Frank Miller's 300 - From 1999

300 #s 1-3 (of 5)/27 pgs. & $2.95 ea. from Dark Horse/sold in comics shops and by mail.

Three hundred Spartan warriors march to defend Greece against invasion by Persia. Frank Miller revisits that famous historical battle with distinctive and powerful minimalist art, candid dialog and fast-paced plot. For some readers, that is not enough. Story content is also important.

I am among that some.

Miller has a reputation for "preserving our First Amendment rights". For him, that means the right to depict nudity, promiscuity or sexual perversion, profanity, graphic violence, drug use and the dirty side of human nature.

It seems odd, not surprising, that defenders of those rights rarely explore modesty, marital fidelity and sexual normalcy, decent language, conflict resolution without violence and the noble side of human nature.

Apart from male nudity, some violence, and profanity in his letters section, 300 is atypical of Miller's content through its third issue. Nevertheless, readers who think those destructive activities need airing will continue to buy Miller's work, and will enjoy 300 anyway.

Readers who do not will yawn.

Michael Vance