Gilgamesh: A Graphic Novel

Allow me to tell you a funny story. I teach 6th grade, and my students are way into graphic novels. I cover ancient history in my class, and when I saw that a graphic novel was just published for content that we were going to cover, I snapped that baby up, slapped my teacher-y identification label on the spine, and proudly added it to my classroom library! I encouraged my young charges to take a look and beamed with pleasure when they pulled it from the shelf again and again and considered it a win! WELL. While putting the book back on the correct shelf today, I inadvertently opened to a page with a drawing of one topless Ishtar. I wasn't expecting that! Not wanting to make a big deal of it, I joked that I would have to make her a little bikini top out of construction paper and flipped the page...... AW HELL NAW!!! There's a chapter titled Sex and Violence with all of the graphic depictions of such and .... well.... a construction paper bikini top ain't gonna fix that!!!! My proud little classroom library tag has been removed and the teachers on my team had a good laugh with me. That'll teach me to put something on my shelves without looking at EVERY PAGE!!! It's great for older readers if that's what you're into, but not for my 11-12 year olds.

I didn't see a suggested age range, and I bought it for my daughter but couldn't give it to her for the ridiculous "sex scenes" that went on for pages. That's doesn't matter to me as an adult, but I still found it unnecessary. It's like seeing two elephants having sex. We know they have sex, we don't need to see them having sex. Why the author decided to have several pages of different sex positions and dramatic facial expressions is beyond me. It was essentially bestiality as well. It ruined an otherwise decent book.

This book is wonderful, and is a fully realized project, from the paraphrasing of the ancient myth, to the beautiful and exciting artwork.Mr. Winegarner has done a great service by bringing this myth to life in such a fun and enjoyable way.And the scholarly notes by Ms. Rasmussen add insight and detail to the history.Thank you and Bravo!

If you are purchasing this for the edification of your knowledge of an ancient text that inspired most ancient texts then BY ALL MEANS, purchase this book.If you're looking for some soft-core stimulating graphic material, BY ALL MEANS, purchase this book.IF YOU ARE A TEACHER TRYING TO ENHNCE YOUR CLASSROOM EXPERIENCE FOR YOUR STUDENTS THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR YOU.That is all, trust me.

The art was average. The details of the poems were worthwhile But the overall effect was disappointing.

I may be biased but the author and illustrator is a classmate of mine. He is a PhD candidate in a Mythological Studies program and so obviously has a strong grasp of the material. I highly recommend this enjoyable and accurate graphic novel!

I loved it. Really brought the story to life for me without it being too dry.

Added this book to my collection of information regarding Mesopotamia.

Winegarner does a reasonable attempt to summarise the epic poem without losing its overall mythological power. Unfortunately it is drawn quite crudely and thus loses the power that the visual image can and should have. Thus, I was disappointed.

good