The Lost Daughter of Sparta

Actor Day (The Guild) and cartoonist MacColl (Nightmare in Savannah) spin an ancient Greek myth into an enchanting and unexpected love story. Spartan princess Philonoe has been raised apart from her royal family because she was born with two curses: a strawberry birthmark read by the Greeks to mean that her face is “marked with blood,” and familial misfortune in marriage that has already doomed her more famous sisters—Helen of Troy, Clytemnestra, and Timandra. Desperate to prove herself to her parents, Philonoe begs the goddess Aphrodite for help. She’s sent on a quest to lift the curse on her house, with riddles in the immortal’s promises. Then another goddess takes an interest in her: Artemis, protector of maidens and embodiment of independence. In the course of her adventures, Philonoe begins to question her need for acceptance. “Wishing for perfection is wishing for a prison,” warns the dragon Echidna, who, like other beings Philonoe encounters, has learned to be wary of the gods’ whims. MacColl’s fluid art works hints of ancient Greek design into its stylized linework and clay-red spot color, and the characters are appealingly human—including the gods and monsters. Peppered with knowing references to classical mythology, it’s a smart and spirited retelling. Agent: Erin Malone, WME. (Mar.)