300
Writer: Frank Miller
Artists: Frank Miller (Artist) and Lynn Varley (Colorist)
History will forever remember the words, "THIS IS SPARTA!!!!!!"
Ranking: 4 stars
History has seen its fair share of war, conflict, and battle, but no battle has left a more significant legacy than the Battle of Thermopylae. In the year 480 BC, a massive army of Persian soldiers threatened to dominate the free world, with Greece at its core. Refusing to surrender, a small alliance of Greek soldiers fought against the Persians in a narrow mountain pass known as the Hot Gate. Although the majority of the Greek forces were slain in this battle, the courage that the soldiers displayed helped inspire the rest of Greece to defeat the Persian army. Of all the Greek soldiers in the battle, none fought with more pride and courage than the 300 Spartans. Frank Miller retells their story in this compelling graphic novel!
Having been a huge fan of Miller's work on Batman (BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS & BATMAN: YEAR ONE), I decided to take a look into other works of his. Frank Miller is well known for his dark and gritty writing style, which makes finding a good book of his that has suitable levels of violence like winning the lottery. Outside of Batman, Miller's best known work is SIN CITY, but it is known for extremely dark storytelling that relates to Quentin Tarantino's Crime movies (call it the "Pulp Fiction" of comics if you will). The only other work of his that has received recognition at the levels of BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and SIN CITY is 300. Despite being dominated by bloody warfare and barbarism, 300 (based on a true story) provides an inspirational story of how far men will go to defend what they find important. Based of the true historical battle, 300 starts with the soldiers of Sparta marching towards what appears to be a suicide mission. The Persian army is said to be massive, powerful enough to make the ground itself shake, and erase all of Greece from history. Despite facing impossible odds, this small battalion, led by King Leonidas I, has decided to stand and fight, choosing death over enslavement. Even after refusing Sparta's surrender to the Persian messenger (a quite famous scene from the film actually), Persia's King Xerxes I still wishes to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. But the Spartans know, that surrendering their land means giving up their right to be free men. Making a desperate last stand, these brave soldiers vow to die fighting for their honor, their land, and their people.
Frank Miller did an excellent job on this book. He puts effort in having the reader focus on not just the bloody battle scenes, but mainly on the pride and determination of the Spartans themselves. Miller portrays the soldiers as men who were born and trained to do battle. They feel at home on the battlefield, and live to fight for the pride of not just for themselves, but also for all of Greece. King Leonidas comes across as a battle-loving, yet Nobel man, as he refuses to give unnecessary punishments towards his men, calmly approaches a situation in a realistic manner, and the orders his men receive are designed to help unleash their true potential. The methods that the Spartans use to train their soldiers appear to be cruel, but they teach them to abandon fear, and fight at the peak of their strength. Miller successfully creates a story that displays the importance of pride and manhood to these soldiers, and how it crafts them into a force willing to die for what they believe in. As an artist, Miller portrayal of the Spartan and Persian's fight is vibrant and bold, his gritty style perfectly fits with the setting, and Lynn Varley's colors enhance the mood of Miller's illustrations.
The book isn't without flaws however (what book isn't). In my opinion, a few pieces of the dialogue and narration could've been better, but most of it is well written and reminds me of his earlier works I've read. The beginning starts off a bit slow, but it's made up for with the astonishing anticipation for the fight to come, as well as the battle itself. The book is fairly short, but it's an extremely fun read. One of the most common complaints about 300 is it being historically inaccurate, but that doesn't matter in my opinion. The actual battle that took place in Thermopylae consisted of 7,000 Greek soldiers (from every city-state), but Miller removed the other soldiers so that he could focus on the Spartans as the story is about the courage they inspire, and the other 6,300 soldiers would've been distracting to the reader. Historical accuracy doesn't always matter when you're trying to create an intriguing story, and that's what this book is.
Overall, while the book did possess a couple of flaws, it was such an awe-inspiring tale that flowed with the principles that made-up the Spartan soldiers. To be more fair, would've given a 3.5 star rating, but Amazon does not have that option, and it was too enjoyable of a story to only give it 3 stars. It's not the kind of comic I would continuously reread, but I found it to be an intriguing book that kept my mind occupied, and sometimes that's all a book needs to be in order to succeed as a one-time read. So While I still prefer Frank Miller's work on BATMAN: THE DARK KNIGHT RETURNS and BATMAN: YEAR ONE, but 300 is a graphic novel that captures your attention, and conveys a powerful message about determination and courage. That's the mark the Battle of Thermopylae left on history. That's the mark the 300 Spartans left on history.
"-But these warriors are more than men...
they are SPARTANS."
