<![CDATA[300]]>

false <![CDATA[300]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1170537467m/59952.jpg 59952 5 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 899481 15 12 1999 300 total:2476|5:699|4:852|3:678|2:194|1:53| 2476 9378 2950 196 3 5 false false Sun Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 10 10:37:16 -0700 2007 Tue Apr 10 10:47:57 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 1 false false Tue Aug 07 09:32:09 -0700 2007 Tue Aug 07 10:14:16 -0700 2007 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Mar 13 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 12 20:32:46 -0700 2009 Fri Mar 13 11:08:46 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 11:31:08 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 14 07:41:56 -0700 2009 Historians often balk at the story for historical inaccuracies. I agree that the Persians were...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Mar 24 23:07:46 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 23:14:38 -0700 2009
It's a good book, but not that great. It's a very sho...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sat Oct 24 14:06:16 -0700 2009 Sat Oct 24 14:11:52 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Nov 17 21:44:39 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 17 21:51:26 -0800 2009
If you're expecting literary beauty and depth, look elsewhere. If you want to look at some fantastic drawings for about an hour, this is the graphic novel for you.

The thing is that it's not pretending to be a difficult text to read,...more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun Sep 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Sep 19 16:57:34 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 28 08:05:07 -0700 2009
The movie is accurate, frame by frame, to the novel. It's r...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Oct 25 13:38:33 -0700 2009 Sun Oct 25 13:47:43 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Apr 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 05:46:22 -0700 2009 Tue Apr 28 13:33:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Wed Jan 09 20:29:55 -0800 2008 Wed Jan 09 20:30:25 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Sun May 13 20:23:11 -0700 2007 Mon Jun 08 19:09:50 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Jun 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 20:51:56 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 02 20:00:22 -0700 2009 I love this book it is so awesome so detailed and illustrious.
I love Spartans.
Did you know that the original movie 300 was based off of this book?
Really Epic Retelling (RER Train Lines) of 300, li...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Tue Jan 20 21:21:54 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 20 21:27:27 -0800 2009
Seriously though, historical liberties and wooden di...more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Mon Mar 12 14:06:58 -0700 2007 Mon Mar 12 14:13:12 -0700 2007 par excellence, hadn't read this staple of graphic literature yet, but there you go. Like a wannabe, I bought 300 and read it in anticipation of the movie. I thought it was...OK. Honestly, I really just don't like Frank Miller that much. He has ...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat May 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu May 21 17:14:27 -0700 2009 Sat May 23 11:28:13 -0700 2009 1 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Apr 01 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Sun Dec 07 06:01:19 -0800 2008 Sun Dec 07 06:03:07 -0800 2008 1
The comic book version of 300 is almost exactly the same as the film: a gory, action-packed delight that doesn't worry to...more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Jun 29 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 19:13:22 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 08 19:16:09 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Sat Jan 05 06:17:07 -0800 2008 Sat Jan 05 06:18:30 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Tue Nov 03 14:08:20 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 14:12:33 -0800 2009 BUT, Lynn Varley did the color, so if you are an art geek like me, it is worth it just to flip through and view her beautiful landscapes of dramatic color contrasted ov...more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=59952