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Type of bind: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 741.5973
EAN num: 9781569714027
ISBN number: 1569714029
Label: Dark Horse
Manufacturer: Dark Horse
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 88
Printing Date: December 15, 1999
Publishing house: Dark Horse
Sale Popularity Level: 5219
Studio: Dark Horse
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Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
300 is a story of war and defiance as only Frank Miller can tell. Featuring the watercolour talents of painter Lynn Varley, 300 marks the very first collaboration for these two creators since 1990's Elektra Lives Again. The five-part series is collected into a beautiful, 88-page hardcover volume, with each two-page spread from the comic presented as it was originally intended - as a single undivided page, greatly enhancing the graphic and narrative power of this immortal tale of heroic sacrifice. Make sure to check out the online preview of 300 here. And watch for news of this soon to be made major motion picture.
Amazon.com Review:
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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Rated by buyers 
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Blood and Rain
Blood for the Masses
Originally published in SavageNight Ezine
300
Story and Art by
Frank Miller
Reviewed by
B.L.Morgan
5 Stars
Q: When can a graphic novel be elevated to the level of high art?
A: When truly beautiful and stylish artwork and resonating dialogue is used to illustrate a story of epic proportions that tell a tale of a heroic struggle against insurmountable odds.
At The Battle Of Thermopylae in 480BC 300 Spartan warriors delayed an invading Persian army of somewhere around 150,000 combat troops long enough so that the rest of the cities of Greece could raise armies and stop their country from being invaded. It was a suicide mission from the beginning.
The king of Sparta, Leonidas knew the odds were overwhelmingly in favor of the enemy. It didn't matter. To the last man, the 300 Spartans fought and died. None gave nor asked for mercy.
The artwork in 300 is moody, tense and in some places downright gross. Hand to hand combat with swords and spears is not a pretty sight. Frank Miller shows this kind of warfare in all its ugliness.
Do I recommend 300 by Frank Miller? You better believe I do! I've never read any story better than this in any medium.
The glorious stand of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae still echoes in history nearly 2500 years after it took place. Frank Miller's interpretation of this historic battle does it justice.
Rated by buyers -
I doubt that the historical accounts tell the side story of betrayal and the treachery of the humpback as he sides with Xerxes and the Persians. But this is what makes up a great piece of fiction, the unexpected and untold story of gods and ghosts. This is one of the best graphic novels ever produced. It has enraged some historians and students of the Battle of Thermopylae, however, taken for exactly what it is; fiction based on a historical event, it is an amazing piece of work. Frank Miller is truly and artist and that includes his ability to tell a story.
If I wanted a historical account I would read "Gates of Fire," or watch the History Channel's account of the Spartans. But for the richness of imagery Miller has put into this book, I can forgive him for representing King Leonidas as a young man, rather than a white hair. I also appreciate the way Miller has represented the Lakedaemonians (Spartans) as more than just men, but as Greek warriors, the epitome of physical power and proportion. This includes giving them manly facial hair and leaving their protective uniforms off showing every muscle and tendon.
Lynn Varley set a great tone, pun indented, with colors and gives continuity to the book. It is a complete piece of work from beginning to end, you have a feeling of great power and immanent doom. Anyone who had to learn the story of the Hot Gates will enjoy this as much as the teenager who hated history and had to learn why their school mascot was a Spartan.
Rated by buyers -
If you're a fan of comics, graphic novels, or (especially) Frank Miller, then I'd consider this a must-read. The art and colour are both beautiful. Although the movie contains almost everything in the novel, it is still well worth reading even if you've seen the movie. I also enjoyed the movie and thought that a lot of the cinematography was spectacular, and the reason for that is because they remained faithful to the style of the novel.
If you don't own a copy then at least borrow one from a friend or the library and read it because it simply looks amazing.
Rated by buyers -
Although the differences are sometimes difficult to articulate, there really IS a distinction between a comic and a graphic novel. Frank Miller's 300 falls squarely in the former category. As in all comics (here's one of those differences), the plot is simple and the message is straightforward. Miller is intent on depicting and applauding the heroics of military sacrifice exemplified in the stand of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans at Thermopylae, the "hot gateway." His narrative and dialogue are minimalistic and punch home a few key words: "honor," "justice," "law," "strength," "courage." So far as I can tell, there are only three women in the entire story--Leonidas' wife, an oracle, and a slave girl in the market place--and their presence is fleeting and inessential. The story is relentlessly masculine and a glorification of the masculine art of war.
Morally disconcerting as the butchery depicted by Frank Miller is, there really is something stirring about his re-telling of the Themopylae story. Clearly both the story of courageous sacrifice and his rendering of it touch deep responsive chords. Miller's artwork is superb, impressionistic and subtle at times, hard-lined and deliberately brutal at others. The observant eye can discover visual tricks--drawn connotations, as it were--that enhance the story. Just one marvelous example: at one point, Leonidas consults the ephors, corrupt priests of the "old gods" who demand gold for their advice. The ephors keep young maidens as oracles, and the clear implication is that they sexually abuse them. In painting the maiden oracle, Miller has scattered fingerprints across her body--actual ones, from the looks of them--which are so skillfully worked into the overall composition that one doesn't immediately see them for what they are. Brilliant!
Highly recommended.
Rated by buyers -
I bought this book because I really liked the movie. I bought it for the entertainment value, and not the historical lesson. I think that in this day and age, if you are looking to Hollywood for a historical lesson, you are totally wasting your time and money. Real history rarely makes good entertainment. The artwork and coloring is off the charts as far as detail. The movie and the book are almost identical. The movie had a few scenes in it that weren't in the book, but they probably did that so they could have a full length movie. The book isn't really that long. It takes about 45 minutes to read cover to cover. The dialog in the book and the movie are nearly identical as well. I am very happy with my purchase and will definetly buy more of Frank Miller's work.
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