Puffin Graphic Novel: Call of the Wildby Jack London
Publishers Weekly
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Years ago, Classic Comics, heavily digested versions of classic novels, functioned as illustrated Cliff's Notes for students. Kleid (Ninety Candles, Brownsville) and Nino (Graphic Classics: The Invisible Man) have updated the old form with this adaptation of Jack London's perennial. Kleid's adaptation competently summarizes the original, introducing the reader to Buck the dog, the vile man in the red sweater and the sympathetic John Thornton, highlighting the main events from the novel and using London's most workmanlike sentences to keep the story moving along. Nino's black-and-white art has a nice kinetic, almost impressionistic quality. Unfortunately, his emphasis on movement over clarity makes it difficult to tell human beings from each other, let alone dogs, and obscures any real emotion. Kleid himself sums up the biggest problem with this adaptation in his afterword: "London was smart—he went the novel route, where it's easier to get inside a dog's head." The audience for this adaptation is blurred: older readers may just read the original, while younger readers are unlikely to understand either the art or Kleid's self-indulgent afterword, which tries to compare the adaptation to Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely's groundbreaking (but arguably unsuitable for children) We3. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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School Library Journal
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Gr 7 Up–Both of these volumes are strong adaptations of the originals, with black-and-white illustrations, appendixes featuring sketches, adapter and illustrator notes, and biographical information about the original authors. These extra elements are outstanding as they enlighten readers about the books creative process and offer background material thats sure to pique interest in the original texts. Kleids adaptation is strong and compelling but is at odds with Ninos line drawings. The thin outlines and use of white space seem to contrast with the strength of the plot. In Dracula, the text and illustrations commingle flawlessly into a wonderful gothic tale with manga-inspired illustrations and a frightful Nosferatu-esque Dracula. While Reeds version is slightly stronger, both books would be worthy additions to any collection.–Jennifer Feigelman, Plattekill Public Library, Modena, NY Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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BookList
: From BookList, April 1, 2006, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission. : Gr. 6-9. Jack London's unparalleled tale of ferocious dignity and love joins the Puffin Graphics series, which already includes such classics as Macbeth, Dracula, and Black Beauty. Buck, complacent in his comfortable home, is dognapped and sold into servitude. Amid the frigid landscape of the Yukon during the gold rush, the sled dog's life of struggle remolds Buck into a fierce leader and a loyal companion. Kleid wisely omits extraneous details but preserves much of London's language and sweep, boiling the story down to archetypal purity. Unfortunately, although Nino's figures are emotive and the dual-tone backgrounds are appropriately stark, setting predominantly white panels against a white page encourages the eye to pass too easily over the images, breaking down the essential union of words and pictures. But the story can't be beat, and functioning on the strength of its action-packed narrative, this version will prove an exciting way into a classic for many reluctant readers.
JesseKarp. : | distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.: |
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