Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo, a story about a man who seeks revenge against those who ruined his life, has been adapted again, this time by Crystal S. Chan with illustrations by Nokman Poon. I was pretty impressed with what I read, and I've been fortunate to have previously read two other illustrated adaptations of this novel (an ancient Illustrated Classics version that belonged to my father, and a version published by Moby Books/Playmore in 1979, which was illustrated by Mitsu Yamamoto).
Edmond Dantes has everything going for him. He is about to become captain of the merchant ship, The Pharaon, and is about to be married to Mercedes, when he is arrested, thrown into prison, and forgotten. During that time, he meets a fellow prisoner, Abbe Faria, who helps him figure out why he has been imprisoned, and who his enemies are. The religious man passes on, but not before he bequeaths a secret treasure to Edmond, one which Edmond can use to bring vengeance upon those who had ruined his life for their own gain...if only he can escape from the prison, Chateau D'If.
Here's where I confess that I haven't read the original novel...however, Manga Classics' version of the Count of Monte Cristo appears to be a more complete adaptation than the other two versions that I mentioned earlier. Upon reading the end of Manga Classics version, the Count's words, "Wait and hope," made more sense to me than when I had read them at the end of the other versions. In fact, this version has probably made me more inclined to actually read the original. There are appendices at the end of the book where Crystal Chan explains the process that was used to adapt the novel into the manga version, which was quite fascinating to read.
The drawing style appears to be a mix of shoujo and shonen. The content and plot of the Count of Monte Cristo does not lend itself to a lot of humour, and I did not notice any chibi, so if any did appear, I completely missed it. There are a couple of pages in the appendices that show character design sketches. I also appreciated see the character map, which showed the relationships between many of the characters that appeared in this story.
There's something about this type of media that makes it a great avenue for presenting classical literature. I was caught up with Edmond's quest for revenge, and the path of self-destruction that he embarked upon. In my opinion, Manga Classics' version of The Count of Monte Cristo is a great gateway book to capture young (and maybe not so young) readers' interest in reading a classic story.
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of Manga Classics' The Count of Monte Cristo, adapted by Crystal S. Chan and illustrated by Nokman Poon from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Saturday, 14 July 2018
Tuesday, 9 May 2017
Review: Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir - Akumatized by ZAG Entertainment, Cheryl Black, and Nicole D'Andria
Ah, Ladybug! When I saw this title on the Read Now list on NetGalley, I snagged it up because...curiosity got to the cat! Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir - Akumatized presented by ZAG Entertainment, and published by Diamond Book Distributors is available in e-book format, as well as in print. This book is a tie-in to the French television series which also goes by the name of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir. It contains stories of three televised episodes from Season 1: Dark Cupid, Horrificator, and Le Mime.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng is an ordinary girl with an ordinary life, but by night, she patrols the city of Paris as the super-heroine, Ladybug, along with her crime fighting partner, Cat Noir. Most of the time, they are busy fighting against people who have been "akumatized" or "evil-ized" into being villains by the Supervillain, Hawk Moth. The process of akumatization typically begins when the victim experiences negative emotions as a result of being emotionally hurt by the actions of other people or by life's circumstances. These leave them susceptible to the influence of Hawk Moth's akumas (moths that have been "evil-ized," and who give Hawk Moth control over his victims to do his will). In each story, there is at least one person who becomes akumatized and given special powers by Hawk Moth to take revenge against the person who hurt them, or against the world. These powers are offered in exchange for a special favour; Hawk Moth wants the akumatized person to take the miraculouses (contact objects which give Ladybug and Cat Noir their special powers) and give them to him for his own nefarious purposes.
In Dark Cupid, the Horrificator, and Le Mime, the stories follow the formula mentioned above; hurt/broken hearts and anger leave a gateway open for Hawk Moth to seduce two classmates and a classmate's father into working for him so that they can pursue revenge. I have seen Dark Cupid and Le Mime on television, but haven't seen the Horrificator yet. Generally, the art work looks fairly true to the televised series that I wonder if they are actually screen shots. There are a couple of frames that have been altered to fit into the comic book format (I noticed a frame in which the Mime appears to be a reverse image of what appears in the televised episode). A few frames showed blurry motion, which created an interesting effect for activity, but again, I wonder if this could be due to a screen shot effect. I didn't gain any extra information about the stories from the comic version compared to the televised version, except that I could read the text of hand written notes more easily than from what appeared on television, because it was stationary and didn't disappear into the next scene. Although the dialogue in the galley that I looked at was written in English, I was curious if the artists would translate the text of the handwritten notes into English in the comic, but as with any text that appears in the television series, these were also written in French.
In my opinion, the Dark Cupid and Horrificator stories were easy enough to follow; they are similar enough to their televised counterparts in getting the stories told. However, Le Mime had some frames in which it was difficult to understand what the Mime was doing. Because I had previously viewed the televised episode, I knew what he was doing, but it is understandably difficult to show what the mime was doing without filling the frame with textual explanations, or risk losing the story's momentum by showing more frames of all of his motions, which could slow down the urgency of the action scenes. For the Le Mime story, I would say that the televised episode was superior in getting the story across.
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir - Akumatized from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
Addendum:
From a Christian perspective, there may be some parents who are concerned about any spiritual content that may be present in this book. In the Ladybug universe, the miraculous that Ladybug possesses are her earrings, which allow her to transform from Marinette into Ladybug. In order to become Ladybug, a kwami, Tikki, (a tiny magical being that is several thousand years old) enters the earrings and transforms Marinette into Ladybug. Her powers include an ability to create a lucky charm that allows her to defeat the akumatized person, and to "de-evil-ize" and strip the akuma butterfly of its ability to make its victims evil. Cat Noir's miraculous is a ring into which Plagg, another kwami, enters. This gives Cat Noir the power to destroy whatever he touches once he activates that power. An akumatized person is somewhat possessed, where they are overcome by the influence of an evil akuma butterfly.
Marinette Dupain-Cheng is an ordinary girl with an ordinary life, but by night, she patrols the city of Paris as the super-heroine, Ladybug, along with her crime fighting partner, Cat Noir. Most of the time, they are busy fighting against people who have been "akumatized" or "evil-ized" into being villains by the Supervillain, Hawk Moth. The process of akumatization typically begins when the victim experiences negative emotions as a result of being emotionally hurt by the actions of other people or by life's circumstances. These leave them susceptible to the influence of Hawk Moth's akumas (moths that have been "evil-ized," and who give Hawk Moth control over his victims to do his will). In each story, there is at least one person who becomes akumatized and given special powers by Hawk Moth to take revenge against the person who hurt them, or against the world. These powers are offered in exchange for a special favour; Hawk Moth wants the akumatized person to take the miraculouses (contact objects which give Ladybug and Cat Noir their special powers) and give them to him for his own nefarious purposes.
In Dark Cupid, the Horrificator, and Le Mime, the stories follow the formula mentioned above; hurt/broken hearts and anger leave a gateway open for Hawk Moth to seduce two classmates and a classmate's father into working for him so that they can pursue revenge. I have seen Dark Cupid and Le Mime on television, but haven't seen the Horrificator yet. Generally, the art work looks fairly true to the televised series that I wonder if they are actually screen shots. There are a couple of frames that have been altered to fit into the comic book format (I noticed a frame in which the Mime appears to be a reverse image of what appears in the televised episode). A few frames showed blurry motion, which created an interesting effect for activity, but again, I wonder if this could be due to a screen shot effect. I didn't gain any extra information about the stories from the comic version compared to the televised version, except that I could read the text of hand written notes more easily than from what appeared on television, because it was stationary and didn't disappear into the next scene. Although the dialogue in the galley that I looked at was written in English, I was curious if the artists would translate the text of the handwritten notes into English in the comic, but as with any text that appears in the television series, these were also written in French.
In my opinion, the Dark Cupid and Horrificator stories were easy enough to follow; they are similar enough to their televised counterparts in getting the stories told. However, Le Mime had some frames in which it was difficult to understand what the Mime was doing. Because I had previously viewed the televised episode, I knew what he was doing, but it is understandably difficult to show what the mime was doing without filling the frame with textual explanations, or risk losing the story's momentum by showing more frames of all of his motions, which could slow down the urgency of the action scenes. For the Le Mime story, I would say that the televised episode was superior in getting the story across.
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of Miraculous: Tales of Ladybug and Cat Noir - Akumatized from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
Addendum:
From a Christian perspective, there may be some parents who are concerned about any spiritual content that may be present in this book. In the Ladybug universe, the miraculous that Ladybug possesses are her earrings, which allow her to transform from Marinette into Ladybug. In order to become Ladybug, a kwami, Tikki, (a tiny magical being that is several thousand years old) enters the earrings and transforms Marinette into Ladybug. Her powers include an ability to create a lucky charm that allows her to defeat the akumatized person, and to "de-evil-ize" and strip the akuma butterfly of its ability to make its victims evil. Cat Noir's miraculous is a ring into which Plagg, another kwami, enters. This gives Cat Noir the power to destroy whatever he touches once he activates that power. An akumatized person is somewhat possessed, where they are overcome by the influence of an evil akuma butterfly.
Wednesday, 16 November 2016
Review: Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility - Adapted by Stacy King, Art by Po Tse
Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Stacy King and illustrated by Po Tse, covers the general story arc of Jane Austen's story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. The sisters must navigate through the waters of change when the death of their father forces them to relocate in a smaller home away from the estate that they grew up in. Elinor exhibits a temperament that reflects more "sense" than emotion, while Marianne is more romantically inclined and prone to flights of feeling rather than exclusively being governed by sense. Perhaps it would be better to say that Marianne would rather follow her heart than necessarily do the sensible thing. When I was first acquainted with Austen's original novel, it took me a while to figure out that her use of the word, "sensibility," had more to do with emotions, rather than rational thought. Anyways, the sisters' temperaments guide their thoughts and behavior when prospective suitors appear, and both are not immune to the pain and turmoil that results when their lives do not unfold as they hope.
It took a couple of hours for me to read the book in one sitting, and I enjoyed reading this version. I didn't want to leave the book until it was finished.
Besides the story itself, I enjoyed reading the commentary that was provided on the novel's themes about sensible thought versus emotional reaction. Stacy King mentions that every character had to balance sense with sensibility in their choices. This wasn't something that I had considered before when I read the original novel in the past; I had only considered the choices for Elinor and Marianne, but it makes sense that the other characters also had to wrestle with their own choices. It was also interesting to read about the social habits of the 19th century, especially about how men and women met, and about what acceptable behaviour was. Explanations are given to explain how Marianne's behaviour was so scandalous, for she had violated a number of social rules of propriety.
It was also interesting to look at the Character Design Sketchbook that appeared in a couple of pages at the back (the left side of the book, because, after all, this is truly a manga book which reads from right to left). Po Tse's commentary about how he drew the various characters to reflect certain character traits increased my appreciation of this adaptation while reading it.
Sense and Sensibility is the third adaptation that I've read from Manga Classics, (Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre being the other two,) and I've come to the opinion that this series is a good gateway to get younger readers interested in reading classical literature. For Janeites, apparently, there is also a Manga Classics version of Emma which I haven't read yet, but will be glad to put on my "to read" list. I would dearly love to see other adaptations of Jane Austen's work in the future, particularly for Persuasion, and Mansfield Park.
According to Manga Classics' Facebook page, an adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo will be coming soon, so I'll be keeping my eyes open for that in 2017.
Disclaimer: I received an e-copy of "Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility" by Stacy King and Po Tse from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
Thursday, 10 November 2016
Review: Manga Classics: Jane Eyre - Adapted by Crystal S. Chan, Art by SunNeko Lee
I first read Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre many years ago when I was in grade 12. There was a lot of excitement in the female portion of the class; we were getting a chance to read Romantic literature in English and Mr. Rochester was supposed to be a sigh worthy figure. For some reason, our class didn't get very far with the novel. I think that we were assigned to read it over spring break, and we may have been required to write an essay. However, I don't recall that our class went very deep into studying this novel, probably because of time constraints to make sure that we covered the prescribed curriculum before June arrived.
This is my memory of reading Jane Eyre: it was a dry reading experience for me. The diction might have bogged me down. I seem to recall that there were about two to three pages devoted to a description of a painting. My teenage mind probably stalled upon reading that, wondering why so much space was devoted to that and not to the romance. However, I can't confirm that this is true or if I mixed that fact up with some other novel that I may have read at around that time, because I have not read Jane Eyre since. I also have to confess that I'm not a big fan of any of the Bronte sisters, because one of them dissed Jane Austen's writing. Yes, I'm more for Team Austen than for Team Bronte.
Anyways, Manga Classics will be releasing their own version of Jane Eyre, adapted by Crystal S. Chan, with the art drawn by SunNeko Lee. This graphic novel captured my interest as it described the story of Jane Eyre, a plucky and strong minded orphan who grows up to become a governess for the ward of her employer, Mr. Rochester, who eventually becomes her love interest. However, there are strange and bizarre happenings at Thornfield Hall, the home of Mr. Rochester, which may interfere with their romance.
Most of what I know of Jane Eyre is from two visual adaptations, a BBC series starring Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke, and a movie starring Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds. It's almost embarrassing to admit that I'm comparing the content of the Manga Classics version against the movies that I watched years ago. The graphic novel contains a few pages of commentary about adapting the novel to manga format; some changes were made in the order of the narrative to build suspense at the end of each chapter, and also to strengthen the cohesiveness of the story through foreshadowing. There was a small section about how the manga adaptation was better able to convincingly execute a particular plot point than the television or movie versions (where Mr. Rochester disguises himself as a female gypsy). I had read those notes before reading the manga, and had almost forgotten to check if it was very obvious that a man was trying to masquerade as a woman, so I'll agree that manga is probably more able to carry that deception off.
I'm not a manga expert, but most of the art work appeared to be in the shoujo style. There were probably only a couple of frames in the narrative that contained the chibi style. The dark and brooding mood of the novel might not lend itself to levity and light heartedness that suits chibi drawings. For a plain female, Jane appears to be pretty and cute, but my understanding is that the appearance of plain heroines in any manga story is non-existent. Mr. Rochester looks sufficiently mature, and he's got great hair!
Would I recommend reading this version? I would say, "Yes," for the following reasons: my daughter expressed an interest in reading this version when she saw what I was reading. Who wouldn't want their kids to have a interest in reading classic literature, even though it is adapted? Also, after reading this, I'm thinking about giving Bronte's original version another look. Not even watching the movies was able to move me enough to want to take the novel up again, but this version has stirred up my interest.
Disclaimer: In exchange for a review, I received from NetGalley an e-copy of "Manga Classics: Jane Eyre," by Crystal S. Chan and SunNeko Lee. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
This is my memory of reading Jane Eyre: it was a dry reading experience for me. The diction might have bogged me down. I seem to recall that there were about two to three pages devoted to a description of a painting. My teenage mind probably stalled upon reading that, wondering why so much space was devoted to that and not to the romance. However, I can't confirm that this is true or if I mixed that fact up with some other novel that I may have read at around that time, because I have not read Jane Eyre since. I also have to confess that I'm not a big fan of any of the Bronte sisters, because one of them dissed Jane Austen's writing. Yes, I'm more for Team Austen than for Team Bronte.
Anyways, Manga Classics will be releasing their own version of Jane Eyre, adapted by Crystal S. Chan, with the art drawn by SunNeko Lee. This graphic novel captured my interest as it described the story of Jane Eyre, a plucky and strong minded orphan who grows up to become a governess for the ward of her employer, Mr. Rochester, who eventually becomes her love interest. However, there are strange and bizarre happenings at Thornfield Hall, the home of Mr. Rochester, which may interfere with their romance.
Most of what I know of Jane Eyre is from two visual adaptations, a BBC series starring Timothy Dalton and Zelah Clarke, and a movie starring Samantha Morton and Ciaran Hinds. It's almost embarrassing to admit that I'm comparing the content of the Manga Classics version against the movies that I watched years ago. The graphic novel contains a few pages of commentary about adapting the novel to manga format; some changes were made in the order of the narrative to build suspense at the end of each chapter, and also to strengthen the cohesiveness of the story through foreshadowing. There was a small section about how the manga adaptation was better able to convincingly execute a particular plot point than the television or movie versions (where Mr. Rochester disguises himself as a female gypsy). I had read those notes before reading the manga, and had almost forgotten to check if it was very obvious that a man was trying to masquerade as a woman, so I'll agree that manga is probably more able to carry that deception off.
I'm not a manga expert, but most of the art work appeared to be in the shoujo style. There were probably only a couple of frames in the narrative that contained the chibi style. The dark and brooding mood of the novel might not lend itself to levity and light heartedness that suits chibi drawings. For a plain female, Jane appears to be pretty and cute, but my understanding is that the appearance of plain heroines in any manga story is non-existent. Mr. Rochester looks sufficiently mature, and he's got great hair!
Would I recommend reading this version? I would say, "Yes," for the following reasons: my daughter expressed an interest in reading this version when she saw what I was reading. Who wouldn't want their kids to have a interest in reading classic literature, even though it is adapted? Also, after reading this, I'm thinking about giving Bronte's original version another look. Not even watching the movies was able to move me enough to want to take the novel up again, but this version has stirred up my interest.
Disclaimer: In exchange for a review, I received from NetGalley an e-copy of "Manga Classics: Jane Eyre," by Crystal S. Chan and SunNeko Lee. All opinions stated in this review are mine.
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