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.
