Description
SACRIFICE
Volume 2 of AGE OF BRONZE
The Story of the Trojan War
by Eric Shanower
224 Black-and-White pages with color covers
Contains issues 10 through 19 of the comic book series
ISBN 1-58240-360-0 hardcover
ISBN 1-58240-399-6 paperback
The stunning HARDCOVER edition features illustrated color endpapers, a quality cloth binding stamped in gold ink, and beautiful dust jacket. This edition contains black-and-white interior artwork.
In addition to collecting the story from Age of Bronze issues 10 – 19, Sacrifice includes a Synopsis of the story so far, Pronunciation Glossary, Maps, Genealogical Charts, and Bibliography.
In Sacrifice the Trojan War springs to life once more. Here the famous names of legend breathe again, Achilles, Odysseus, Paris, Agamemnon, and Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships.
Helen’s dreams come true when she arrives with Paris in the powerful city of Troy. But her triumphant entry is marred by Kassandra’s wild predictions of Troy’s doom. No one believes such ravings, but nevertheless, doom is on its way. From across the sea a massive army of ships and men approaches, seeking war with Troy.
But the army has its own troubles. A disastrous battle brings death to innocents, while the young warrior Achilles forges a bond that will shape his destiny. Odysseus longs for home in Ithaka, but finds himself drawn ever deeper into High King Agamemnon’s dark plots. And a prophecy of the Trojan priest Kalchas forces Agamemnon to choose between betraying the army or sacrificing his daughter’s life.
Drawn from the myths and legends of centuries, Sacrifice continues the tapestry of drama and action known as the Trojan War. Eric Shanower’s historically accurate illustrations and compelling dialogue propel this greatest of Greek epics into the twenty-first century.
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For editions of Sacrifice in languages other than English, click here.
What people are saying about Sacrifice:
“Starred review. . . . a stunning addition to the literature of the Trojan War.”
—Publisher’s Weekly
“This work demands close engagement and thoughtful response: it makes the Trojan War both unbelievably distant in a vivid historical past, and compellingly present in our own age.”
—Patricia D. Lothrop, School Library Journal
“As erudite as it is entertaining, Shanower’s Herculean task is executed with the grace of the gods.”
—Entertainment Weekly
“Shanower’s sureness of the tiniest details feeds Age of Bronze’s barreling momentum. His Trojan War is a conflict of people more than of nations, and the cast is dizzyingly huge, but he juggles them deftly, selecting images that say what words can’t.”
—Douglas Wolk, The Washington Post
“The second installment of Shanower’s black-and-white graphic-novel retelling of the Trojan War takes up the story, begun in A Thousand Ships (2001), as Paris and his fleet arrive in Troy. Helen’s beauty; Kassandra’s dire predictions; Achilles’ desire for adventure and his homosexuality (discerningly depicted); and Mycenae’s response to the threat of war provide the synergy in this episode, and Agamemnon’s sacrifice of Iphigenia unfolds with heartbreaking determination. Extension of a single image (the wind is a monstrous, hissing presence spreading across several panels), and changes in perspective keep the eye as busy as the mind in attending to both the narrative and the metaphor of the classic myth.”
—Francisca Goldsmith, Booklist
“The author-cum-artist has researched quite well the wide range of literature, art, and archaeology. . . . The clothing, hairstyles, pottery, frescoes, architecture, boat construction, and the settings in general are in such close agreement with current research that it makes one reflect how differently modern scholars envision the Late Bronze Age Achaeans than did past Homeric specialists. . . . Aegean prehistorians will appreciate how much archaeology has advanced our knowledge of the Mycenaean world to allow Shanower to reproduce it so faithfully.”
—Thomas F. Strasser, American Journal of Archaeology
“To Shanower’s credit, possibly the best aspect of work is its subtlety. The book is rich and touches on so many aspects of classical studies that it really allows for a very complete experience. . . . Sacrifice does a terrific job with the Trojan War material. . . . This work should surely not be missed.”
—Sean O’Hagen, The Classical Outlook
“If you want to read an interpretation of the Trojan War Saga that is not just exciting and visually compelling but also historically and painstakingly accurate, read Age of Bronze. Age of Bronze: Sacrifice is a stunning work that will introduce new generations to the Age of Heroes and to their archaeology.”
—Dr. Louise A. Hitchcock, Lecturer in Bronze Age Aegean Archaeology, University of Melbourne
“Under Shanower’s hand, the characters have come to life, with expressive faces, body language and a level of detail that move the story as effectively as the words. . . . It is an extraordinary project, and readers will be well pleased with its complexity and artistry.”
— Marlene Y. Satter, Foreword Magazine
“This visually compelling ‘graphic novel’ . . . gets the eighth-century B.C. archaeology and mythology just right. Shanower . . . is so punctilious about historical accuracy that when pottery appears in his panels scholarly readers can pinpoint whether or not the vessels can be assigned to the Late Helladic IIIB or Late Helladic IIIC periods.”
—Archaeology Odyssey
“The story . . . has been told and retold many, many times, but rarely with the panache and verve of Eric Shanower’s epic comic book version. This is no mere retelling of the Iliad, for Shanower goes back to the very beginning of the ancient tale and faithfully retells it in beautiful black-and-white drawings that bring the Bronze Age Aegean vividly to life.”
—India Edghill, The Historical Novels Review
“I don’t often give any work a 10. The only reason that Age of Bronze gets a 10 is because I can’t give it an 11.”
—Katherine Keller, Sequential Tart
“. . . Sacrifice is enthusiastically recommended reading . . . the only drawback is an impatient waiting for the next volume to see how this deftly crafted retelling of this fascinating story unfolds.”
—Midwest Book Review
“The artwork, the writing, even the lettering is note-perfect, showing the results of painstaking research and a knowledge of characters that is impressive given how many characters there are.”
—Randy Lander, The Fourth Rail
“The sheer craftsmanship Shanower has put into this book should convince anyone who even glances at Age of Bronze that it is superior to [the movie] Troy.”
—Steve Higgins, Broken Frontier
“Retelling classic or historical tales in illustrated form is one of the hallmarks of comics, but it has rarely been done with the grace and elegance of Age of Bronze.”
—Jonathan P. Kuehlein, Metro Toronto
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