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A review by michael5000
Age of Bronze, Vol. 1: A Thousand Ships by Eric Shanower
3.0
2017: I was a bit hard on this in 2009, and I no longer want to stand by the second paragraph of that review. This is a worthy and basically well-executed project, and I'm bumping it up to a third star.
2009: Any graphic presentation of historical or pseudo-historical events has to live with comparison of Larry Gonick's amazing "History of the Universe" books, which are a brutal act to follow. Even cutting "A Thousand Ships" some slack on this account, though, it's a bit of a disappointment. The strengths of the graphic format aren't brought to bear, as characters aren't drawn with enough individuality to be able to tell them apart easily. Transitions are often unmarked, making it possible to read through several panels before realizing that there has been an important shift in time and place.
Shanower has chosen to depict the people of the epic as ordinary people, which is a reasonable decision. For my taste, though, it waters down the mythology, stripping it of a lot of its grandeur and humor, and making it just a little bit dull.
2009: Any graphic presentation of historical or pseudo-historical events has to live with comparison of Larry Gonick's amazing "History of the Universe" books, which are a brutal act to follow. Even cutting "A Thousand Ships" some slack on this account, though, it's a bit of a disappointment. The strengths of the graphic format aren't brought to bear, as characters aren't drawn with enough individuality to be able to tell them apart easily. Transitions are often unmarked, making it possible to read through several panels before realizing that there has been an important shift in time and place.
Shanower has chosen to depict the people of the epic as ordinary people, which is a reasonable decision. For my taste, though, it waters down the mythology, stripping it of a lot of its grandeur and humor, and making it just a little bit dull.