Reviews Webcomic / Aisopos

An underrated masterpiece.

I accidentally stumbled upon this series while browsing the webtoons by alphabetical order. The title picked my interest because I am Greek and I was familiar with Aesop’s fables. It turns out that I guessed correctly and that the story was indeed about Aesop’s life. I started reading simply because I was curious….

...I was hooked within a few chapters…

The story is very well done and very well researched. Each chapter is well paced and well drawn, and I was always eager to read what happens next (always a good sign).

But what really sold me on this series, was the sheer effort its creators put into it. It’s clear that they are not only well-versed in Greek History, but that they also love it and most importantly respect it. Historical Domain Characters like Drakon and Thales are superbly used to great effect in order to advance the story. The story even does a great job handling Periander of Corinth, a complicated, if somewhat controversial personality. It presents him in a much milder and sympathetic light, in all his pragmatic intellectual glory but also doesn’t hide the fact that he was a highly paranoid man who was only loyal to himself and was not to be trusted.

The political systems of the City States are accurately described, and the story spares no effort to show the problems that lie underneath each one. The numerous excesses, suppression and just plain insanity of tyrants such as Periander (who really did order for all the dresses of his kingdom to be burned after he killed his wife) to the inhuman handling and exploitation of the slaves in much “milder” systems such as oligarchy.

Speaking of the subject of slavery, the creators handle it carefully and doesn’t make light of it. Slavery is just a fact in Aesop’s Athens and society simply can’t function without them. A slave’s life is shown in all its variants from the trusted bodyguards who simply served their master, to the lowly Helots who lived in terrible conditions and in fear every single day of their (very often short) lives.

The story even adds in an indirect critique of the Spartan Phalanx battle system, by showing its greatest weaknesses, namely its inflexibility under less than optimal fighting conditions.

Of course, the webcomic wouldn’t be much without a great central conflict and story (or you might as well just read a history book), and the creators deliver just that. From Yadmon’s messed up pass and misguided attempts at love and then power, to Aesop’s struggles to gain his freedom, this story is a pleasure to read through and through. The Historical Domain Characters and the great research are there to compliment and serve the story, not the other way around, and you get to care a lot about the central characters and the struggles they go throug.

All in all, this is a must read, especially if you are a fan of Greek History and Greek Civilization. Even if you are not, I highly suggest you give this a go. You will enjoy it and learn something in the process.