"Into hell's mouth we march..." | 300 | Frank Miller, Lynn Varley

You Have to Know What You're Getting Into | 300 | Frank Miller, Lynn Varley

books:


	• 300 Frank Miller, Lynn Varley Dark Horse, 1999 - 88 pages average customer review:based on 234 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Great entertainment...

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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"Into hell's mouth we march..."

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.

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You Have to Know What You're Getting Into

I've read reviews in here of people complaining that the graphic novel isn't representative of the movie. Of course not! The graphic novel came first! Anyone intersted in Frank Miller artwork would love adding this to their collection.

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300

This is one of the best comics I have ever read, it is very awesome, and possibly even better than the movie.

Beautiful and Entertaining

If you're a fan of comics, graphic novels, or (especially) Frank Miller, then I'd consider this a must-read. The art and color 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.

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300 is a story of war and defiance as only Frank Miller can tell. Featuring the watercolor talents of painter Lynn Varley, 300 marks the 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.

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