Eucles is the son of slaves who has a gift for running. This is his story. Set within the tumultuous time of war between Greece and Persia, what unfolds is the legend of the beginning of the marathon race. As Persia is set to invade Greece, Eucles is sent with a message to Sparta. He runs there and back, takes place in the battle at Marathon, and then runs back to Athens to warn the city of an impending invasion by sea. These miraculous events are the base for legends that have been passed down for more than 2 thousand years.I picked this book up because it combined two genres I enjoy: historical fiction and graphic novels. Plus it is set in ancient Greece, and that has been a time that has interested me since I first started reading mythology.I finished the book because the story was compelling. The art was sometimes confusing, as the battle scenes were chaotic, but the story pulled the reader through.I would recommend this to Cristopher. He enjoys reading about historical events, and the graphic novel genre wold also make this compelling for him. I can see how every book has its reader and I am simply not the reader for this one. As a person who finds war stories tedious, this book initially grabbed me with the character of Eucles as a child and an adult. But then the war parts started. I had an extremely hard time telling characters apart, as that the brush-like art style was great at conveying the movement of men in battle and terrible for distinguishing between people. While there continued to be bright spots of character development (when I could figure out who was who) my overall assessment is meh.
What do You think about Marathon (2012)?
Really strong art and a solid retelling of the legend of Marathon. Would be a good next to 300.
—gauravduttgupta
Striking, action-packed art but the story is jumbled and often hard to follow.
—hongreen
