Democracy

Democracy opens in Athens in 490 BC on the moonless eve of the great Battle of Marathon. The hero of the story Leander is trying to rouse his comrades for the morrow's battle against a far mightier enemy. Leander begins to recount his own life story and personal struggles bearing direct witness to the evils of the old tyrannical regimes and to the birth of a new political system. The story that emerges of the death of the gods and the tortuous birth of democracy is crammed with extraordinary characters including the mysterious Cleisthenes widely considered the 'father' of democracy Athena the patron goddess of Athens and Nefert the old Egyptian slave woman. Through moving and pacey storytelling we see that democracy was born through a combination of chance and historical contingency - but also through the cunning courage and wilful action of a group of highly talented and driven individuals. A vivid depiction of turbulent personal and political transition and an epic tale of change and discovery this important graphic novel is one to watch.