Roy Thomas, the renowned comic book writer has adapted many great pieces of literature for Marvel into graphic novel. He contradicts the popular notion that Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey are the proper epics which contain all the knowledge about the great Trojan War and its story of destruction. He has taken into account several other sources to combine them into one storyline.
Unlike the motion picture Troy (2004), Roy Thomas’s adaptation is much closer to the original epics in the sense that he does not leave out the portrayal and the activities of the mythological Greek gods. He does not fail to mention the jealousies and squabbles of Greek gods and goddesses who had a great influence on the war.
Thomas’s epic tells the tale of the dispute between Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. The dispute is over the fact as to who is the most justifiable choice for the Golden Apple. It then continues with the story of Paris who runs away with Helen which results in the Trojan War.
Roy Thomas has used the Epic Cycle as his guide when narrating the story; however, it lacks an artistic interpretation and is very straightforward. The first issue of the mini series is otherwise excellent. The plot is brilliantly detailed and all the characters are correctly named. The issues 2 to 5 can also be summed up as idealized just like the first issue. The issue covers the events that preceded and succeeded and also the events during the war. This work by Roy Thomas is definitely going to stand its own test of time.
