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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Exciting visual story-telling, June 6, 2007
This review is from: Beowulf (Paperback)
Super-hero stories are probably as old as spoken language. Hinds has done an outstanding job of reaching out of our own Super-Hero-In-Tights (S-H-I-nevermind) idiom, and bringing a classic hero to new life.
Like so many myths, Beowulf includes elements of historical fact, such as the death of lord Hygelac. The story goes far beyond the mere historical, though. It describes the monster Grendel and his attacks on the halls of peaceful and prosperous king Hrothgar. Right from the start, this lets Hinds apply visual techniques that owe equally to the Bayeux Tapestry and to the Alien movie. Then, as heroic Beowulf braces himself for fighting the monster, Hinds makes the most of the visual medium. Over twenty pages pass without a single written word, mute but hardly silent as Beowulf and Grendel grapple throughout the hall. Hinds allows himself some modern imagery during this fight, without stooping to buckets of red ink. In the end, the subdued palette shows Grendel's defeat as vividly as more explicit gore would have.
That's just the first 1/3 of this book. Hinds's strong, painterly style also brings to life Beowulf's fight against Grendel's mother, a bloated troll with flapping dugs, and his triumph over the dragon.
Comic art and storytelling has been getting better and broader in recent years, allowing work like Hinds's to get to the audience it deserves. This work won't change the face of comic art, but it's distinctive, it's done well, and it carries the narration strongly. I recommend this to any comic fan who wants a diffferent look at an old tale.
-- wiredweird
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
For anyone who likes horror and monsters and great heroes, July 2, 2007
This review is from: Beowulf (Paperback)
King Hrothgar of Denmark could not spend the night in his great hall of Heorot, for anyone who did was certain to die at the hands of the Grendel, a monster of great power and cunning. But, hope is not lost, for a mighty man has come to rid Hrothgar of his bane - Beowulf, a valiant chieftain from the land of the Geats (in southern Sweden). This is the story of Beowulf's adventures, his battles, and his trials.
Beowulf is one of the foundational classics of Western literature, having first been written down in the early Middle Ages, perhaps as early as the eighth century. It is set in the late fifth and early sixth centuries, and is a marvelously exciting tale.
This book is a graphic novel retelling of Beowulf, and I must say that I think that Gareth Hinds did an excellent job. His use of stark colors does an excellent job of presenting the horror of the encounters giving the reader an idea of what it must have been like to hear the story as they were first told around the fire so long ago. Overall, I found this to be a fascinating read, and a great retelling of the old story.
Now, I must agree that the subject matter of this book is not for children, and the images of bloody battle and death are quite stark. So, you should bear that in mind if you are thinking of buying this book for a younger or more sensitive reader. But, if you are buying it for someone who likes horror and monsters and great heroes then this is the book to buy!
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
iF ONLY ALL CLASSICS WERE RETOLD THIS WAY..., January 21, 2008
This review is from: Beowulf (Paperback)
I read the text version of Beowulf once in high-school, and once in college. And never was it as exciting as Mr. Hinds' graphic novel. The author has collected the most important aspects of this epic adventure tale and illustrated them with such life and detail, that the story is now vividly etched in my mind. His rendition of Grendel's assault on the meade hall is easily one of my favorite moments in literary history.
I was also surprised by the author's fidelity to the original text. Many of the descriptive passages are directly from the original, and the books are preceeded by a glossary. But even more importantly, the author remains true to the themes and tones of the orginal tale, while still managing to make this a thrilling narrative that moves with cinematic fluidity.
The books are also great as pieces of art. Each one seems to be rendered in a different medium to better express the stages of Beowulf's life. And the illustrations are to die for, offering incredible action, style and human emotion. This is art. This is what more comic-book/graphic novel work should be like.
I have ordered the author's King Lear and am excited to see how Mr. Hinds tackles Willy S. I can only hope that classics like Don Quixote and The Count of Monte Cristo will also someday be on his list.
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