Customer Reviews

Artemis Fowl: The Graphic Novel

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

A must for Artemis fans, 1 Oct 2007
By Richard Murphy (Winchester, England) - See all my reviews


I was very cynical when I found out that a graphic novel version of the first book was being produced. Too many other authors have been happy to allow their ideas to be exploited in poorly produced spin-off formats produced by publishers who just want to extract more cash from fans.

Artemis fans, this is the real thing. Eoin Colfer has collaborated with Andrew Donkin to produce a gem of a graphic novel. Every page is a work of art. The sprit of the original story is captured, and the graphic format is used to great effect.

Every reader of the novels will have their own mental picture of the characters and some are not as I imagined, but I really enjoyed seeing what they came up with for each.

The only problem is that it looks like it took so much effort, he won't have the time to do the other novels (come on EC - you can do it!).

Highly recommended.

The Fowl series has seen me through lots of ups and downs, literature-wise. There just don't seem to be that many new books out there that you can read over and over with new enjoyment, much less LIKE after the first installment of the series. Artemis Fowl the BOOKS, are one such series, but this side idea following it doesn't live up to a lot. Besides the story being a lot more choppy than I could comfortably get into (by the middle I was admittedly reading out of order, as some parts I'd looked forward to were condensed down to one page!), the characters were not themselves visually. And yes, I know for a different type of print, with pictures, some things change, but even little things, like Holly Short with brown hair, Artemis with flat BROWN eyes, Foaly with a flat, blond-whiskered blue face (huh?!),and Butler looking like some kind of Titan zombie (he's supposed to be big, but he's only around 38 years old during the first book and Eurasian descended; scarey-but-endearing to Artemis and Juliet (alone) would have been perfect), just doesn't fit. I will say this though: once I got over the look of Artemis, the way they depict him here vs. in my mind, it was fairly accurate. It was just his mannerisms: He IS a Fowl. The characters acted well, though some pretty good parts were cut out, as is expected. And the story was pretty true to the book, though, again, a lot more 'choppy' than I preferred, more spoken that should have been thoughts and vice versa (if that makes any sense).

Summary: Read the GRAPHIC book, won't buy it anywhere near full price, but will continue to follow Artemis NOVELS as long as Mr. Colfer makes them. So wait on it ($), THEN add it to your Artemis library.

Who knew Butler is blond, Artemis is near anorexic skinny and Julius is, well, gray. I love the visuals a graphic novel can give a book to make it come alive.

While the graphics are amazing, the story hasn't changed, in fact, it loses a lot of its depth because it is so short. The two best things about the Artemis Fowl books are the sharp dialogue and rounded characters, and both of these qualities are lost in the graphic novel.

Because I am already a huge fan of Eoin Colfer and the Artemis Fowl books, I found this an entertaining and quick reminder of what happened in the first book but not a stand-out book in its own right.

However, if you love graphic novels but have never read the Artemis Fowl books, I think you will like this book. The best part is, if the graphic version gets you interested, you are already half way to becoming obsessed with one of the best YA fantasy series out there.

I imagine that there were a few Artemis fans who groaned inwardly at the prospect of a graphic novel adaptation of Eoin Colfer's imaginative, engaging and hugely successful books. No wonder, as in the wrong hands, fondly imagined scenes can be ruined and the whole magic of the original tainted.

Lucky for them then, this is a really superb retelling of the early adventures of boy genius and criminal mastermind Artemis Fowl. Colfer's witty novel has been made flesh by some very tight, smart editing and well-crafted storytelling by Colfer and co-scripter Andrew Donkin. Remarkably, the care and disciplined attention to pace and page layouts compare favourably even with the industry Gold Standard of Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons' `Watchmen' series, which speaks volumes for the whole team involved.

Of course, if your script is of a high standard, any reasonable art should function pretty well, but the art of Giovanni Rigano is a revelation. I'm unfamiliar with his prior work, but based on this evidence he's a very talented guy and is an inspired choice for this project (and hopefully for future instalments). His very elegant, almost spidery line style makes the Manga-inspired character designs far more textured than the bulk of the work it's derived from. It's a great combination of Asian and European graphic styles and some of the backgrounds are mind-bogglingly detailed.

Icing on this particular cake: the coloring. Paolo Lamanna's sophisticated palette and very careful use of color effects really enhance the artwork and make the whole piece look like a book that should cost twice as much as it does. Hyperion really have to be congratulated for publishing a book of such high standard rather than going for a cheap knock-it-out cash-in.

In fact, forget the kids (who should be so lucky to get this as a present); if you're an adult, treat yourself to this, read it and leave it lying casually on your coffee table for kids to chance upon; they'll be staggered at your cool.

I love the Artemis Fowl books, and have read all of them several times. I borrowed the graphic novel from a friend and was disappointed. I think that the style made the story too choppy, losing much of its humor. Even worst were the way that some of the characters looked. Artemis was close, but Butler is supposed to be an attractive Eurasian, not an over-necked thug. Holly is supposed to be pretty and somewhat feminine, which the novel Holly was not. Worst of all, Foaly was blue. He is a centaur, not a blue raspberry Popsicle. I did not even finish the whole book.

This is my first ever graphic novel purchase.
I am now hooked! You can read the book but without the illustrations you won't be able to see the full details of the storytellers mind.

I purchased this book to add to the classroom library. My students can't put it down! I wish I had purchased several copies.

My son likes to read but it is hard to find a book that he will even start. He likes reading mangas over and over. When I saw that they had Artemis Fowl in a graphic novel, I thought this would help and it did. He read it quickly and now wants to read the book series. The graphic novel's storyline is faithful but a little different from the book and that's okay - it gives him something to look forward to.

Nice refresher but definately not a replacement for the original book. Way too much detail is lost. I like how it is adapted by the original author so you can see what he choose as important details.

My daughter is an avid Artemis Fowl fan and requested this new version. She loved it. She really enjoyed the pictures, which included information not only from the first book, but additions made in later books, also. Worth the money.