Marathon
by Boaz Yakin
illus. by Joe Infurnari
It was a turning point in ancient history.
It inspires men to greatness.
It was the foundation of one of the greatest and most prevailing global peace efforts of the 20th century.
It was the greatest feat—and the tragic death—of a man whose legacy will never be forgotten.
In 490BC, an Athenian messenger named Eucles ran 153 miles from Sparta to Athens, and in so doing preserved ancient Greek civilization from subjugation to the Persian Empire.
While this is an interesting point in history and I liked getting to see the origin of the word marathon, I did not really enjoy this graphic novel that much. I found the drawing style to be very dark. I also had trouble telling some of the characters apart after their initial introductions.
I would probably only recommend this graphic novel for use if you were reading as a group and could compare your reaction to the book, or if you are a hardcore graphic novel reader that enjoys history. Ancient Greece is fascinating and dark, but this graphic novel is also less reader friendly for new graphic novel readers.
Full disclosure: Borrowed through interlibrary loan
