Origin:

300 was a graphic novel, written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted interiors by Lynn Varley. The comic loosely depicts the Battle of Thermopylae and the events leading up to it from the perspective of Leonidas I, king of Sparta. The comic was particularly inspired by the 1962 film The 300 Spartans, a movie that Miller watched as a young boy.

Every page of the comic was illustrated as a double-page spread. When the series was gathered into hardcover form, the individual pages were twice as wide as a normal comic. Miller's art style for this project was similar to his Sin City work, although the addition of consistent color is an obvious difference.

300 was initially published as a monthly five-issue comic book series by Dark Horse Comics, the first issue published in May 1998. The issues were titled Honor, Duty, Glory, Combat and Victory. The series won three Eisner Awards in 1999: "Best Limited Series", "Best Writer/Artist" for Frank Miller and "Best Colorist" for Lynn Varley. The work was collected as a hardcover graphic novel in 1999.

The film 300 is effectively a shot-for-shot adaptation of the graphic novel.

Synopsis:

Sin City author Frank Miller's sweeping take on the historic Battle of Thermopylae comes to the screen courtesy of Dawn of the Dead director Zack Snyder in this CG-heavy adventure starring Gerard Butler as Spartan king Leonidas and Lena Headey as Queen Gorgo. When King Leonidas and his 300 Spartan warriors fall to the overwhelming Persian army at the Battle of Thermopylae, the fearless actions of the noble fighters inspire all of Greece to stand up against their Persian enemy and wage the battle that would ultimately give birth to the modern concept of democracy.

© Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Prequels, Sequels and Follow-ons: