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Old Frank gives us another classic
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics
Fri, 17 June 2005
by: Australian Ninja
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It is said that the Persians had so many archers that when they fired the arrows would block out the sun.
To this Dienekes laughed and said: "Good. Then we will have our battle in the shade."
300 is a unique graphic novel. It portrays the bloody belly-to-belly combat 300 Spartan warriors endured at the battle of Thermopylae. The Hot Gates.
A mere 300 faced a Persian slave army over 10,000 strong. All in the hot gates, cliffs to the sea on one side, a mountain on the other. The invaders forced through the gap - reducing their numbers - into murderous Spartan spears and shields.
The Spartans were a mini society of Greek warriors who trained full time for war. They were proud. They were strong. They were some of the fiercest highly disciplined warriors to ever walk this earth.
Miller's take on the battle of Thermopylae is fresh and exciting. While not as notorious, or perhaps well known, as his other works this book is one of his finest creations. 300 is published in hardcover format and features a sideways landscape format. It is big, it is bloody and it impressed the hell out of me when I finally got my callused hands on it.
The art of 300 contains plenty of Millers trademark thick black inking, though not as severe as Dark Knight 2. The effect is convincingly necessary. Rough lines for rough men. The raw energy of Miller's pencils and inks do more than leap out of the page at you. The panels grab you by the throat and drag you flailing into the world of the Spartans.
Miller is a savage beast. He consistently produces ugly, violent, sometimes controversial comic-books and I thank him for that.
The dialogue is Spartan at best (pun intended). Brief. Concise. To the point. Sammy's note: Succinct? The Spartan warriors did not tolerate people who talked bullshit. Miller has successfully captured that Spartan brevity with minimal dialogue. The words take a back seat to the pictures.
300 also captures the epic movie screen battle on the small screen of a comic-book. Braveheart, Troy and the Last Samurai come to mind. For their savage brutal intensity and their graphic nature, showing what actually happens on a battlefield. In particular the Last Samurai end battle parallels the Spartans battle. Both groups considered Honour a virtue. Both groups willingly entered into combat against a greater force, knowing that they would die.
The story of 300 is simple. Spartans train. Spartans fight. Spartans send their allies home and continue to fight. Spartans face over 10,000 men with only 300, for a period of three days, without proper rest or first aid. Spartans kill literally thousands of Xerxes army. Spartans hold the Hot Gates for as long as possible while Greece rallies more forces to deal with Xerxes' army of tens of thousands. Spartans die a warrior's death, buying time for Greece. Eventually the invading army faced 5000 Spartans.
It is said they were too afraid to even engage them, and ran after seeing what a mere 300 could do.
Once you've read this book you should not sit on it, stand on it, nor surrender it and you should never, ever drop it. It should never leave your side.
To sum up, Miller's 300 (300 is written on the front cover in blood) is epic; it's physically large and in hardcover. The book seems to be so out there from mainstream comics and is a real niche unless you're into Greek history, Frank Miller or perhaps fascist warrior societies. None the less, it's an amazing read.
by: Australian Ninja
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More articles by Australian Ninja
You’ll read it once then pick it up again right away to stare in wonder at the artwork, the blood soaked canvas of Millers opus that is “300.†| |
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