Writer Kieron Gillen
Artists Ryan Kelly and Jordie Bellaire
Published by Image
Every comic fan knows the battle of Thermopylae from the Frank Miller story 300. Spartans holding off Persian hoards, protecting the nascent Greek city-states from being conquered. But in the afterward of this comic, Kieron Gillen, who mentions Millers work, explains that he wanted to tell the story of the Spartans that were living behind its citizens. The Helots, who were the peasants or serfs of Greek society and were the lowest caste.
So in this first issue, we learn how barbaric the citizens were as they hunt and murder helots as they work in the fields. And we meet three individuals who seem to rise above their station in life. Klaros, a crippled, bitter man. Damar a woman who seems sympathetic to Klaros’ plight. And Terpander who is best described as a type of malcontent. I assume we’ll get to follow their paths as they try and survive and thrive is a society where they are basically outcasts.
The artwork for this book is very good. The orange and black cover is striking and caught my eye on the shelf at the comic shop today. Inside, the artwork is broad and strong. The colors and inking stylistically are thick and dark making for a powerful narrative. The character designs and good too. The helots are gaunt and emaciated while the Spartans are muscley and buff. We feel for them.
I will continue picking up this title. I like Gillen’s work and think he’s a fine storyteller. And the historic subject of Ancient Greece is very different and pretty cool. As of the first issue, I don’t see anything objectionable for a library collection. Certainly not for the juvenile section, but so far, it’s fine for the YA area.
