The Ancient Greeks were a pretty big deal. They’re one of the key cultures that Western Society puts a measure to when it comes to philosophical works and stories. I mean yo it ain’t just baklava and a fair amount of homoeroticism, there’s a lot of narrative and deep figures that really deserve more analysis than what your typical English 101 class delivers.
I have a feeling that this is what Samantha Holmlund's PENTHELSILEA AND THE BATTLE OF TROY is trying to achieve. She’s trying to bring this fairly obscure Greek hero to life by adapting it through illustration and in principle I can totally get behind that. There are plenty of characters that aren’t as big as Heracles or Odysseus, but they deserve an equally epic amount of coverage. This is crazy true for female characters like Penthesilea, Hippolyta, or Atlanta who are incredible larger than life figures with really interesting stories.
Penthesilea is a really interesting tale that documents a powerful Amazon warrior that unfortunately succumbs to the utter delight that is the Greek Tragedy. It’s a really entertaining story that highlights this pyrrhic hero that fights for really personal reasons. What it really comes down to though is how the Greeks executed this narration in prose. Spoiler alert nerds: To most peeps, the story of Penthesilea is a footnote, however there was so much more to the Siege of Troy than Paris sticking his penis into things he shouldn't and Achilles being a total jerkwad.
It’s this overall expansion of the Trojan War that makes this book interesting. It covers things through illustration that makes you feel the pangs of Penthesilea’s pain and that totally matters. The close ups aren't tremendously detailed, but you get the sense of frustration and anger that the shadows nicely cover. This pairs incredibly well with the limited colour palette that Smantha has chosen, the balance between art and action in this book shows how meticulously crafted each panel is. I’m particularly fond of a flashback scene presented inside the book and I think that really adds to the merit of the story.
However, this book is not without its own failings and personally they kind of throw it out of whack. The first issues that I immediately find are these rough white smudges throughout the book. Now I don’t know if they’re a printing error in my copy or if they’re a clear and keen part of the art, but they scratch out super important parts of the book and I feel that I’d rather have those details intact. On an aesthetic level I totes get that Samantha might be going for a faded, rough imagining of the Ancient Greeks. It’s very much like ancient scrolls that have been uncovered for the first time; however once they start actively cutting sections of the story it kind of gets in the way. I’m a horrible selfish person that wants the best of both worlds.
One of the main problems that the narrative has is rooted in one of the main problems in Penthesilea’s story. Penthesilea is a neato central character, but the unfortunate truth is that when you get down to it Achilles is the dude that’s being focused on at the end of her story. It feels a little backwards in focusing on Achilles, after all he only appears for a short time. He’s a walking talking killing machine in many awesome ways, but Achilles wasn’t the character that I emotionally invested in when I read this book. At this point in the book I’m interested in Penthesilea and honestly, screw Achilles- I barely know the guy. I think that this ending was a missed opportunity to focus on the bravery and tragedy of Penthesila, but it was caught between that and the sentimentality of Achilles.
I have the niggling suspicion that this book’s words were taken verbatim from a book of Greek myths, or even from the Iliad itself. This makes the tone really forced at times and it’s one of the harsh vibes that you can get from a direct adaptation. I feel that maybe the only real parts of dialogue that are presented come from the words of Ajax, a really hairy warrior dude with a surprisingly verbose vocabulary. His general hairiness and unflattering appearance aren’t entirely needed by the narrative, but I can appreciate his mad appearance anyway. See it’s these little details that make this adaptation charming. I just wish it did it a bit more with its narrative.
All these tiddly little things can take away from the coolness of Penthesilia and makes story less dynamic and tight. There’s a reason why Greek vases don’t have word bubbles. However, the illustrative quality of this book brings out a story that’s not often taught and it deserves a read on the appeal of its depiction.
FINAL JUDGEMENT: Good book about a powerful Amazon Warrior that doesn't afraid of anything, but is caught in adaptive iffiness.
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