World Famous Comics: Age of Bronze Volume 1: A Thousand Ships
Age of Bronze Volume 1: A Thousand Ships
By: Eric Shanower Publisher: Image Comics Average Rating: Binding: Paperback Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 208 Publication Date: April 01, 2001 Reading Level: Young Adult Studio: Image Comics
Product Description: Daring heroes, breathtaking women, betrayals, love and death--the most spectacular war story ever told: The Trojan War. When a lustful Trojan prince abducts the beautiful Queen Helen of Sparta, Helen`s husband vows to recover her no matter the cost. So begins the Trojan War. From far and wide the ancient kings of Greece bring their ships to join the massive force to pledge their allegiance to High King Agamemnon. Featuring the greatest of the Greek heroes: Achilles, Odysseus, and Herakles, along with a cast of thousands. AGE OF BRONZE: A THOUSAND SHIPS reveals hidden secrets of the characters` pasts, serving up joy and sorrow, leading up to the brink of war, and foreshadowing the terror to come. Age of Bronze will be included in a major international exhibition travelling to three German museums in 2002. The exhibit is centered on the current excavations at Troy and features Age of Bronze in an exhibit devoted to modern interpretations of Troy. Age of Bronze has been nominated for numerous Eisner (The comic industry's Oscar) Awards. Rack it in your mythology and historical fiction sections for even more sales success.
6th grade Social Studies in a Graphic Novel too cool! ^ I bought the first three in this series for my 6th grader who is dyslexic. She finds graphic novels a great format. She received these in her care package at camp and they were a big hit in the unit. Mostly girls receive gossip magazines and these novels were much more popular and a much better content. These tie into the 6th grade history social studies standard with Ancient Greece. By the end of 6th grade most kids have been introduced to Greek mythology and are ready for this series, which is adult in nature but this age group is now seeking more adult content in their reading and viewing material. I would much rather this then Teen Vogue or Seventeen magazine. All I can say is a group of 11 girls who just finished 6th grade loved these. Now I just need to find something to send next year to camp.
Promising start to this powerful series ^ This is the first volume in a projected seven-part graphic novel series devoted to the epic of the Trojan War. There are minor gaffes (occasional misspellings, etc.) but overall this is a powerful and immensely useful retelling of one of the greatest epic stories in human history. Shanower draws on multiple sources to come up with a cohesive, readily coherent narrative of what is often seen as a daunting story. He both expands on and simplifies the classic narrative by Homer, giving a more immediate, modern feel to the characters and events, but does not sacrifice the authenticity of time or place: Shanower makes these ancient events accessible to modern readers in a way that the best of Western Civ classes may not; indeed, academics for many years to come with probably turn to these comics as a way to give entry into the world of Greek history and mythology.
This first volume covers the abduction of Helen, the arousal of the great Spartan army, the beginning of the cult of Achilles, and ends as the Spartan fleet sets sail to attack Troy. In general, Shanower minimizes the magical/mythological aspects of ancient Greek culture -- a centaur, for example, is not seen as a half-horse beast-man, but rather as a shaggy, burly man; various characters claim relationships to various gods, but we never see Athena's visage floating over the clouds, or Poseidon rising from the sea. Unlike in the original narratives, the Olympian gods are not characters in the story itself -- people pay allegiance to them, and discuss them as figures that may control their destinies, but we do not see the gods themselves. This realism helps make the historical context come alive -- modern readers don't have to struggle past supernatural events, nor allow the supernatural to overwhelm the human drama, and what emerges is a clear, concise historical narrative, one that makes sense and makes clear the essential stories behind the great, epic tale. It's pretty cool... I'm looking forward to the second volume! (Joe Sixpack, ReadThatAgain book reviews)
Fast-paced intro to the Trojan War ^ Fast-paced intro to the Trojan War
Author/artist Eric Shanower will be the first to tell you (in the afterword to this marvelous "comic book") that the story of the fall of Troy has had many tellings, not all of which can be harmonized. In his sources, the age and lieage of a character can vary. And authors over the millennia have not always been careful to kep their own accounts consistent with the rest, as when 12th century minstrels created a romance between an entirely new character (Cressida) to complement a peripheral character (Troilus) known from more ancient texts. More recently, the work of archaeologists has taught us much about life in the Age of Bronze, from which can be reconstructed the preoccupations, dress and habits of people who lived thousands of years ago.
Shanower gives us a plausible Bronze Age world that may well be the closest we can get to the original. The warrior "kings" are all young or youngish men -- strong, virile and hale of heart and mind. The deities they beseech are notably absent from sight -- other than in visions and dreams; their activity is assumed (and their presence feared) when events occur in concert with prayerful pleadings. But these young men have more than war on their minds, and there is plenty of sexual energy pulsing through the tale. Women play important roles as wives, mothers and seers. The erotic element is kept mostly to a PG-13 level, but there is enough kissing and fondling of the female upper anatomy to heat all but the coolest of hearts. Amusingly, Shanower keeps to the North American aversion to showing aureoles and genitalia. This aversion grows to almost ludicrous proportion as he strives manfully to hide his characters' naughty bits -- even when in full gallop -- with wisps of conveniently-draped hair.
Shanowers' black and white artwork is bold, strong and consistent. He gives his main characters identifiable features -- dark hair or light, full or balding, etc. -- that stay short of caricature. His storytelling is quickpaced and usually easy to follow. The worst I can say is that his story moves so quickly and is so engaging that the reader skips too quickly over his wonderful art.
All told, A Thousands Ships is fabulous on its own merits, and a valuable as an introduction to the Homeric masterpieces -- the Iliad and the Odyssey. Highly recommended for the age 13-and-up set.
Intricate story of a legendary war ^ A Thousand Ships is the first in a series of comics which retell the story of the Trojan war in comic book form. It begins with Paris, the lost prince of Troy who has been raised by farmers as a farmer, making his first ever journey to the capital. He tells his girlfriend it's a short trip, but even before he leaves the oracles are speaking and don't seem to agree. Meanwhile, Achillies is just leaving boyhood and, when confronted with the choice of short life and fame in war versus a long life that won't be remembered, he is very much for the short glorious life. His mother has other plans and struggles to save him from himself.
The plot is extremely intricate. It all comes from mythology, and there's a lot there to pull from. Doing the Illiad in seven comics makes sense. One book would only have allowed for the outline of the story. By breaking it into more books, the story is more complete and here the Illiad has been adapted well to the medium.
Graphically the book is well drawn. I'm guessing that the big challenge here was to keep faces consistent so that all the characters can be told apart. There are many, many characters and they are recognizable from frame to frame, if that helps to tell you the level of detail. The storytelling and how layouts play into that is good too. Layouts help to blend in and reveal characters's backstories (and everyone has a back story in mythology) and to communicate oracles and messages from the various gods.
This is a good read as a comic book. Being a modern take on the Illiad, which concievably someone might someday make you read, is an added bonus. Libraries should definitely stock this series. For individuals and families this is a good buy for a comic book, and a pretty good read. You should already know this, but if you don't then here goes, many of the classics have a lot of sex and violence. So, don't buy this for your four year old if you don't want them to see naked people and drawings of smeared entrails.
I got my copy autographed. ^ This book reprints the first nine issues of the Age of Bronze comic books. It's a beautifully drawn, well written comic book about the Trojan War. The only problem I have with the comic, and it'a a minor problem, is that there are so many characters, it's hard to keep track of who's who. Highly recommended to fans of graphic literature.
Anything Goes Trivia
Megaton Man
Tailipoe
Tony's Online Tips
Trevor
