Age of Bronze (comics)

:"For other uses of the term, see Age of Bronze. For comic books from the early-1970s to mid-1980s, see Bronze Age of Comic Books"

"Age of Bronze" is an American comics series by writer/artist Eric Shanower retelling the legend of the Trojan War. It began in 1998 and is published by Image Comics.

Overview

The series aims to be true to all literary traditions, from Homer's "Iliad" to Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida", as well as to the archaeology of the Bronze Age Aegean. When complete it is projected to comprise seven volumes.

Publications

Over 26 issues, three trade paperback collections and two specials have been published to date.

* Volume 1: "A Thousand Ships" (2001, ISBN 1-58240-200-0) collects issues 1 to 9, in which Helen, wife of the king of Sparta, is abducted by the Trojan prince Paris, and the Greeks gather their armies for war in response.

* Volume 2: "Sacrifice" (2004, ISBN 1-58240-360-0) collects issues 10 to 19, in which the progress of the Greek army is held up, until their king, Agamemnon, pays a debt he owes to the gods.

* Volume 3: "Betrayal" (2008, ISBN 978-1-58240-845-3) collects issues 20-26, in which Agamemnon's fleet sails to Troy and his envoys negotiate with King Priam.

* The "Age of Bronze Special", published in 1999, provides backstory, telling of the curse on Atreus and his sons, Agamemnon and Menelaus.

* "Age of Bronze: Behind the Scenes", published in 2002, gives an insight into Shanower's research and working methods.

Awards

Shanower won the Eisner Award for best writer/artist in 2001 and 2003, and was nominated for the Ignatz Award for outstanding artist in 1999, for his work on "Age of Bronze." The series was also nominated for the R.A.C. "Squiddy" Award for Best Ongoing Comic Series in 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002.

External links

* [http://www.age-of-bronze.com/ Age of Bronze] Official site
* [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2001/2001-09-43.html "A Thousand Ships"] and [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/2006/2006-01-04.html "Sacrifice"] reviewed at [http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/bmcr/ Bryn Mawr Classical Review]
* [http://users.rcn.com/aardy/comics/awards/index.html Comic Book Awards Almanac]