I typically love mythology, especially Greek mythology, but this gets bogged down by too many details. I don't need to know the 50 people each character killed in battle and who each of those people's dads were. I often found myself skimming through the book to finish. After dragging through 272 pages, the story of the Trojan war isn't finished either. It ends where the Iliad ends, after Achilles and Hector's final battle. It drags on for too long after that, giving the book an unsatisfying ending. The art reminds me of textbook art.

My Review: I first read The Iliad in my college Epic Poetry class and it quickly became one of my favorites, so when I saw this available I knew I had to read it. It has been years since I last read the Iliad but based on what I remember this does follow the original work closely, but it still does a great job of simplifying it and bringing the language to a modern and approachable form. The illustration style is fantastic, it suits the story and is so beautiful. Hinds also includes a great illustrated character guide at the beginning to help readers. While it isn't quite the original work and a bit is lost but this is a very approachable interpretation of the original. I think it would also be great for the younger readers. I am thrilled that I not only found this but the author has several other graphic novels of my favorite epic poems.

My Rating: I really enjoyed this adaptation of The Iliad, it simplified a lot of it into something all readers could follow and enjoy. The art style really suited the story and setting as well, detailed when it needed to be and clear distinguishing between the characters. I give it a rating of Four Paws!

I might have misunderstood, but I thought this was a comic based on the Trojan war, and it's not, it's an abridged and simplified translation of the Iliad with a few not very elaborate illustrations. It could be a first step into the Greek mythology for an 8-years old kid, but it's definitely a poor read for an adult, and I'm honestly not sure a kid would want to read anything like this on their tablet. A good idea not very well executed.

4.5★
“This is not the story of the Trojan War. Or at least not the whole story.
. . .
The war was fought over a woman. Or possibly an apple, or a lot of gold, or control of trade routes. Here’s what supposedly happened: the two mightiest gods, Zeus and Poseidon, were both attracted to a sea-nymph named Thetis.”

This is a long, full-on graphic novel, not a short comic book. I have not compared it to official versions – I can’t say original, because this was written around the 12th century BCE (before common/current era) – but there is poetry quoted and the language used by the characters is written in a manner that suggests historic rather than modern times.

I make no attempt to summarise the story, other than to say it includes all the elements of a good dramatic action adventure: romance, jealousy, heroes, kings, gods and goddesses, magic and weakness. Oh yes, and war, not to forget the Trojan War. I’ve captured a few of the illustrations, which are done as coloured drawings, some very detailed and some more sketchy, particularly those of the mythical gods and goddesses and Dream.

[My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Picture of some important Trojans (note the warriors with and without their helmets) and some gods.]

The introduction tells us why Agamemnon and Achilles are quarrelling and shows what happens next.

“Chryses prayed to Apollo for retribution, and the god heard him. Down he came from the heights of Mount Olympus, the arrows of disease and death rattling in his quiver like thunder, and darkness following in his footsteps.”

[My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Picture of Agamemnon and Achilles, head-to-head, Chryses praying, and Apollo striding down to mix things up some more.]

Achilles is the son of Thetis, a beautiful sea goddess. and he begs her to go to Zeus and ask him to intervene. He’s the chief/king of the gods, after all, and he has always had a soft spot for Thetis (to put it politely). Hera, Zeus’s wife, is well aware of his weaknesses.

[My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Pictures of Hera (pink) jealous of Thetis (aqua) who is begging Zeus.]

“I saw you bow your head to that sea-trollop just now.* What have you promised her?”

At the bottom of that page is this footnote:
“* If Zeus bowed his head when making a promise, it was said to be an unbreakable vow.”

There are similar notations here and there, as needed, plus extensive notes at the end of the book. You can see even from these small examples, the difference between the illustrations of the gods and the mortals, which helps keep them straight.

I haven’t read each panel thoroughly, but I can see how much attention to detail there is, and how easy it would be to encourage otherwise less-interested readers to engage with reading some of these old tales. (I suppose Brad Pitt and Eric Bana and the film probably attracted some interest too.)

There are plenty of graphic bloody battles.

[My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Battle illustration. Note the gods each cheering for their own sides in the background on the top right! ]

Here’s a bit more of what’s available in this publication. A map.

[My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: Map of the armies and where they came from.]

I realise you can’t see this here, but this will give you an idea of the details included.

[My Goodreads review includes an illustration captioned: The first of several page-by-page notes to accompany the illustrated text.]

The lengthy author's note adds history and context. There is also a good bibliography, which includes this interesting link, if you’re interested.
http://age-of-bronze.com/CartoonistinTroy.shtml

Thanks to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the preview from which I’ve copied a few illustrations.

I hadn't read The Iliad in a long time before starting this one. Maybe I should have, because there is a lot going on in this book. I had to go back a lot of time just to reread everything as I went. I don't know if there are people that like it.. but I don't.. Nevertheless, if you know the story of The Iliad and have read it maybe a few weeks ago, it'd be a better fit.

A graphic novel retelling of Homer’s epic poem, The Iliad is a faithful adaptation designed to make this notoriously difficult tale easier to grasp.

This version of The Iliad employs several methods to help readers manage to follow the enormous cast and convoluted plot. Each of the main characters has their initial subtly designed into their armor, the Gods are rendered in a style that makes them appear as colorful ghosts—each one given a unique color—and maps and graphics are used to show the origins of the thousands of soldiers who massed at Troy.

As with many versions of this tale, it is somewhat sanitized. Having recently read Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls, which tells the same story from the perspective of Briseis, it’s clear how male-centric this version is and how the horrific treatment of women is glossed over. There is an attempt to show the violence of war as Homer originally intended with many panels showing deaths in great detail, and the atrocities performed against Hector’s body by a distraught Achilles are described with shocking specificity. I also noticed how this version avoids labeling the relationship between Achilles and Patroclus as anything more than friendship, despite the former’s absolute heartbreak providing strong evidence to the contrary.

While this was an OK telling of The Iliad, I can’t say it was the most gripping one and I found myself grateful to reach the end. Considering how much has been removed from the original translation there was still a lot of repetitive description of who killed who and whose armor was plundered from their body by whom. It also failed to explain the motivations behind the Gods interference with mortal events, leaving me confused about why events played out as they did. Considering how text-heavy it is for a graphic novel (the similes defy belief but I understand this is taken from the original), it’s impressive how little the motivations behind anyone’s actions or beliefs are explained in any depth.

Annoyingly, the book is littered with footnotes that pull you away from the story and the artwork is depressingly bland throughout, although I did like the way the Gods were depicted. Finally, the story just… stops. There’s no warning. I was expecting several more pages at least, but it just ends abruptly which leaves you feeling dissatisfied.

Given how many versions there are of The Iliad to date, this isn’t one I’ll be recommending any time soon.

I received this book as an ARC from Netgalley.

Greek Mythology has been my go to for a good read since I was a young girl. The story of the Trojan War is that of legend. I loved reading this classic timeless story in the form of a graphic novel. Hinds has definitely gained a new fan in me. I already own his previous graphic novel, The Odyssey, - I loved it just as much as I loved this one. It is definitely going to be another book that I plan to add to my collection.

The illustrations were breathtaking and beautiful. The story line and action came to life on the page! I would love for Marvel to get their hands on a story like this! It would be amazing to see it come to life in that classic super hero action movie format.

I hope that Hinds continues to convert Greek myths into graphic novels. I would love to have a full collection of all of my favorite myths!

I recommend this book to fans of Greek Mythology and graphic novels.

The incredible Gareth Hinds has designed this truly excellent and accessible graphic novel of The Iliad of Homer. As a Classics graduate student working on my dissertation, I can say that this version of the Iliad is both unique as well as true to the original. Having read several translations and the original Greek, I can state with certainty that this version offers a truly wonderful Iliad experience for anyone interested in classics and the Trojan war. It provides guides on major characters, visual representations of the battles and camps, and demonstrates a unique visual perspective on the war that is useful as well as aesthetically pleasing for any level of reader. I would provide the caveat that the material of the Iliad is highly graphic so I would not recommend this book for children. However, I can say with all honesty I wish I had had this version when I was reading the Iliad for the first time. While I still prefer my Richmond Lattimore translation, this stunning addition to the many translations of Homer’s work deserves kudos (κυδος) for being a truly excellent representation of the Iliad that I can see benefitting and enriching the Classics community for years to come. I can not recommend it enough.

I was provided an eARC at no charge by @netgalley for my honest review.
#booksharks #bookrecommendations #booksta #bookreviews #classicalstudies #iliad #homer #ancientgreek #graphicnovels #garethhinds #theiliad #bookstagrammer #bookblog #netgalley #classicsbabes

I received an early copy in exchange for an honest review.

I am a big fan of Iliad.
obviously I liked this illustrated version too.
The drawings were not detailed or something eye catching but I enjoyed it nevertheless.
I think it might be confusing for those who havent read Iliad before but that the point you SHOULD READ THE ILIAD!

*sighs*
I LOVE the Iliad and the Odyssey so when I saw a friend reading this online, I requested the ARC and was really happy when I got approved. That happiness died a very quick but unfortunately still very painful death.

The story is almost as old as literature itself. An epic confrontation between several Greek city states (led by Agamemnon and his brother, helped by lesser lords) against the legendary kingdom of Troy.
Helen and Paris, Hector and Priam, Achilles and Patroclus, a host of Greek gods, Odysseus, the famous horse ... you know.

The aspects of this epic story are myriad and awesome so I thought reading bout it in a more compact form and illustrated, too, would be cool. Sadly, that was not the case.
The art was ... maybe not exactly bad but too simple. Like one of those very old picture books explaining difficult scientific or historical matters to children. It wasn't ugly but it was bland - from the lack of actual backgrounds to the lack of facial expressions or body language.
Moreover, while the story here is close to the source material, the characterizations were so annoying (especially the gods) and the dialogues so boring that I found myself skimming the text. But I also started flying through the images pretty soon as there were no great details or anything exciting/interesting.

In short: I'm glad I got an ARC because I'd be quite angry if I had spent money on this.

The Iliad by Gareth Hinds
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I don't know how many of you out there went to Sunday School as children, but I remember having to read these god-awful children's books with truly ugly art depicting bible tales. Watercolor, with bland-as-hell poses and expressions for everyone... all so worthless that I wished they had just done without the pictures altogether. Maybe the bland tales, too.

"But wait," you say, "This is supposed to be the Iliad! It's exciting and tragic and it has gods and heroes and that damn horse!"

Yeah, well, this is the book where even great tales go to die.

If you want to read the original, READ THE ORIGINAL. Or as in my case, the translation to the original. Go for the poetry one or the prose one. I don't care. It's better than this. Even the text manages to draw out the dull. And if you wanted a great comic portrayal, go watch that horse-dung of a movie that came out in the oughts. It really was comic. And at least it didn't have ALL THESE FOOTNOTES.

You know the old adage, a picture paints a thousand words? Well, the author ignores the great thousands of words and leaves them in the comic and ignores the possible brilliance of the art that could have replaced certain scenes. And then, instead of focusing on the really iconic scenes to great benefit, he gives a lot of space to the random dead that we can list for hours in the original text. I can kinda appreciate that in a "oh, cool, I can't believe he did that," kind of way, but in actuality, I was thinking, "oh, damn, that really, really could have been left out."

My boredom got bored.

Do not read. This is a public service announcement.

*apologies to the artist*

As an avid read, a lover of graphic novels and someone who graduated with a Latin minor, this was right up my ally. The illustrations in this novel are absolutely breathtaking and the writing style goes along with them in such a seamless way! Going into a little more detail on specifics of what I liked I would like to break it down between the historical aspect of it as well as the illustrations.

Again, being someone who minored in Latin and who is completely obsessed with Greeks, Romans and mythology in general this book was perfect. I felt like they kept closely to the accuracy of the original story, while adding to it and making it more accessible for a wider audience. Many times people feel daunted by stories like the Iliad or the Odyssey, but this is not one of those daunting renditions.

Another thing that really struck me in this graphic novel was the illustrations. I felt like they truly added the story, as they were used to portray things and people from this ancient culture that not everyone might be familiar with. They are also breathtakingly beautiful and full of detail.

If you are a fan of graphic novels I highly suggest this one! If you aren't into this style of book but trying to get into it, this is a great place to start!!

As a thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced reader copy I shall give an honest review of Gareth Hinds “The Iliad”. This graphic novel had over three thousand years of history in its pages and expressed it in a beautiful and lyrical way. Most importantly it was concise and straight to the point. This novel was able to express complex storylines in an assessable manner. As I was reading this copy was its text placed like a novel and subsequently, would the images fall in separate pages. I had an advanced readers copy but did not know how far its content would be changed until I googled the complete pages and would have thought more positively of the book. Initially, I gave this graphic novel three stars but with the improvements made in the finished copy, I give this graphic novel four out of five stars. Its art and prose made reading this complex story of the ancient Greeks assessable to me and one that was a page-turner. I recommend it for lovers of history, myth, and legend.

A companion to 2010's award-winning adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey, Gareth Hinds adapts Homer's epic and manages to capture the breathtaking scale. The Iliad is the first part of the epic poem that recounts The Trojan War, introducing readers to legendary characters including Achilles, Hector, Paris, and Odysseus. Hinds gives readers a dramatis personae of important Greeks and Trojans; he also provides illustration of the cantankerous, trouble-making Greek gods, dividing them up between Titans and children of Zeus.Flowing the story as dialogue between an omniscient narrator (Homer) and the characters is a big help to readers who may be cowed by the epic poem in its original form; Gareth Hinds brings life to the characters and creates landscapes and battle scenes that really engage readers. The drama is more intimate when one feels like a bystander as Hector and his wife, Andromache, say their goodbyes as he goes off to fight Achilles; seeing the gods interfere in the outcomes of battle will have some readers yelling at the book like we yell at our TV screens (okay, the reader in question is me). There's just so much material to interact with here: an epic story that's endured for millennia; maps, and notes all come together to make this a great volume to keep on hand for your students, kids, and patrons.Gareth Hinds's The Iliad has starred reviews from Publisher's Weekly and The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books. You can find tour dates for Gareth Hinds's Iliad tour on his website. Candlewick Press has a free, downloadable educator's guide available. Gareth Hinds is an award-winning graphic novelist who has some great, epic classics to his credit, including Beowulf, Macbeth, and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. ELA teachers and librarians, get copies of his work into your students' hands!

Easy to read version of classic literature!
Thanks to NetGalley and Candlewick Press for the opportunity to read and review The Iliad, a graphic novel by Gareth Hinds!
The captains are introduced at the opening of the graphic novel and names, ancestry, kingdom and shield decorations are explained. Important Trojans and Gods are listed next. Illustrations are included next to each character. The Prologue explains what The Iliad is about. It tells the story of a feud between the warrior Achilles and King Agamemnon, the leader of the Greek Forces. This feud and The Iliad story takes place during the tenth and final year of the Trojan War. A story full of epic battles based on tales many centuries old, The Iliad is simplified with this graphic novel but the main points can be found in this reader-friendly version. The Author’s Notes share the origins of Homer’s tales and the origins of Homer himself. No evidence has been found to prove Homer’s existence and his stories might be collections of oral tales of epic battles and heroes gathered over time. Enlightening information about The Iliad and the creator. 5 stars for this great way to read classic literature!

I did not really liked the drawings and the overall design of the book. However the plot was great, very entertaining. It really reminded me of The Iliad and I loved the interpretation of it.

This was an interesting take on The Iliad, and while I think it would be a good starter for school kids, it felt a little boring to me, someone who already knew the story well. The illustrations, however, are nicely done!

I studied the Iliad years ago, in university. I love Greek mythology so I was excited to read this graphic novel adaptation.

At the beginning of this book, there is a legend for the characters. There are many men who are all from the same part of the world, so they look similar. Each man is drawn with a distinctive helmet and shield to differentiate between them. Each of the gods were illustrated in a different colour, so they were distinct too. This was especially helpful when they took the form of a human, so that person glowed in the god’s colour.

There were many historical notes and notes about the text at the end of the book. This graphic novel would be a great accompaniment to the text of the Iliad because it illustrates the events. The text can be difficult to get through, so this graphic novel can make it easier to understand.

This is a great graphic novel!

I received a copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I am definitely a fan of the Iliad, so I was excited to see a graphic novel representation of the story. Unfortunately, this version was not for me. I can only hope that it’s better in print, because the format was not good in the ebook.

The illustrations were…okay? I read a wide variety of graphic novels and these were on the lower end of quality I’ve seen. I did like the way the gods were illustrated, but even then they felt poorly fleshed out. There were also a few moments I would’ve liked to have seen illustrated (Hector taking off his helm because it scared his infant son) and they weren’t there. The battle illustrations were sort of cool, and certainly captured the brutality represented in the Iliad.

The format was broken up in my ebook, so I’m just guessing that the text is in verse form, and for the most part I think it was translated/transposed well. I understand that it was shortened for a younger audience, but there were a few moments that add a lot to characters that weren’t there (again, Hector and baby Scamandrius).

Overall, it was interesting to see an author’s depiction of the Iliad, but I’d rather read a non-illustrated verse translation.

Mythology has been plundered for children's source material these past few years, what with the brilliance from George O'Connor's Olympian series as well as the extreme cleverness from Riordian's Percy Jackson narratives. Gareth Hinds' rendition of the Iliad contributes successfully to this canon.

Much like his previous installment of the Odyssey, this is a compelling mixture of whimsy and brutality, of sophistication and simplicity. The art is unpretentious, almost stylistically innocent, which one would expect for a book geared towards young readers; yet the expressions of the faces are very, very mature and lifelike. The panels does not shy away from violence at all. There is also great detail to a historical accuracy in the settings, the characters' costumes, and their paraphernalia. Menelaus' shield -- Achilles' shield! -- the Greek ships, the warriors' individualized attire, all this seems real. And this is set against monochrome phantoms of the gods floating in and out of the action. Visually, these pages are like a haunting dream.

And concerning those who feel a sensitivity for straying too far from the source material, have no fear. This is a very faithful retelling of Homer's work, enough to inspire one to reread the poem itself.

For true mythology fans of all ages, this is something worth having.