Frank Miller returns to the world of 300 with this sprawling historical epic! Persian King Xerxes sets out to conquer the world to avenge his father Darius's defeat and create an empire unlike anything the world has ever seen . . . Until the hardy Greeks produce a god king of their own, Alexander the Great.
o Frank Miller writes and draws this long-awaited companion to his masterpiece, 300!
o Colored by Alex Sinclair, the colorist for Miller's Dark Knight Master Race, third installment of his Dark Knight Returns master trilogy.
o Deluxe collector format!
o Thirty pages of story!
Sharpen your weapons and gird yourselves for war. It is time to return to ancient Greece, land of warriors and heroes, kings and gods. Another tale unfolds within, of an epic struggle ten years before Leonidas and his Spartans make their stand at Thermopylae. Come along and see the glory of Alexander the Great and the stage being set for the rise of Xeroxes. Read Full Review
If you loved 300 (I did), you're probably going to love this. Read Full Review
If Miller's series maintains the strength and scope of this first outing, then the horizon is as bright as the one in the final panel of the book. Read Full Review
The art itself is stunning, from the battle lines being set up in the dawning sun to the bloody fighting itself. Read Full Review
At first glance I wasn't sure if I'd like this book, but I found myself enjoying the revelry of war only Frank Miller is capable of. There is an energy to it all that brings you back to the ancient days where men fought and blood was spilled in the sand of a battlefield. It's just unfortunate that battlefield looks unfinished in a book that lacks the grit and detail that made 300 such a joy to read. Read Full Review
Ultimately, the mouthful that is Xerxes: Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander fails to deliver in its first issue. With a lack of development in both the artwork and characterisation, Miller relies heavily on his ability to write a good fight scene and pace his pages well. Whether those skills will be enough to give us another classic like 300, however, remains to be seen. Read Full Review
The biggest problem with this book is the artwork. Miller's best days as an artist are behind him and the cartoonish turns of several panels ill-suit the intense story. Alex Sinclair's colors do little to help matters, brightly emphasizing what might have worked had it been cast in shadow like the original 300. Read Full Review
Alex Sinclair's color in this debut also offer some of the best to complement Miller's work in recent years, although that is a low bar. This is the reason to pick up Xerxes, an appreciation for design and a handful of storytelling elements. The story itself is even less coherent than the original though. Read Full Review
The long wait for this 300 follow-up doesn't exactly pay off in Xerxes #1. This issue retains some of the appeal of the original series, but doesn't do nearly enough to differentiate itself. The awkward fusion of art and colors doesn't help matters. If this series is to live up to its potential, it needs to expand its scope and show readers the Persian side of the story for a change. Read Full Review
Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander #1 makes gory actionhonestlyquite dull. I dont really care about this conflict or these characters. Maybe later issues will inject the slightest bit of nuance into the bloodshed, but this comic doesnt seem to promise it. If you love 300, heres more of it. Have at it. Otherwise, Id save your money and give Xerxes a pass. Read Full Review
Maybe it'll get better? But I'm not sure I'm sticking around considering there's so much out there that's better. Read Full Review
It may seem unfair to constantly compare Xerxes: The Fall of the House of Darius and the Rise of Alexander with it's groundbreaking and historical companion, as so few novels in general can match that height. But my main complaint is why revisit the same well-trodden landscape if you're not going to give us something of equal or more worth. It felt as the only thing that could have been added to his definitive tome is what happened after the battle against the 300 Spartans pertaining to Xerxes. But seeing as Xerxes isn't even in this chapter, it almost seems pointless. Read Full Review
Story is good enough to keep reader interested, art and pacing are fine but there is just something that will make you wonder - why Frank Miller didn't choose to write this and leave drawnings to someone else?
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