Comics
Review: ‘Three’ # 2
Kieron Gillen’s revisionist look at Sparta continues this month in a more compelling issue than its debut. Due to a clarification of the narrative, the muddy exposition is out of the way and the story proper can begin.
“Three” is a historian’s dream. It’s a visual history of a place lost to time. Sparta doesn’t have much of its own memories in tact. The ramblings of those who opposed it fill our history books. So Gillen aims to tell a more robust history of the time and state. He succeeds admirably while also delivering a compelling story about slavery.
WRITTEN BY: Kieron Gillen
ART BY: Ryan Kelly
PUBLISHER: Image
PRICE: $2.99
RELEASE: November 13, 2013
I wasn’t too sure of anything after I read the first issue of “Three.” A lot of groundwork was laid out, but there wasn’t a clear protagonist rising above the rest. Gillen treated readers to an interesting snapshot of history and didn’t even attempt to hold their hand. The results were a little disorienting albeit historically accurate.
The narrative becomes much more clear, and the title of the book makes a lot more sense. Gillen aims to tell a story about the reality of Sparta. What’s more is that he’s done an amazing amount of research to bring this area to life.
Ryan Kelly’s artwork shows Sparta at its peak. It was like looking into my classics textbooks from my undergrad. The visualization of the city seems spot on, and the character designs are more interesting and accurate than we’ve ever been treated too.
Kelly seems to really enjoy the pages that are soaked in blood, as he should. Here the book hits its full stride as the messy nature of combat translates through the art. Sword fighting was not elegant at this point in history. The Gladius was meant to tear flesh from bone, and make for quick deaths.
Kelly and Gillen give the reader something special in a book about Spartans. They give us civil dispute. That is to say that the Helots are done serving their masters and we get to see a lot of Spartans meet their end by the hand of less skilled warriors.
This is a fantastic device to show the strong society in a new light. The perspective of the disenfranchised is always more interesting within a powerful nation. Gillen seems to know this, and rides this detail to the bitter end. We’re given a fantastic tease as to where things are headed next, but the issue revels in the class dynamics it so powerfully establishes.
There are not many comics like “Three” it straddles the line between history and historical fiction. The interviews featured in the closing pages show the incredible amount of research that went into the book’s creation. I heartily recommend this series for any lovers of history, especially the classical age, as this is a look at Sparta unlike any other.
Rating: 4/5 Skulls.
Comics
‘Curse of the Where Wolf’ Bites Into August Release With Trio of Werewolf Theatrical Screenings [Exclusive Preview]
Larry Chaney‘s hairy misadventures are continuing in the sequel graphic novel Curse of the Where Wolf from creative team Rob Saucedo, Debora Lancianese, and Jack Morelli, and its author is celebrating with a trio of horror’s greatest werewolf films.
The Curse of the Where Wolf hits shelves on August 7 from Encyclopocalypse Publications.
That coincides with the launch of a theatrical screening event in Houston, Texas, featuring a trio of seminal werewolf flicks turning 45 this year: The Howling on August 7, Wolfen on August 14, and An American Werewolf in London on August 21.
Each screening features a “werewolf in film” presentation as well as a book signing from Where Wolf author and River Oaks Theatre artistic director Rob Saucedo.
In the new graphic novel, “Being a werewolf sucks. Reporter Larry Chaney wanted to be a hero. Instead, he became a werewolf. Now, caught between incredible new powers and a desire to eat everything (and everyone) in sight, Larry must find a cure for his curse. Or die trying.”
“With Where Wolf, I wanted to tell a whodunit set in a furry convention, so the story was pretty contained within a very specific setting and genre. With Curse of the Where Wolf, I wanted to celebrate everything I love about the possibility of comic books. Curse of the Where Wolf is a funny book, in every sense of the phrase, but it’s also an earnest look at a person’s struggle to become a better version of themselves, especially when the alternative is to become a literal monster,” Saucedo says of Curse.
The original graphic novel was previously serialized as the first webcomic hosted on Fangoria before being collected by Encyclopocalypse Publications in 2023 and has already been optioned for film, podcast, and television development ahead of launch by producers James Fino (“The Freak Brothers” for Tubi, “Rick and Morty” for Adult Swim) and Charles Horak (First Date for Magnolia Pictures).
Expect Larry to find himself in even weirder situations in the 362-page full color sequel; Saucedo has provided Bloody Disgusting with exclusive art pages from the upcoming graphic novel that showcase lupine humor.
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