Summary
In a companion volume to his award-winning adaptation of The Odyssey, the incomparable graphic novelist Gareth Hinds masterfully adapts Homer's classic wartime epic.
More than three thousand years ago, two armies faced each other in an epic battle that rewrote history and came to be known as the Trojan War. The Iliad, Homer's legendary account of this nine-year ordeal, is considered the greatest war story of all time and one of the most important works of Western literature. In this stunning graphic novel adaptation -- a thoroughly researched and artfully rendered masterwork -- renowned illustrator Gareth Hinds captures all the grim glory of Homer's epic. Dynamic illustrations take readers directly to the plains of Troy, into the battle itself, and lay bare the complex emotions of the men, women, and gods whose struggles fueled the war and determined its outcome. This companion volume to Hinds's award-winning adaptation of The Odyssey features notes, maps, a cast of characters, and other tools to help readers understand all the action and drama of Homer's epic.
School Library Journal Review
Gr 7 Up-Hinds, who has adapted numerous classics into comics format, brings the Greek epic to life with this full-color graphic novel. Beginning with an illustrated cast of characters and concluding with extensive back matter consisting of maps, page-by-page notes, a bibliography, and an author's note, this version will strike a chord with newcomers and those familiar with the source material alike. The story begins by invoking the Muse to sing about Achilles's anger toward King Agamemnon in the 10th year of the Trojan War. The Achaeans seek treasure from Troy and wish to bring back Menelaus's wife, Helen, whom Paris, prince of Troy, seduced with the help of Aphrodite. Hinds seamlessly transitions from close-ups to battle scenes, from emotional streams of dialogue to wide angles of scenery, effectively establishing setting. Dialogue-heavy panels are well integrated, and the gods make grand and dramatic appearances. Names of characters who were killed in battle are listed. Battle scenes are graphic though not gratuitous, fitting with the message about the consequences of war. VERDICT A well-researched and successful adaptation; recommended for most public and high school library collections.-Marissa Lieberman, East Orange Public Library, NJ © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In his latest graphic novel adaptation of a classic text, Hinds (The Odyssey) condenses Homer's epic poem of gods and mortals at war, covering most of the major events and adding supplemental material that expands the story slightly beyond the original. The Trojan War has been raging for nine years when King Agamemnon slights Achilles, his best warrior, beginning a feud. A cascade of resulting tragedies leads to ever more bitter battles between the Achaean and Trojan armies, with terrible losses on both sides. Hinds takes painstaking efforts with his fine-lined watercolors to depict each character in a readily distinguishable way, even while in pitched battle, fully armored. The excellent visual guides, maps, and notes aid in this task and further contextualize the epic's time, place, and significance. The most striking scenes are the battles, presented in intimate detail and in awe-inspiring, sweeping overviews. Hinds's relatively plain language retains just enough meter to hint at the cadences of the work, and, together with the dynamic art, creates an accessible entrAce to an enduring classic. Final art not seen by PW. Ages 12-up. (Mar.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
As with his treatment of The Odyssey (rev. 11/10), Hinds offers an ambitious and compelling comics adaptation of a Homerian epic. This complex, winding tale picks up in the tenth year of the Trojan War, with a focus on an internal conflict between two Greek leaders (Achilles and King Agamemnon) as they seek to conquer the city of Troy. Zeus and the other gods and goddesses prove to be fickle and meddlesome war agents, regularly resorting to acts of trickery, mischief, and deadly interference. While thoughtfully interspersed with scenes of extensive dialogue and heroic addresses from Homer, much of the book is dominated by cinematic battles that, though bloody and graphic, do not rely on gore for their dramatic effect. Instead, arresting pencil, watercolor, and digital illustrations propel readers from scene to scene, shifting from neatly organized panels during moments of peace to angular layouts during times of physical and emotional strife. A purposeful color palette assigns each god his or her own vivid, monochrome hue, while a subtle red and blue color scheme helps differentiate between the Greeks and Trojans. By highlighting the efforts of the goddesses, along with amending Helens understanding of her role in the war, Hinds makes an effort to address the storys inherent hypermasculinity, reminding readers that the war is the work of angry gods and angry men. Back matter includes an authors note, a map, extensive notes, a selected bibliography, and acknowledgments. patrick gall (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
"Sing to me, O Muse, of the rage of Achilles": a rousing graphic rendition of Homer's great epic.It's a blood-soaked poem of primeval war, one ostensibly fought over a certain daughter of Zeus who turned the wrong head"Or possibly an apple, or a lot of gold, or control of trade routes"that brought vast armies to the plains of Troy. In a fight personified by two heroes, Trojan Hector and Greek Achilles, there's more than a little graphic violence herebut nothing other than what Homer himself described, as when Achilles' spear finds Hector's neck, followed by Achilles' intemperate curse: "Your corpse goes to the dogs." That's not very sporting, and of course Achilles gets his comeuppance. Hinds allows that his version is not complete, but all the best bits are there, and he provides some helpful interpretive hintsidentifying the principal helmeted Greek and Trojan warriors with subtle alphabetical designs on their breastplates, for instance. The best graphic panels are the ones that show the war's vastness, with a two-page spread of those famed thousand ships crossing the Hellespont, another panel showing the Greek army spilling out onto the plain, "like the great flock of migrating birds that take wing in the meadows by the stream of Casteras numerous as the leaves of a forest." An author's note and page-by-page notes provide further context.An expertly crafted rendition and a welcome invitation to younger readers to immerse themselves in the ancient past. (map, bibliography) (Graphic adaptation. 10-adult) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Hinds presents a faithful adaptation of Homer's Iliad as the latest addition to his series of graphic novel adaptations of classics. Chronicling the events that took place in the tenth year of the Trojan War, the conflict fought between the Achaeans and the Trojans, Hinds' adaptation sincerely portrays the melancholy nature of war, including its effect on those involved, and includes plenty of detail about the battles between the rival armies. There are copious characters, including heroes, rulers, gods, and goddesses, most of whom can be difficult to keep track of, despite Hinds' best efforts to differentiate them with unique helmets and shields. (The front matter includes a key to the main characters and their individual armor.) The text is dense and rich in imagery, with the occasional footnote added for clarity. Hinds' illustrations are realistically detailed, though moreso in the characters than the setting, giving the book as a whole an atmospheric feel. Fans of mythology will enjoy this book, of course, but fans of epic fantasy will favor it, as well.--Suzanne Temple Copyright 2019 Booklist
