M [Hardcover]

Jon J Muth (Author), Adam Kempenaar (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2008

Behind every great suspense thriller lurks the shadow of M. In Fritz Lang's first sound film from 1931, Peter Lorre delivers a haunting performance as a serial killer--a whistling pedophile hunted by the police and brought to trial by the forces of the Berlin underworld.

In 1990, a young painter, Jon J Muth, continued his rise in the comic book industry by adapting the story of M into a four-issue comic book miniseries. Muth's photorealistic illustrations paved the way for the acceptance of painted comics, influencing a generation of artists who followed him.

Long out of print, these four issues are collected together for the first time as a hardcover graphic novel.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Long before Criterion DVDs or the Independent Film Channel—which is to say, in 1990—painter Muth adapted Fritz Lang's classic serial killer tale M into a four-part comics miniseries. He hewed closely to Lang's original German script, employing a painterly, photorealistic style that evoked the grainy, tinted footage of early talkies. The result, more influential than popular in an era of rampant speculation and chromium covers, was undeniably gorgeous. Eighteen years later, after popular artists like Alex Ross have cited Muth as a major influence, Abrams has re-released M as a hardcover graphic novel, and the deluxe treatment only adds luster to the project. Lang's story—an unidentified serial killer stalks children in a small German city—is simple but compelling, allowing Muth's masterful technique to shine through. The watercolors are primarily sepia-toned, with occasional splashes of color for emphasis, giving the project a surreal, dreamlike quality that serves to heighten suspense. Muth's layouts are excellent, creating mise-en-scènes that evoke Lang without copying him, and his figures' acting (body language and facial expressions) also serves both story and mood. An informative afterword lets readers hear from Muth about technique and why he would even try to remake Lang: to see what he could learn. Readers will find it an impressive lesson. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Jon J Muth’s watercolor art has been called “quietly life-changing” by the New York Times. He is the author and artist of The Three Questions and the bestselling picture book Zen Shorts, as well as A Family of Poems by Caroline Kennedy, which was a national bestseller. Other works include the graphic novel Moonshadow, and the recently published A Family Christmas. He lives in New York.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 192 pages
• Publisher: Abrams; First Edition/First Printing edition (April 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810995220
• ISBN-13: 978-0810995222
• Product Dimensions: 10.4 x 7 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #998,789 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

The career of Jon J Muth spans three decades, beginning with Wilmington College hosting his first one-man show as a painter at the age of eighteen. He now exhibits his work internationally. He is a musician and a best-selling writer, and for over twenty years put pictures and words together in comics and graphic novels; culminating in the industry's highest honor, an Eisner Award for "The Mystery Play".

Siting that becoming a father was a profoundly life changing experience, Mr. Muth became aware of the need to explore subjects that spoke to a younger audience. He remarks, "My oldest is eighteen and now we have four year old twins. I love writing for children. Drawing for them. Children see the world in a bright, curious and immediate way. Most of my work in children's publishing has been in watercolor which speaks to that vibrancy.... Being a parent to me reveals something about being alive and a responsibility that is really shattering... An artist is a very selfish position to occupy, but being a parent just throws all that out the window. Becoming a father in my case, did something I can't really explain and it has influenced my creative process."

In 1999 Mr. Muth started what has been over a decade in children's books, first illustrating "Come On Rain!", which won a Gold Medal from the Society of Illustrators. He has received numerous awards and critical acclaim and worked with many talented people, including Neil Gaiman and Mo Willems. He is the author and illustrator of "Zen Shorts" a Caldecott Honor book, which Kirkus Review described as "Every word and image comes to make as perfect a picture book as can be". He is the illustrator of the anthology, "A Family of Poems", with Caroline Kennedy. His book "The Three Questions" has been described as "quietly life-changing" by The New York Times.

In an interview with the Paris Review, E.B. White once said, "You don't write down for children. You write up." Muth wholeheartedly agrees. "Children are completely capable of intuiting wisdom as readily as adults are... they just may not have the ability to put it into words ... [but] they get this stuff very quickly. Even the kids who come to the book (Zen Shorts) because it has this giant panda tend to come back because there's some itch that's set off -- in their minds or in their hearts -- to re-examine what's going on."

Mr. Muth has had a life long interest in Asian Studies, including tai chi chuan, sumi ink drawing and chado, "the way of tea". His work has been translated into more than a dozen languages and he lives with his wife Bonnie and their four children in New York.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars GORGEOUS ADAPTATION, July 29, 2008

By 

Tim Janson (Michigan) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: M (Hardcover)

This book is a hard cover graphic adaptation of the 1931 film "M". This is a film that I saw for the first time just a few years ago. As a fan of classic horror films of the 1930s and 40s, I was attracted to the film because of its young star, Peter Lorre, and the director Fritz Lang. Land is best know for his groundbreaking 1927 silent film "Metropolis" which is still influencing filmmakers some 80 years later. The series was originally published back in 1990 by defunct Eclipse Comics. Long out of print, the series has now been collected in hardcover format by Abrams Books. The fact that it's being put out by a major book publisher as opposed to a comic publisher should tell you a bit about the quality and literary value of the story.

The story is based upon the actual crimes of Peter Kurten, dubbed the "Vampire of Düsseldorf" who committed a number of murders and sex crimes in Germany in the late 1920s. In "M" a child killer is on the loose in Berlin, having already murdered several children. The shadowy killer makes his presence known by the haunting melody he whistles as he claims a new victim. The people are in a panic, demanding the police catch the maniac. Like Jack the Ripper, the killer taunts the law enforcement's inability to stop him with letters to the newspapers. Even with police flooding the streets they are unable to find any clues.

This is when the Berlin criminal underworld decides to take matters into their own hands. The killer is bad for their illicit businesses as the police raids have become more frequent and some even blame the murders on organized crime members. They make a pact to use all of their resources to track down the fiend before he can kill again.

The killer is terrifying in his motivations but ultimately, he can turn be described as just a regular guy. He's the type of person that neighbors might say he was quiet and kept to himself. The confrontation between he and the forces of Berlin's underworld is chillingly compelling as this court of thieves decides the man's fate. The result is a stunning piece of visual storytelling, perhaps the best comic graphic tale since The Watchmen.

"M" the film is an extremely moody piece of filmmaking. It's a very early talkie and the film quality is dark and grainy, filled with deep shadows. Muth has managed to capture the look of the film perfectly. The story is told through photographs that Muth has then used pencil and brush to add various tones, gradients, and textures, along with a few strategic dashes of color. Rarely has a "comic book" been able to evoke such an atmosphere on a page. If anyone ever questions why you STILL read comics, hand them a copy of "M" and show them why!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fritz Lang would be proud!, April 4, 2000

By 

W.O'Toole (Miami, FL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: M: Book Two (of 4) (Paperback)

With this version of "M," Jon J. Muth updates the visual of Fritz Lang's classic screen play. The story is told through Muth's stunning photo-realistic charcoal sketches, that mold Lang's cinematic tale to fit perfectly into a graphic novel format. "M" is yet another example of the heights to which visual and verbal storytelling can soar.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Glorious Work, a Lovely Piece of Art, September 11, 2008

By 

Bookreporter (New York, New York) - See all my reviews

This review is from: M (Hardcover)

All these decades later, Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS overshadows M in terms of fame and legacy. But M, the story of a serial killer who hunts children, is such a dark, macabre classic that even Lang considered it his best film. It's a seminal work, one of the most amazing accomplishments in cinema.

It was nearly 20 years ago that Jon J Muth, a writer and illustrator of children's books and comic books, decided to create a graphic series based on M. Muth's work back then remains as vital, impressive and simply awe-inspiring now, especially since it has just been re-released in a gorgeous hardcover format, which also includes an informative introduction and afterword that provide useful insights into the creative process behind the work.

Muth gathered together friends, family and acquaintances to pose for photos that reenacted Lang's film. But this is no shot-by-shot, frame-by-frame recreation. Instead, Muth changes points of view and perspective to create a new experience, something far removed from its source material yet so lovingly inspired by it that it maintains respect at all times.

Muth then took those photos and made drawings from them. His afterword explains the process, which involves silverpoint, graphite and charcoal, the effect of which is so stunning, so lush, that it's clear how much of an influence Muth's work here has had on generations of artists who followed in his footsteps. Reading M has the bizarre effect of feeling like you're looking at a series of old photographs, stepping back in time and experiencing a long-ago past first-hand.

And M is thrilling. The story is frightening and thrilling on its own, with its terrifying notion of a serial killer who targets children. The murders leave the entire city in a state of panic, with the population demanding action from the police. As the police crack down on brothels, bars and gambling spots around town, the leaders of the city's seedy underground decide they have to take action to find the killer themselves, if only to keep their own businesses afloat.

M has various themes of horror and old-gangster-style crime running through its rich pages. That Muth is able to carry this off without stepping on the toes of the original film is a testament to his larger-than-life abilities as an artist. The phrase "a graphic novel for someone who doesn't typically enjoy graphic novels" gets tossed around quite a bit, but in this case, it seems to apply. A work this atmospheric certainly transcends the boundaries of format in ways that others can't.

Muth has gone on to create many other works in both comics and traditional publishing, but M remains such a glorious work, such a lovely piece of art, that it continues to inspire fellow artists. It continues to entertain and mesmerize readers as well.

--- Reviewed by John Hogan