Pretty enjoyable. I like Infurnari's art a lot (although a touch more distinction between the different battling sides would have been helpful). The story is really engrossing, and well plotted (leaving me wondering how much is 'truth' and how much embellishment - and I normally take it as a good sign that I'm interested, and that I can't tell). Some bits of the dialogue seemed a touch disjointed - I think a slightly heavier hand on the editing would have helped. ( )

There is a good story in here somewhere and at moments it does peak through but mostly it is lost in a blur of rushed story-telling, confused art work and a mauling of history. From the beginning I found myself putting in way too much effort trying to figure out who was who during the herky-jerky prologue that was the main character’s youth. Then when the battle for Athens was under way, it just grew worse. Most of the dialogue was inelegant and the art work under-conceived—just throw a bunch of stuff in there and have someone shout what’s happening. When you have to reread portions to figure out who is who in a story designed to mimic the impetus of a runner you have already lost the race. As implied by the cover art and the title the best part of the book is the dramatic run at the end much of which is thrilling and well executed (dialogue at a minimum). However, by this point I was shouldering enough annoyance to hinder my interest in the goings on and what should have been a stirring victorious conclusion became just the last pages of a book I was closing so I could read something else.
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Striking, action-packed art but the story is jumbled and often hard to follow. ( )

From the publisher's website,
"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.
This is his story."

The Greek and Persian wars are standard fare in the history books of middle and high schoolers, but it's doubtful that school text books can generate the same interest level as this sparsely tinted graphic novel treatment of the epic run that made the town of Marathon synonymous with running - Eucles' race against time and foes to save Athens from the advancing Persian army of King Darius.

Alternating between shades of gray for flashbacks of Eucles' youth, and shades of brown for the present, Joe Infurnari's illustrations are teeming with action and intensity, frequently spilling between panels. Some scenes do require close inspection to differentiate between the similarly swarthy characters and combatants not clothed in signature battle dress.

Flashbacks notwithstanding, the story is chronological from the point of the runner, though sections are divided not by time, but by distance and destination,

"'Distance from Athens to Sparta: 153 Sparta," "Distance from Sparta to Marathon: 158 miles," and finally, with pursuers close behind, "26 miles to Athens," to deliver the final message of warning,

"It's Eucles!
Eucles returns!
What news?
Does our army stand?

Victory is ours.
-but the Persian fleet approaches.
They will arrive ... before our army is able to march back to defend the city."

The final 26 miles is the basis for our modern marathon races. This year, the spirit of Eucles and Ancient Greece will live on in the city of London's 2012 Olympic Games.

Aptly suggested for grades 7 and up.

The graphic novel format brings new life to ancient history. This title should be especially appealing to boys.

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Athens faces its greatest battle...the Persian army has come to defeat them and accompanying them is their ex-tyrant of a king, Hippias. The Athenians are hopelessly outnumbered and their city may fall without help. They need assistance from the Spartans, who live 153 miles away. And their army can only hold back the Persians for so long. They send their greatest runner, Eucles, to ask them to come to their aid. Eucles must run 153 miles in three days...and back again to Athens. And thus begins the greatest race ever known...and an event that continues to inspire mankind to greatness today.

What really attracted me to this book was the artwork. That striking image on the front cover, of a man running as fast as he can, sweat pouring down his brown, and the world seemingly on fire behind him, but he's on a mission and he won't let anything stop him. That evocative art style remains throughout the book, easily capturing the expressions of fear, triumph, and hope on the characters faces. It's easy to get swept up in it as you move from page to page to follow the story and getting lost in all of the details. It's easy to see that Joe spent a great deal of time creating the art and capturing the detail that makes it seem like the characters are ready to leap off the page with their battle. And his art style reminds me a lot of Rembrandt's pen and ink drawings, that lose sketchy feel, but powerful. I wish more books had this style...but I guess then it wouldn't be unique.

While I like the overall content and story told, the execution at the beginning of the book is a bit confusing and jumbled. In the first 15 or so pages we alternate between present, three days ago, and fifteen years ago seeing Eucles at different points of his journey and the transitions aren't always smooth. Sometimes the panels of alternating timelines are right next to each other and it isn't always clear who we're looking at. And I think it's that switching between three different timelines that bothers me. Me personally, I would have preferred a small prologue that set up about Eucles past or to have left it out entirely. Without that then the switching between present and two-three days in the past would have been easier to follow. Once you get past those first 15 pages though, the story settles into a more recognizable format and presents a gripping tale of one man and what he's willing to do to help save his city and his people. I really enjoyed the heart of this tale and it made me interested to learn more about Eucles and his life. I think it would have been great if a bibliography could have been included in the back of the book.

Even though the first 15 pages are a bit jumbled, overall this is a solid book that I have no problem recommending to readers, especially teen readers who are interested in sports. I give the book 4 out of 5 stars.

ARC provided by Gina at FirstSecond ( )