Customer Reviews

Beowulf: With Grimmest Gripe

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I'm already a fan of the Beowulf legend, but for the unitiated, these comics are a great way to be introduced to the Indo-European epic tradition, and to the Beowulf legend in particular. There are no word balloons here, and few onomatopoeic words like "crack" and "boom" (though there are a few well-place exceptions). The comicbook uses text directly from the poem, using the Gummere translation, which is freely available on the Internet, but while the Gummere trans. serves its purpose, I would recommend that any curious reader try Seamus Heaney's new version). The art is beautiful and the comics themselves well-made; and the story stays quite faithful to the poem. In summation, I would say that this comicbook would make a great addition to any Beowulf collection.

Beowulf has served as the inspiration for many comic books and graphic novels, including the 1970s DC series (with Beowulf as a pagan warrior filled with rage) and the 1980s graphic novel by Jerry Bingham. This version, by Gareth Hinds, is a good example of how the Beowulf poem can be effectively translated into a visual medium. It is one of a three-part series, and each of the series of beautifully rendered. Hinds uses the Francis Gummere translation, in part because it is poetic and in part--I suspect--because it is part of public domain. But his use of Gummere's translation is not merely supplemented by the visuals because his illustrations are as important to the translation as anything else. The visuals are absolutely important to his version of Beowulf.

Especially impressive is how Hinds lets his illustrations convey both the action and some of the underlying themes in Beowulf. For instance, the battle with Grendel is "told" by the illustration, without Gummere's translation. One of the most prevalent themes, wyrd (fate) of the Old English poem, is subtly presented throughout this comic book series by the use of constellations in the backgrounds. It is this kind of attention to detail--using both the poem and the artistic medium--that really makes Hinds' work stand out.

This series is recommended to anyone interested in contemporary versions of Beowulf in popular culture (I would even go so far to call this a translation in a certain sense) or for those who enjoy graphic novels.