A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel [Paperback]

Sean Michael Wilson (Adapter), Charles Dickens (Author), Clive Bryant (Editor), Mike Collins (Illustrator), David Roach (Illustrator), James Offredi (Illustrator), Terry Wiley (Illustrator), Jo Wheeler (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 25, 2008 | Age Level: 9 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

One Christmas Eve, after being particularly cruel to his employee, the miserly Ebenezer Scrooge is visited by the ghost of his dead business partner, Jacob Marley, who tells him that he will be visited by the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, Future. Each ghost shows him things that rekindle the joy and spirit of Christmas within his heart and awaken his goodwill toward his fellow man. In typical fashion, Dickens deals with social injustice in a way that transcends the 19th century. This illustrated version of the classic holiday tale is brough to life with an illustrated Character List (like a Dramatis Personae), 134 pages of color story artwork, and fascinating support material that details the life and work of Charles Dickens as well as information on Victorian England.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Sean Michael Wilson is a comic book writer from Scotland, now living in Japan. Other books adapted for the Classical Comics range include: The Canterville Ghost, Sweeney Todd and Wuthering Heights.

Mike Collins is a British comic book artist who has worked on numerous titles, including 2000AD and Doctor Who.

James Offredi is based in the UK and has previously coloured comic art for Doctor Who and Transformers.

Clive Bryant is the founder of Classical Comics, and the Editor-in-Chief of the entire range.

--This text refers to the Library Binding edition.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9 and up
  
• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Classical Comics (November 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1906332517
• ISBN-13: 978-1906332518
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #366,572 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Christmas Carol Graphic Novel, December 10, 2010

By 

hbellows10 - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel (Paperback)

This graphic novel was part of an assignment for my freshman writing class at college and I thought it was a very good choice. I had to read the classic text-only adaptation of The Christmas Carol and I much rather would read the graphic novel because it is very intriguing. The characters in the book were drawn out exactly how they were described in the book, making it easier to follow. The pictures are bright and very detailed making it very pleasing to the eye. It follows the original text of the classic so you are still getting the same story plot, just in pictures. I would recommend this book for any class to read or even just to read in spare time if you want.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Quality Graphic Novel in Original Text of the Classic Novel, March 14, 2009

By 

christinemm - The Thinking Mother (Houston Texas USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel (Paperback)

This is a graphic novel presentation of the classic "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens, in the `original text' version. Classical Comics has prepared two graphic novel versions of this story, one is a "quick text" version told in modern English intended for a fast-paced read. This book in the "original text" version cuts out some of the words that describe the physical action taking place (as that is shown in the illustrations). It cuts out some of the extraneous descriptions but in a side by side comparison the dialogue and nearly all of the other text is identical to the original book by Dickens.

At the back of the book is wealth of background information on the author including a five page biography and a family tree for Charles Dickens as well as a two page timeline of his life. Two pages about the true history of England and its relevance to the story is provided as well as two more pages on the history of the celebration of Christmas in England including changes in the Victorian Era. Lastly two pages explain the writer's and artist's process to transform a book from traditional text to create a graphic novel format telling of the story. These sections are interesting (not boring) and are worthy of reading (not just by school teachers to create lesson plans although they could be used for that). The information about the history of England and Christmas celebrations was insightful to put the fictional story into context.

The illustrations are in full color and the illustrations are of high quality. This reminds me of the high quality, modern superhero graphic novels with the classic shift in perspectives, different sized boxes, and going back and forth from farther back to extreme close-up's. Regarding the great illustration I note the facial expressions are detailed and well done and the shading of the scenes is well-done such as three shades of green on a shirt and a great job with the glowing lights of candles and gas lamps in dark rooms or outdoor night scenes. The ghost images are also well done.

I have compared this Classical Comics version to a different publishing house's version of a graphic presentation of a Shakespeare play which had inferior illustrations most notably poor facial illustrations. This publishing house's graphic presentation of classic books and Shakespeare plays is superior to the other company's.

The pages are glossy and thick. This is a high quality book in every way.

Again these stories are available in two versions. The version I am reviewing is the original text version which is a longer read in the original book's language. The other version is a "quick text" version in modern language, simplified for a fast read. To help identify which is which, the "quick text" version has a full color cover and the "original text" version has a black cover with an illustration only in glossy and matte texture. Both covers, at the bottom right, have the words "original text" and "quick text" but the version that the book is, is in orange while the other is blackened out but still legible.

Classical Comics publishes classic books and some plays of Shakespeare. All classic books are in the two formats mentioned above. The Shakespeare plays are available in THREE formats: original text "the unabridged play brought to life in full color", plain text "the complete play translated into plain English" and quick text "the full play in quick modern English for a fast=paced read.

Due to the high quality product of "A Christmas Carol" I plan to buy other Classical Comics publications including some of the Shakespeare plays.

I think this book (and others by Classic Comics) would be an excellent addition to public libraries and could be an excellent addition to the Young Adult collection.

Regarding use in the classroom: I think that some interesting discussions could be had about how the action of the book in text version translated over to a graphic presentation. An assignment could be worked backwards; taking a page from the graphic book and having the student write it out only in text, using their own words to describe the action and the physical description of the people and places. These graphic presentations of classics especially in "quick text" could be read by elementary grade students, especially those boys who seem consumed by reading anything presented in comic book/graphic book style. To what extent high school teachers would want to use the easier reading versions in the classroom is up to their individual discretion and dependent on the students they are teaching. I won't enter a debate of whether reading an easier version is `better than nothing'. With that said it would be an interesting lesson to compare the `quick text' version to the `original text' version. The modern English Shakespeare plays might be introduced first and then the student introduced to the original language after the initial story is known and understood.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars great for reluctant readers, February 13, 2009

By 

chilirlw "chilirlw" - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel (Paperback)

Wow. This is a really impressive looking book with its glossy-black-on-matte-black cover illustration. My husband snatched it out of my hands almost directly after I got it out of the envelope. The interior graphics are good too, though not amazingly so. I do like the way the designers chose to present the "scenes" that Scrooge visits with the ghosts in less vivid tones and slightly fuzzy outlines. I think this would be a great format for introducing reluctant readers to the classics, especially for boys experiencing that infamous "5th grade slump". Please please please do not get the "Quick Text" version--the samples included in the back of the book made me cringe. Useful if somewhat pedestrian biographical and historical material is appended to the text. More interesting is a short article showing the evolution of the book from script to finished page.