300 is a graphic novel, written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colorsrnby Lynn Varley. The comic loosely depicts the Battle of Thermopylae and the eventsrnleading up to it from the perspective of Leonidas I, king of Sparta. The comic wasrnparticularly inspired by the 1962 film, The 300 Spartans, a movie that Miller watchedrnas a young boy.rnrnEvery page of the comic was illustrated as a double-page spread. When the series wasrngathered into hardcover form, the individual pages were twice as wide as a normal comic.rnMiller\'s art style for this project was similar to his Sin City work, although thernaddition of consistent color is an obvious difference.rnrn300 was initially published as a monthly five-issue comic book series by Dark Horse Comics,rnthe first issue published in May 1998. The issues were titled Honor, Duty, Glory, Combatrnand Victory. The series won three Eisner Awards in 1999" "Best Limited Series", "Best Writer/Artist"rnfor Frank Miller and "Best Colorist" for Lynn Varley. The work was collected as a hardcoverrngraphic novel in 1999.rnrnThe film 300, to be released in March 2007, was based directly upon 300, and is effectivelyrna shot-for-shot adaption of the graphic novel.