Customer Reviews

A Christmas Carol: The Graphic Novel

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

One possible way of identifying a book as a classic is the depth of enrichment and appreciation a reader can get out of the story through multiple readings or enjoying it in other forms.

This is certainly the case with Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol. Classical Comics' new graphic novel edition offers a welcome new glimpse into this classic story. Even after many readings of the original and viewings of numerous movie and television versions, I found this graphic novel to be fresh, thoughtful and quite moving. The writers and artists have presented the story with all the warmth and dignity it deserves.

I was also impressed with the respect for the original language and story line that are kept remarkably intact in this edition.

An enjoyable read for all ages this Christmas.

This is the second classic comic that I have read, and I find this one of the best graphic adaptations I have read so far. The original text is faithful to the novel; the illustrations are excellently done (something that can rarely be achieved by other collections); and the additional information may be useful to understand the social and cultural contexts of the novel.I think other readers will love it too.

If a person is looking for the top of the line classic, graphic novel this would be a great book for them. The graphic novel version of A Christmas Carol goes well together with the adaptation version by Charles Dickens. The graphic novel version also goes well with the 2009 movie version of A Christmas Carol. The graphic novel version is a great book for a person who wants to get a wonderful message and read a great classic in fewer words and pictures. This book would be a great graphic novel for a high school English teacher to use in their classroom. During high school, a lot of book they read are classics and A Christmas Carol could be one that they could use by using both the graphic novel and the adaptation version. A Christmas Carol has my five stars behind it because of the quality of the illustrations and the striation of the book as a whole.

I read this book as part of an assignment in a writing class. I was fairly unfamiliar with graphic novels before reading this book and I am glad I started with this one because it was a good introduction. I had previously thought of graphic novels as science fiction comics for kids or people who didn't like to read. This book convinces me that the graphic format is capable of telling serious stories.

The artwork in this book is bright, colorful, and expressive. Only original text is used in the book so it still has the sound and feel of the classic. This version also has extra information at the end that is very helpful if you want to know the history of the author and the story behind the book.

The downside of this book for me was that it did not contain all of the original text. Because I read the classic version along with the graphic I had the chance to see them both simultaneously which helped me see the strengths of the graphic.

Minus my small complaint, this is a good version of a great story. I recommend it.

I say well done! I had to read both the classic version of A Christmas Carol and the graphic novel version for my Writing class as a freshman in college. While the original one was good, I found this one to much more entertaining and the illustrations are very well made. I love the story of old Ebenezer Scrooge and I felt that I could grasp so much more from reading this graphic novel version than the original one. It saves so much time and I believe I could gather what I gathered from the classic through the graphic novel version. I felt that it was a great depiction and this novel is so very nice. It is appropriate for all ages of readers and I would recommend to all for the morals learned through this story. Great novel!

I've read a few other versions of "A Christmas Carol," and what I found most lacking in all of them was illustrations. I don't have that problem with this version; every sentence is illustrated, in color!

Unfortunately, not every sentence from the original novel is included, but it does read more completely and accurately than I would have expected, for what amounts to a "comic book!"

There are historical and theatrical sections included as special features.