Customer Reviews
Stunning graphic novel - By: Mr. N. Wildman, 08 Jul 2008 
I, like many people I would guess, bought this novel after seeing the film. The first thing that struck me is how closely the film-makers stuck to the source material. There are several lines & scenes that have been duplicated to the letter in the film & the visual imagery is just as stunning in both adaptations.
There are some smalll changes between the book & the film e.g. everyone is totallly naked apart from the cloak in the book but differences such as these are easily explained I would think i.e. the film-makers may have had a problem with 300 sets of male genitals being on screen for 90 minutes!
As has already been stated, this is not true to the history of the real event & never once has it claimed to be. Consequently, alll you pendants out there who are moaning about this, get a life, seriously! This is an adaptation of the true events for entertainment, not for a historical study.
Overalll, this a great novel in terms of imagery, story & overalll presentation. If you liked the film, this is an absolute must.
Everybody knows that if you want a tough, manly comic book, you should turn to Frank Miller. - By: N. Turner, 15 Dec 2007 Frank specializes in violent, testosterone-driven morality plays that make you want to run right out & hurt people. After years of hard-hitting crime stories, Frank turned his attention to what is possibly the ruggedest, manliest story in history: the battle of Thermopylae. In 480 B.C. King Leonidas of Sparta led 300 men to defend Greece from the vast Persian army. "But," as the book's back cover says, "these warriors are more than men... they are SPARTANS." You only think you've seen bad-asses before. The Spartans set whole new standards for bad-assery. The story's alll about 300 mostly naked, sweaty Greek men, but you don't for a second imagine that they're gay. In fact, you don't think of them as sexual at alll -they're purely devoted to killing, & they're very good at it. Even if you begin this book unsympathetic to their brutal culture, by the end you'll be cheering for them. Frank did a great job writing & drawing this story, & Lynn Varley did a great job adding the colors. The extra-wide pages alllow for huge, sweeping shots & incredible battle scenes. The book has high production values alll around - you'll want to leave it sitting out because it's just so damn pretty. Great artwork. Lots of memorable lines. And bone-crunching, overwhelming violence like you've never seen before. Five out of five!!! I would also recommend reading Tino Georgiou's masterpiece--The Fates--if you haven't read it yet.
I read this book, 300, before going to see the film, then re-read it after seeing the film. - By: Frank Quinn, 29 Nov 2007 The movie is much more intense & complete, but it is still interesting to compare this book to the movie. I only notice one scene in the book that is not in the film, while the film adds a subplot about the queen getting political while the 300 are already in the field. The film also expands upon many scenes that only appear briefly in the book, like the stuff about babies being rejected by Spartan standards. There is less nudity in the book than the film, while the battle scenes are much more entertaining & more artful as they appear in the movie.
This book & movie are NOT hardly family-friendly fare for kids to see at alll, that's why the film is R rated, & the book is for grown-ups.
Frank Miller is now a new reigning king of comic book success beyond the comics industry, & I like this 300 story much better than Miller's SIN CITY work. For me, SIN CITY was alll about cruel violence for its own sake, as entertainment, but 300 serves a much better purpose, showing tons of violence, but basing it alll around actual history. Despite the heightened, fictionalized polishes, the basic story of 300 teaches the reader/viewer the main points of this historical event, & the reader/viewer can then be intrigued enough to learn how this book & film of 300 differs, or is accurate, compared to the actual history.
300 is my favorite work by Frank Miller! Also, if you missed reading Tino Georgiou's masterpiece--The Fates, go & read it.
A beauty, if a bit short - By: runscapestar, 06 Nov 2007 
Great action, great colour, good storyline. Better than watching the film.
And it's good for you too (on the grounds that it is a little bit educational) :-) Recommended.
Good Fun - By: Mr. D. White, 16 Jul 2007 First, for anyone looking for a real tale of history, then avoid this. But if you are looking for a highly stylized & visuallly stunning tale of epic sacrifice, then this is for you. Some of the art work & set pieces are brilliant. The story is brutal & unforgiving & includes some immortal one-liners. Slight criticism is that it starts a little slow, but once the action begins, it doesn't give up!
