The graphic novel/comic that became one of the blockbuster hits of 2006.

300 is the story of the Spartan army of 300, led by King Leonidas, as they fight the Persians in a bloody but epic battle.

This is one of my favorite graphic novels, and I wished that it kept going on and lasted longer. I kept wanting more, and for the book to span hours like the movie does. It was so creative and visual and in a style I’m coming to recongnize that only Frank Miller can create.

High recommendations.

Fun and exciting. A worthwhile story to be told, though the omission of the Thespians and other abuses of artistic license mark the fault of Miller's sensationalism. Like the four-color comics before him, Miller takes archetypes and symbols and drives them full throttle to the epic, gun-blazing climax. Unfortunately, character and emotion suffer. This is not quite the liability that it could have been, as the Epic tradition is often purposefully guilty of the same and 300 fits into this traditio...more Fun and exciting. A worthwhile story to be told, though the omission of the Thespians and other abuses of artistic license mark the fault of Miller's sensationalism. Like the four-color comics before him, Miller takes archetypes and symbols and drives them full throttle to the epic, gun-blazing climax. Unfortunately, character and emotion suffer. This is not quite the liability that it could have been, as the Epic tradition is often purposefully guilty of the same and 300 fits into this tradition (or the modern swords & sandals permutation).

However, when Miller is forced to give up some of his control, the improvement of realistic emotion shows how good his work can be. In The Dark Knight Returns, he had to keep much of the character's past and could not transform him entirely into an unfeeling, heroic killing machine. Likewise, in the film adaptation of 300, the actors and director helped to infuse the characters with more emotion and depth.

All in all, 300 isn't a long enough read for Miller's drawbacks to really hurt it, and he picked a fittingly manly story to showcase his histrionic machismo. ( )

Interesting art and story now known to almost everybody - brave stand of 300 Spartans (plus hoplites from some allied states) against overwhelming odds of Persian army.

Do not expect realistic drawings of Spartans and/or Persians because entire art feels like it comes from some dark fantasy universe.

Very Interesting work. ( )

Graphic novels are still very new to me and they have almost universally fallen short of what I've hoped for, this was no exception. ( )

A wonderful potrayal of Thermopylae. Total fiction, except the end result, but fun just the same. I am bothered by how this has become a statement for Western resistance to the forces of Eastern evil but c'est la vie. Thermopylae, while it was the defining event in the history of Sparta, also spelled the end of this Hellenistic power. ( )