Set Description:
All issues graded 9.8 and signed by Frank Miller.
In 480 BC, King Leonidas of Sparta gathers 300 of his best men to fight the upcoming Persian invasion. In what is likely a suicide mission, they and their allies plan to stop King Xerxes' invasion of Greece at the narrow cliffs of the "Hot Gates" (Thermopylae). The terrain prevents the Greeks from being overwhelmed by Xerxes' superior numbers (a military tactic usually called "defeat in detail").
Before the battle starts, Ephialtes, a deformed Spartan, begs Leonidas to let him fight but is rejected due to his hunchbacked form, which prevents him from lifting his shield high enough to be of use for the phalanx. Ephilates gets so desperate by Leonidas' refusal that he throws himself off a cliff.
The Spartans and their allies successfully hold off the Persians for two days and nights. During a break in the fighting, Xerxes meets with Leonidas and offers wealth and power in exchange for his surrender. Leonidas declines, and battle continues. Meanwhile Ephialtes awakes from his failed suicide attempt and decides to betray the Greeks by telling the Persians about the existence of a small pass that allows Xerxes to attack them from behind.
Learning of the Persian maneuvers, the Greeks realize their position is indefensible, but the Spartans and a few others refuse to retreat. Before engaging the Persians for the last time, Leonidas orders one Spartan (Dilios) to leave, so that he might survive to tell their story.
On the third day Xerxes has the Spartans surrounded, their remaining allies (Thespians) already dead. He gives Leonidas one final chance to surrender and kneel to him. After some hesitation, Leonidas finally complies and throws down his arms. This, however, is a trick by Leonidas, and signals the Spartans to fight. Leonidas throws his spear at Xerxes, intending to make the "God-King" bleed, and succeeds. The Spartans are killed to the last man by a storm of arrows.
The story then shifts about a year later and ends as now-Captain Dilios relates the heroic sacrifice of Leonidas and his Spartan comrades to his troops before the historic Battle of Plataea.
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| Slot: |
300 1 |
| Item: |
300 1 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1286736003
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Owner Comments
300 #1 (of 5)
A force of men is assembled, so massive it shakes the earth with its march -- an army, vast beyond imagining, poised to devour tiny Greece, to snuff out the world's one hope for reason and justice. Only three hundred brave souls block its dash. But they are more than men . . . they are Spartans. The first full-color project by Frank Miller for Dark Horse, painted by Lynn Varley (Ronin, The Dark Knight Returns)
Creators
Creators:
Frank Miller
Colorist:
Lynn Varley
Editor:
Diana Schutz
Designer:
Mark Cox
Cover Artist:
Frank Miller
Genre: Action/Adventure, Classic
Publication Date:
May 27, 1998
Format:
FC, 32pg
Price:
$2.95
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| Slot: |
300 2 |
| Item: |
300 2 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1286734009
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Owner Comments
300 #2 (of 5)
The word is out: Sparta is on the march. From farms and hamlets rally brave Greeks -- to face hellish war in the narrow mountain pass called The Hot Gates. The odds are long, and the stakes are high: All hope for human freedom hangs in the balance!
Creators
Creators:
Frank Miller
Colorist:
Lynn Varley
Editor:
Diana Schutz
Designer:
Mark Cox
Cover Artist:
Frank Miller
Genre: Action/Adventure, Classic
Publication Date:
June 24, 1998
Format:
FC, 32pg
Price:
$2.95
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| Slot: |
300 3 |
| Item: |
300 3 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1286734006
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Owner Comments
300 #3 (of 5)
Dread Xerxes marshals all the armies of Asia against a tiny, plucky force of 300 Spartans -- and makes one last offer for peace. But peace means surrender. With stabbing spear and slashing sword, the Spartans respond. Their message is a simple one: These free men will not be slaves. There is no middle ground, no compromise to be had, between good and evil.
Creators
Creators:
Frank Miller
Colorist:
Lynn Varley
Editor:
Diana Schutz
Designer:
Mark Cox
Cover Artist:
Frank Miller
Genre: Action/Adventure, Classic
Publication Date:
July 22, 1998
Format:
FC, 32pg
Price:
$2.95
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| Slot: |
300 4 |
| Item: |
300 4 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1286734007
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Owner Comments
300 #4 (of 5)
Combat. Grueling, hateful, joyous slaughter. The Spartans do what they were born and bred to do: they fight, brother beside brother, shoulder to shoulder, shield against shield, their bristling spears driving back the slaves of the tyrant Xerxes till the dead are piled high as a mountain and the sacred, rocky soil of Greece is drenched deep in Persian blood. Story and art by Frank Miller, painted color by Lynn Varley.
Creators
Creators:
Frank Miller
Colorist:
Lynn Varley
Editor:
Diana Schutz
Designer:
Mark Cox
Cover Artist:
Frank Miller
Genre: Action/Adventure, Classic
Publication Date:
August 26, 1998
Format:
FC, 32pg
Price:
$2.95
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| Slot: |
300 5 |
| Item: |
300 5 Signature |
| Grade: |
CGC |
| Cert #: |
1286734008
|
Owner Comments
300 #5 (of 5)
Betrayed, surrounded, outnumbered a hundred thousand to one, the Spartans make their last stand against the hordes of Xerxes. All hope is surely lost: only bloody death awaits them. Why, then, that wild, joyous light in the eyes of King Leonidas? What secret has he that makes him smile and speak so confidently of victory?
Creators
Creators:
Frank Miller
Colorist:
Lynn Varley
Editor:
Diana Schutz
Designer:
Mark Cox
Cover Artist:
Frank Miller
Genre: Action/Adventure, Classic
Publication Date:
October 07, 1998
Format:
FC, 48pg
Price:
$3.95
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