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.
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*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!

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.

I think that this graphic novel holds true to the story of the Iliad and is a fair re-telling of the epic. I really didn't enjoy it though and made me want to go find my copy of The Iliad by Homer and read that instead. I think I would have preferred the pictures to tell the story more than the words themselves, which is really hard to do with an epic life The Iliad. Overall, I think this adaption was okay, but I probably won't be reading it again.

The Iliad is something that I want in my classroom. Like, now! This is the story of Iliad told in a graphic novel. Um, hello, reluctant readers?! This is perfect for students who oftentimes shy away from classics simply because they’re either too long or too difficult to understand, or simply because just the term “classics” makes students disinterested. Whatever the reasons are, this graphic novel is a brilliant way to capture the audience’s attention, especially since the text is simplified and the pictures are stunning (especially the colors).

Thank you NetGalley and Candlewick Press for this eARC. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

I received this book in exchange for a honest review from NetGalley.

So.. This while being a faithful and well written adaptation of the Iliad its art style was actively bad. I really disliked it and thought that it could have done better. I am the graphic novel librarian for my branch and if one my student asked for a Iliad adaptation I would have a hard time recommending this title because the art style looks so old fashioned. My teens would assume that I was losing my touch.

I remember reading Homer's The Odyssey back in high school, but unfortunately never read the "prequel," The Iliad - so this was a nice way to be introduced to the classic.

Although Gareth Hinds definitely put a lot of work into his illustrations, and I did enjoy them, they also didn't seem to fully fit with the story as I felt they were a bit too "cartoonish.". They were good - just not great. Further, there was a lot of text that accompanied the illustrations - which is to be expected since The Iliad is a long epic - however, it was all too much.

However, I do appreciate the author's attempt to make this book more "readable" by including footnotes and other helpful commentary.

All-in-all, this was a good adaptation of The Iliad.

If you would like your epic stories condensed into a graphic novel, this can be your thing. There is quite some graphic content in this one. Bloody battles galore!

This graphic novel retelling of Homer's Iliad was not quite what I expected. It's much too word-heavy for a graphic novel, and I found myself bogged down in the text. Most of the panels have so much text that there is barely room for the artwork. And the artwork itself is nothing special. I didn't care for the cartoony look, and it just didn't grab my attention. It looks somewhat amateur, or hastily drawn.

If you are a big fan of the Iliad, you might like this, but I did not enjoy reading it. Usually I love classical literature, and I have read The Iliad before, so I was happy to be revisiting the story of the Trojan War with all the drama. But this book does not deliver drama. It feels stale and static, like the characters are all made of stone.

Disappointed in this one.

Disclaimer: I received an ecopy of this book from the publisher/author via NetGalley in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

My thanks to Candlewick Press for a digital edition via NetGalley of Gareth Hinds’ ‘The Iliad’ in exchange for an honest review.

I was jumping with joy over the idea of a graphic novel based on Homer’s epic poem about the Trojan War.

However, I quickly discovered that this was an illustrated book not a graphic novel in the accepted definition of the term.

There are certainly lots of illustrations and some maps and while the art was a little simplistic for my taste, it served to give another dimension to the text. It would be interesting to see how the text and illustrations are laid out in the print editions.

At the end Hinds provides extensive notes including ‘What Happens Next’, the historical background to the poem, and page-by-page notes on the text, his illustrations etc.

Overall, even if not a graphic novel, I felt it was a well illustrated introduction to Homer’s Iliad and one that certainly would be a good choice for schools, libraries, and those looking for an accessible format as introduction or companion to a more formal text.

I received an eARC from NetGalley. I was really hoping to enjoy this but unfortunately I DNF'd it 19% of the way through. I could not follow the story largely because the format was all over the place. The text and the graphic novel images didn't align correctly and sentences would overlap with each other. This made it incredibly hard to follow the story and know who was speaking. I'm not sure if this is an issue which is unique to the format I received it in or all ebook versions, but it lessened my enjoyment of what I thought was going to be a fantastic graphic novel.