The Aeneid: A Graphic Novel (Classic Fiction)

by Diego Agrimbau, Marcelo Sosa (Illustrator)

Virgil's classic tale of a hero's mythical journey comes to life in this graphic retelling for kids. From the smoldering ruins of Troy, the warrior Aeneas sets out to find a new homeland for his people. But it's no easy task, for his adventure is filled with great sacrifice, angry gods, tragic love, and brutal battles. Will Aeneas be able to fulfill his destiny and found the mighty city of Rome? With extra background on the original Latin epic poem and its author, plus discussion questions and writing prompts, it's easy to introduce young readers to this literary classic.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Classics, Fiction, Mythology, Comics, Fantasy, War

78 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Kevin Keating]

Quick way to learn the story I guess. In no way replaces reading the Aeneid.

[Kara]

A clear and concise layout of the often overlooked dramatic epilogue to the Trojan War.

[isabella]

illustration style is so ugly, the monsters look quite cool but the women Are All The Same.
i'll read the proper text someday

[Megan]

It took sitting down with this tiny little graphic novel to remember that, while I have read the Iliad and the Odyssey, as well as several other Greek epics, I have not actually read the Aeneid. Which now seems like a shame. So, if nothing else, this has inspired me to read the original.
I also think it's a very cool idea to put classic literature into this format.

[Doc]

All roads lead to Rome

A tale by Virgil (aka Publius Vergilius Maro) possibly at the behest of his friend Caesar Augustus who claimed to be a descendent of the main character Aeneas. It is a tale of destiny to discover a new land for his people which is to be the future Rome. He is pushed on by the Zeus's will causing Aeneas suffering as he discovers the lose of someone he cared for in his trip to Hades as well as a series of trials before he can secure his destiny. Interestingly enough it seems Virgil took ill before he finished his poem so he wished for it to be destroyed upon his death being not perfect but someone obviously stepped in to save it. My bet is in Augustus but who knows for sure. :)

Honestly I can't recall the story of the Aeneid before I saw it among the other books by Stone Arch Books but it turns out the Trojan Horse was from this book and not the Iliad like I originally thought so at least the concepts of this story have made their way into societies mind even if the title is a little more elusive in general. :)

[David]

I enjoyed this story and the illustrations were beautiful, but maybe because I am more familiar with The Odyssey, this plot felt like a derivative of it. Although the illustrations were magnificent, I personally had a hard time differentiating some of the female characters throughout: Princess Dido, Venus, Juno, Sybil all seemed very similar to me although I know the illustrator made them distinct. I just felt they weren't distinct enough in my opinion.

[Jeremy]

From the last section on the movies: There was an Italian film version (go figure) made in 1962 called La leggenda di Enea (titled The Avenger in English). Aeneas was played by bodybuilder Steve Reeves, who also played Hercules in Hercules (1958), Aeneas in The Trojan Horse (1961), and Romulus in Romulus and Remus (1961). The character Aeneas also appears at the end of Troy (2004).

[Amanda [Novel Addiction]]

A huge oversimplification - which ended up making it more confusing than the original. The art was good, but despite knowing the story already, I found myself getting lost or turned around a time or two.

I would suggest this as a last-resort companion for a struggling reader of the original, rather than something to get a reader interested in the original.

[Laura]

Great illustrations, and a pretty good overview of Virgil's Aeneid. If I were to give to middle school students following the Iliad (Black Ships Before Troy) I'd have to pre-teach the general plot. There are a lot of characters (and the gods are all Roman versions of the Greek gods, so kind of confusing).

[Ed Courtney]

I’m reading a book (City On Fire by Don Winslow) that has quotes at the beginning of each chapter and the first one was from the Aeneid. I wanted to understand the background so I found this nice graphic novel on the Hoopla app and read it fairly quickly. It’s good for what it is. Got me the story in an easy to understand package.

[Vi]

simplified classics retelling aren't my jam. i do enjoy graphic novel retellings: Kindred, To Kill A Mockingbird, Speak, etc. This, not really. Maybe some Hines.

[Victor]

It's good for what it's meant to -- a short, simplified graphic retelling. Though it is confusing fitting all the twists within the constrained length.

[Flyingzebras]

Good for the audience it is intended for. Makes clear the confusing narrative.

[Leo]

A good book about Greek history

[Pamela Rock Aceituno]

No daré muchos detalles, pero lo amé!! Me encantó!

[Brenda Kahn]

I'm not a huge fan of graphic novel adaptations. Very few of them adapt the original material well. The art in this adaptation was fantastic. The story? Not so much

[AlishaReadsAllDay]

I understand this is for children, but there is such a thing as oversimplification.

[Anthony]

Virgil's epic poem telling the tale of Aeneas' god driven journey after the 10 year Trojan War, and the start of the Roman Empire retold in this graphic novel format.

[Robert Ellington]

I wanted to read this in preparation for reading the real thing!

[Caz]

Great illustrations, however this is a very shortened version of the Aeneid and really feels like it skips some key parts of the story

[Katy]

I found the pictures to be too violent and aggressive. Some of the captions are inartfully executed.

[Dave]

A rather rushed retelling.

[Art]

A concise retelling. Good for beginning readers to get their feet wet.

[Diana Rivera]

It was a fun little book. I really enjoyed the graphics too.

[Ed Erwin]

I'm never gonna read the original version. This was a quick way to get an overview of the story.

[Marcus Latham]

Nice “slam-bam” recounting of the story.