Customer Reviews

Beowulf: Gear of War

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As mentioned in my review of Hinds' Beowulf, Book 1: With Grimmest Gripe, I am quite impressed with his re-interpretation of the Beowulf poem. It translates Beowulf into a new medium, as effective in its own right as the more recent translations by Seamus Heaney and R.M. Liuzza. Of course, some might consider that statement a stretch, as Hinds transforms the Beowulf poem into the more visual medium of comic books, but an examination of his work suggest that such a statement is not greatly exaggerated.

As with his first book of the series, Hinds makes uses of vivid colors and lines to convey the vigorous battle--this time between Beowulf and Grendel's mother. Like his first, the poetic translation by Gummere and the visuals are wedded to together form a new translation. Never do the illustrations take a back seat to the Gummere translation. Instead, the illustrations do much to convey the themes and motifs that are embedded in the Beowulf poem. For instance, there is much debate over whether there are Christian elements in the poem, how much, and where. Hinds introduces this debate with wit and subtletly when he has Beowulf emerge from the underwater cave of Grendel's mother. Without giving away the details, Beowulf' successful return to the surface is depicted in such a way that references Christianity.

If one has any qualms with Hinds' reinterpretation, it might be in his decision to focus on the primary narrative of Beowulf. He eliminates the richness of digressions and beots that the poem has in Old English. Of course, this is appropriate for his genre but one wishes he had pushed the boundaries a bit further. If anyone could do that, it would be Hinds, whose aesthetic sense demonstrates a true investment with the poem.

Again, I find this to be truly compelling, especially for those familiar with Beowulf.