DWD's Reviews

Published in 1999 by Dark Horse The Battle of Thermopylae is one of my favorite things to teach about in my world history class so this graphic novel was of particular interest to me. Miller takes some liberties with history in the graphic novel 300 , such as the homophobia of the Spartans and the ethnicity of the Persian emperor. But, he gets the heart of the story correctly. Thermopylae was one of those "turning points in history" battles - not for the events of the 3 days of the battle itself but rather for the time it gave the rest of Greece to prepare (and evacuate, in the case of Athens) and for the inspiration it provided (Think about Texas and the battle cry, "Remember the Alamo!" and you get the idea). A more accurate portrayal of the battle in a piece of fiction would be found in Pressfield's Gates of Fire . However, as a piece of art and as a simple introduction to the Spartans and to the battle, this book is quite good. Of course, this gr...

It drew me in, but it was not as good as The Dark Knight Returns Published by D.C. Comics in 2004 It's hard to be critical of a graphic novel that sucks you in, entertains, fascinates and makes you wish there was another volume in the series, but I am going to criticize anyway. For me, The Dark Knight Returns was an awesome addition to and reinterpretation of the Batman Saga. The simplicity of the dichotomy between the "sell-out" Superman and the embittered-but-still-fighting Batman powered the story. I am a casual comic book fan so I was easily able to follow along since every casual fan knows the basics of both Batman and Superman. The Dark Knight Strikes Again , however, has so many characters and so many sub-plots going on that it actually gets confusing unless one backs up and re-reads a bit. Many of the characters are relatively minor when compared to The Dark Knight Returns ' focus on Superman, Batman, Robin and the Joker. Another streng...