Customer Reviews

A Thousand Ships : Age of Bronze, Volume One

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

In A Thousand Ships, graphic novelist Eric Shanower brings to life the legend of the Trojan War, gathering the many different versions of the fabulous Greek myth into a single, illustrated and dramatic story line. What sets apart Shanower's graphic novel is the attention to historical detail, a superb talent as an artist, and a powerful flair for storytelling. A Thousand Ships is a gripping presentation perfectly suited to a modern readership and brings this age-old tale to a whole new generation of readers. All the fabled Greek characters are here, from Paris (a Trojan Prince), Helen (whose beauty precipitated the most famous war in Hellenic history); Achilles, Odysseus, Hector, Ajax, and the rest. Focusing on the events that led up to the war, A Thousand Ships is the debut volume in a planned series. If you only have time for a single graphic novel this month, make it Eric Shanower's A Thousand Ships!

Even though the Trojan War is one of our oldest stories, almost every generation since Homer has felt the need to retell it in its own way. This new version by Shanower is one of the best in a long, long time. Visually it is spectacular -- he spent a great deal of time studying the ruins of Mycenean Greece, Troy, the Hittites, and so forth to give as accurate a portrayal of the people and places as possible. Gone are the classical fashions, weapons, and architecture... what we have is the real, much earlier bronze age. And the storytelling is fantastic. It's clearly a modern take on the story, but this does not mean the characters speak with hip come-backs or slang. Instead, we see political intrigue, rounded characters, strong women, and a serious attempt to rationalize some of the more outlandish aspects of the story. He draws from Greek, Roman, and medieval sources and manages to weave together a highly informed, vivid reading experience. I started reading this on the suggestion of several accomplished archaeologists, but keep reading because it is so enjoyable.

Being a Latin scholar, I find myself drawn to all things Classical. Being a teenager, I find myself drawn to the more "slacker"-y things in life. This book combines the two elements perfectly! The book was reccomended to me by my latin teacher, and I read it swiftly in less than one day. My only warning would be the slightly explicit scenes in the book which elicited giggles from my (oh-so-very-mature) AP Latin class.

I never thought I'd be pleased with a comic book of any kind. I'm just not the type. But after reading great reviews of this project in an archeology magazine, I decided to give it a try. I'm glad I did. Yes, it's simple; it's written for young folks. But it's strength lies in its ability to help the reader track the many players in this epic. A straight reading in a standard text can become confusing due to the many characters with unusual names who flit in and out. Here, by adding the concrete pictures, it becomes easier to stay focused on the main themes without getting bogged down by "now, who was that again?".

I have loved ancient history and mythology since I was a wee pup. Unfortunately I found "Age of Bronze - A thousand ships" somewhat disappointing. The Bronze Age feel to the drawings was interesting but they were not terribly artistic. The quality of the dialogue is fair but way below any classical Greek literature, which helps to make the story drag (quite unlike the original Iliad). The lack of Gods or spirits (as such) also helps to squeeze out the magic. The [explicits] and violence is PG-13. The glossary of names, genealogical chart, and bibliography are very good.