Friday, October 12, 2012

Marathon by Boaz Yakin Illustrated by Joe Infurnari YP FIC YAKIN



Eucles is running for his life.  For his family. For his people. For the entire future of democracy.  If he slows, if he tires, if he’s caught then the Persian war machine will destroy Athens and with it all hope for democratic ideals.  Eucles just wants to be fast enough to stop the former king of Athens, a bloody tyrant that murdered his family, from ever stepping foot in Athens again.  

This is an AMAZING graphic novel.  It is fittingly fast paced (har-har) and chock full of action.  Infunari has some of the best artwork I have seen in years.  You could take individual comic frames and hang them on your wall as art.  Bloody, violent art, but really great art nonetheless.  The story is told in such a visually dynamic way, and the plot is structured so tensely, that I found myself constantly wondering about the outcome of a historical tale I knew all about!  I also really found the human relationships between the characters to be really well told.  I cared if Eucles would see his wide again or if former friends turned enemies would have to face on the battle field.  That’s rare to find in an action packed historical war comic.  It may not be the ageless classic that the Illiad is, but it is a high watermark in graphic novels and in historical fiction about Athens.  If you are at all a fan of 300 the book or the movie, then Marathon should blow you away! 

You can check our catalog for Marathon here.

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