Book Review - 300 by Frank Miller

I have never read a graphic novel, then gone out to see the movie. It is always the other way around and so it was this time when I read 300. The movie was fantastic, hopefully the book would be too

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.

The story is very loosely based on the Battle of Thermopylae in the 5th century BC where a small band of 300 highly trained Spartan warriors held off a huge Persian army at a small pass at Thermopylae. It is estimated that the 300 killed more than 20,000 Persians in the battle.

I found the artwork excellent but the story confusing. I am glad I got it from the library instead of buying it and it is a very quick read.

Forget the book. See the movie!