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alboyer6's review against another edition
3.0
The story of Eucles who ran from Marathon to Athens to warn them of an in coming fleet of enemy ships becoming an inspiration for our modern day marathon race in graphic novel format. A great tale but a bit choppy. The reader really has to pay close attention to the armor styles to follow keep track of the Athenians, Persians and Spartans. Illustrations are sepia toned and done in a sketchy style. Good but not the greatest.
thisisstephenbetts's review against another edition
3.0
Pretty enjoyable. I like Infurnari's art a lot (although a touch more distinction between the different battling sides would have been helpful). The story is really engrossing, and well plotted (leaving me wondering how much is 'truth' and how much embellishment - and I normally take it as a good sign that I'm interested, and that I can't tell). Some bits of the dialogue seemed a touch disjointed - I think a slightly heavier hand on the editing would have helped.
maryehavens's review against another edition
1.0
Guess I’m just not into terrible kings and war. That’s fine.
quietdomino's review against another edition
3.0
This is a graphic novel about Athenian democracy and long distance running. The art works well to evoke the fleetness of motion engaged in by almost all the characters; that blur of action also helps the book speed rapidly through your mind and out the other side.
pwbalto's review against another edition
4.0
My son Ezra, 11, just finished this book. Closing it, he said, "You know, they always say that history is written by the winners. And ok sometimes that's because all the losers are dead, but sometimes maybe it's because the losers just don't want to talk about it. They're like, 'Ugh, shut up, go away, don't remind me.'"
kurtwombat's review against another edition
2.0
There is a good story in here somewhere and at moments it does peak through but mostly it is lost in a blur of rushed story-telling, confused art work and a mauling of history. From the beginning I found myself putting in way too much effort trying to figure out who was who during the herky-jerky prologue that was the main character’s youth. Then when the battle for Athens was under way, it just grew worse. Most of the dialogue was inelegant and the art work under-conceived—just throw a bunch of stuff in there and have someone shout what’s happening. When you have to reread portions to figure out who is who in a story designed to mimic the impetus of a runner you have already lost the race. As implied by the cover art and the title the best part of the book is the dramatic run at the end much of which is thrilling and well executed (dialogue at a minimum). However, by this point I was shouldering enough annoyance to hinder my interest in the goings on and what should have been a stirring victorious conclusion became just the last pages of a book I was closing so I could read something else.
sacajaguido's review against another edition
5.0
This is the story of the battle of Marathon and the runner, Eucles, who was tasked with making an impossible trek. This messenger was sent to run to Sparta and back to Athens in order to gather the support of the Spartans from the Persians and when he fails to convince the Spartans he must then outrun the Persians to warn Athens. The story is told through flashbacks to Eucles past as the reader learns about this former slaves tough childhood and his burning hate for the former King of Athens (who is part of the Persian invasion fleet). These flashbacks and the tension that leaps from the page through the rough and fluid artwork drive the story forward; the reader is able to follow Eucles impossible journey and through the battle scenes they're able to feel the exhaustion as Eucles runs, and runs, and runs.
pwbalto's review
4.0
My son Ezra, 11, just finished this book. Closing it, he said, "You know, they always say that history is written by the winners. And ok sometimes that's because all the losers are dead, but sometimes maybe it's because the losers just don't want to talk about it. They're like, 'Ugh, shut up, go away, don't remind me.'"
wmcduff's review
3.0
Not bad. In the vein of 300, an alright story, but the sketchy art style didn't do all that much for me.