horse

Book Reviews of 300

Book Review: An epic tale.
Summary: 5 Stars

I first read Frank Miller's 300 prior to the film's release...and then I re read it after the film. It was amazing to see the pure intensity of the film, but it also shows the depth of the novel. Comparing the two side-by-side you notice most of the contents of the novel are in the film. The film really only adds to the subplots of the book...and expands upon the scenes. The art direction is brilliant. Frank Miller has reached the summit of the graphic novel using incredibly detailed art to emphasis his bold story telling. The book does a good job retelling the Battle of Thermopylae. I say good because there is more than a hint of fiction scattered amongst the nonfiction, but that makes the story come alive. Well done Frank Miller, well done indeed.......I would also recommend Clarence Cage's novel Ashes Divide: Ashes Divide (Epic sequel to 300) it expands upon Frank Miller's 300 and the Battle of Thermopylae. Another book I'd recommend is Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle by Steven Pressfield: Gates of Fire: An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae Both these novels are epic and both expand the story of 300.

Summary of 300

The armies of Persia--a vast horde greater than any the world has ever known--are poised to crush Greece, an island of reason and freedom in a sea of madness and tyranny. Standing between Greece and this tidal wave of destruction are a tiny detachment of but three hundred warriors. Frank Miller`s epic retelling of history`s supreme moment of battlefield valor is finally collected in a glorious hardcover volume in its intended format-- each two-page spread from the original comics is presented as a single undivided page.
An emperor amasses an army of hundreds of thousands, drawn from two continents, to invade a third continent and conquer a tiny, divided nation. Only a few hundred warriors stand against them. Yet the tiny nation is saved. It sounds like the plot of a preposterous fantasy novel. It is historical fact. In 481-480 B.C., King Xerxes of Persia raised forces in Asia and Africa and invaded Greece with an army so huge that it "drank rivers dry." Then they entered the mountain pass of Thermopylae and encountered 300 determined soldiers from Sparta....

Writer-artist Frank Miller and colorist Lynn Varley retell the battle of Thermopylae in the exciting and moving graphic novel 300. They focus on King Leonidas, the young foot soldier Stelios, and the storyteller Dilios to highlight the Spartans' awe-inspiring toughness and valor. Miller and Varley's art is terrific, as always; the combat scenes are especially powerful. And Miller's writing is his best in years. Read it.

Do not, however, read 300 expecting a strictly accurate history. The Phocians did not "scatter," as Miller describes. His Spartans are mildly homophobic, which is goofy in such a gay society. Miller doesn't say how many Greeks remained for the climactic battle--you'd think 300 Spartans and maybe a dozen others, when there were between 700 and 1,100 Greeks. Herodotus's Histories does not identify the traitor Ephialtes as ugly and hunchbacked, or even as Spartan. 300 establishes a believable connection between Ephialtes's affliction and behavior, but his monstrous appearance, King Xerxes's effeminacy, and the Persians' inexplicable pierced-GenX-African looks make for an eyebrow-raising choice of villain imagery. Nonetheless, 300 is a brilliant dramatization.

For the full story of the failed invasion, read Herodotus's Histories or, for a concise, graphic-novel retelling, Larry Gonick's great Cartoon History of the Universe: Volumes 1-7, From the Big Bang to Alexander the Great. For a lighthearted look at post-invasion Athens and a very young Alexander the Great, check out William Messner-Loebs and Sam Kieth's witty and gorgeous graphic novels, Epicurus the Sage Vol. I and Vol. II. --Cynthia Ward

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