Alternative Character Interpretation: Everything regarding Cleisthenes. Even In-Universe. One story goes that he tried to ally with the tyrants back when Hippias was trying to legitimize his authority, while another one goes that he mounted a campaign against. So, depending on who you ask, he is either an idealist or a schemer.
Base-Breaking Character: The protagonist himself, Leander. Fans are split between those who found him to be an endearing and likeable hero and between those who found him a boring and forgettable character, who wasn't executed well.
Big-Lipped Alligator Moment: The Dream Sequence in the fifth chapter where Athena, Apollo and Dionysus wear modern-day clothes, dance a traditional greek dance and Breaking the Fourth Wall. It contributes nothing to the plot and, on top of that, it's literally out-of-place.
That one scene mentioned in the Big-Lipped Alligator Moment entry above (where the three major gods, Athena, Apollo and Dionysus wear modern-day clothes, dance a traditional greek dance and break the fourth wall). Some enjoyed it, while others thought it was weird and has absolutely nothing to the story.
Whether or not the authors did a good job with presenting the facts that led to the birth of Democracy. This depends on one's opinion over the main character.
No one agrees that the art style is beautiful. However, they're those who found it straightup ugly and those who said it was, at least, appealing to the eye.
Athena is the most well-received aspect of the comic and many enjoyed the scenes where she intervened into Leander's life.
Thanks to the Dream Sequence, Apollo and Dionysus are also popular.
Friendly Fandoms: With Logicomix, as two of its contributors have also worked in that comic as well.
Genius Bonus: The authors aren't historians, nor asked the help from an historian for the making of this comic, but history lovers will find plenty of Easter Eggs:
Even though his name is never mentioned, historians (or at least, those who have studied history), will guess that the general who accompanied Kleomenes to Athens is his step-brother, the infamous Leonidas.
Leander's father's name is Promachus. Mythology fans know that this name is one of Athena's nicknames. Guess that explains why he managed to communicate with her.
Although the graphic novel never said what happened to the characters' life after the battle, one would guess from their names:
Everybody knows that the soldier who ran from the plain of Marathon to Athens to announce their victory (and then died from exhaustion) is named Pheidippides. However, what not many seem to know is that this might not be his real name! Thersippus states that after the battle is done, he will return to Athens and announce the outcome.
The Poet is, actually, Aeschylus, who fought and survived. It may be obvious from his brother's joke that as a poet, he isn't that famous (which was true in Real Life, as Aeschylus won the first prize six years after the Battle of Marathon).
Kynegeiros, unlike his brother, didn't make it, but died heroically by trying to stop a Persian ship from running away.
Harsher in Hindsight: After Leander is done with the story, the Poet realizes that what he meant to tell them is that the true enemy is themselves. Kinda sad, especially if you have studied The Peloponnesian War and know that it began from the Athenians' pride and superiority complex.
Heartwarming Moments: Right after Leander returns from Cardia, Nefert (one of his family's slave) comes and hugs him and says how much she has missed him. Leander responds by teasing her in a playful way. You gotta admit that the relationship they have is really sweet, despite their difference in rank.
Hype Backlash: Given the fact that two of its contributors have also worked on the critical-acclaimed and award-winning Logicomix, many went into high hopes there. While the majority of them didn't dislike it, they still felt it wasn't as great as they expected.
It's Short, So It Sucks!: Some readers believe that the comic would be much greater and successful, had it been much longer and almost the same length of Logicomix (which is 395 pages!).
Just Here for Godzilla: The only reason why people read it was because it was written by two of the same persons who have worked on Logicomix.
Moe: Sixteen-year-old Hero. There's something so cute about her!
Spiritual Antithesis: Some critics have noticed the similarities between this work and 300. This one, instead of telling a story about an awesome Spartan fight through "epic Hollywood" style, chooses to retell the birth of Democracy in Ancient Athens with much more historical accuracy. The antagonists here aren't foreign invaders who want to enslave the Greek population (though the danger of the Persian invasion is mentioned), but sleazy politicians, who lost their power, when the heroes decided to rise and take matters into their own hands.
Tough Act to Follow: While it had positive reviews from both critics and audience alike, they still didn't find it as great as Alecos' previous work, Logicomix.
Vanilla Protagonist: Some people felt like Leander didn't have anything that made him stand out from the rest of the cast. Granted, the authors explicitly stated that his role was to represent the people, but still, they wanted more about him.
Indecisive Parody: Democracy 3 played up the Corrupt Politician jokes in its marketing and loading screen quotes, but the actual game itself was a very neutral political simulation without an obvious agenda.
have noticed the similarities between this work and 300. This one, instead of telling a story about an awesome Spartan fight through "epic Hollywood" style, chooses to retell the birth of Democracy in Ancient Athens with much more historical accuracy. The antagonists here aren't foreign invaders who want to enslave the Greek population (though the danger of the Persian invasion is mentioned), but sleazy politicians, who lost their power, when the heroes decided to rise and take matters into their own hands.