‘The Wide Canvas of Human Drama’

Fantasizing Antiquity Through Graphic Novel

Abstract

This paper argues that representation of classical antiquity through graphic novel runs a risk of idealizing reconstructed antiquity. In a way similar to the archaic and classical Greek representation in visual arts of the content of heroic (fragmentary) epic, 21^st-century retelling in Age of Bronze fantasizes with regard to both narratology and outlook. In 1998 Eisner Award-wining cartoonist Eric Shanower started Age of Bronze, a serialized Trojan War account, 34 episodes of which have appeared up to date. The graphic novelization aims to ‘present the complete story of the world-famous War at Troy, freshly retold for the 21^st century’. Its format serves to have ‘all the drama of the ancient and thrilling tradition unfold before your eyes.’ As its sources it lists Homer’s Iliad, works from classical, medieval and renaissance literature, and archaeological excavations. The artist uses different styles for episodes from various sources, thus imitating the archaic and classical vase paintings’ attempt to stereotype the narrative in visual representation. Shanower’s detailed processing of contemporary visualization enforces a new standard of the heroic world’s representation. The decision to translate antiquity’s patchwork of stories, fragments and testimonia into a single all-encompassing thread echoes both ancient epics’ tendency to ‘contain’, and novels’ to work against medias in res. The series’ attempt ‘to be true to all traditions’ does cater ‘those who think visually’, but envisions, I argue, a fantasy rather than ‘Troy sprung to life’.