Macbeth: The Graphic Novel [Mass Market Paperback]

Arthur Byron Cover (Adapter), William Shakespeare (Author), Tony Leonard Tamai (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Shakespeare’s classic play of deception and murder is reinvented in the Japanese manga style and set on a vast ringworld encircling a sun. Artist Tony Tamai’s unique vision and style breathe new life into a captivating classic.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 9 Up–In this adaptation, the Weird Sisters are cloaked robots that speak in barcode, the soldiers horses are winged dragonlike creatures, and the letters to Lady Macbeth arrive via computer. Despite the intriguing potential of this format and the updated setting, the book is disappointing. As the story opens, the black-and-white artwork is intricate and appealing. However, readers unfamiliar with the plot will have difficulty following the action and the characters. Also, the quality of the illustrations tends to deteriorate at random intervals. For example, in some scenes Lady Macbeth is harshly outlined with thick black lines that look like the work of an amateur manga artist, while in the same panel her husband appears masterfully drawn. Similarly, halfway through the murder of Lady Macduff, the style shifts abruptly, disrupting the flow of the panels. This science-fiction version of the play might be fun to use in a classroom to illustrate the timelessness of the Bards plays, but it is unlikely to find a wide audience.–Heather M. Lisowski, Philip S. Miller Library, Castle Rock, CO
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. Reimagining Macbeth as a space opera seems a natural way to repackage the play as a graphic novel. Cover maintains much of Shakespeare's dialogue and sometimes relies on it to direct depictions of his characters in the art. Lady Macbeth, however, is a bit more buxom than she might seem in the original play, and in addition to lots of cool, futuristic space armor, there's a dragon or two in this version. The black-and-white images are full of action and energy, and faces are clear and distinct. An appendix provides readers with technical information on how the art was created. This is certainly no substitute for seeing or hearing the stage play, but this visual take may make studying the real thing far less intimidating. Francisca Goldsmith
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 176 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (September 8, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142404098
• ISBN-13: 978-0142404096
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.2 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #907,381 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars The Luck of Macbeth Made Evident, February 24, 2007

By 

Brendan Collins (Tulsa, OK) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Macbeth: The Graphic Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

Being the shortest of Shakespearian tragedies, Macbeth would be the logical choice of play to receive the graphic novel treatment. This book, retelling a somewhat truncated version of "the Scottish play," is one of the more recent attempts which capitalizes on the metaphysical elements, while transposing a unique futuristic setting (the opening caption puts the tale in "Stardate: 1040," the King's men ride dragons, and even the Weird Sisters appear as androids).

However, there is a definite sense that the finished product does not live up to the initial aspirations. Though the text is wholly comprised of critical lines gleaned from the original text (including a few superfluous but wholly memorable ones, such as Macbeth's "We have scorched the snake, not killed it" and the witty dialogue between MacDuff's wife and child), the story does not retain the proper flow of the original play. In adapting the story, too much has been lost for the sake of brevity, and thus are the characterizations fatally flawed. One feels little sympathy (much less empathy) with the tragic hero because his transformation from nobility to barbarism is almost immediate, allowing no opportunity to be drawn into his formerly held virtue. In fact, the only portrayal whose death I felt was that of Banquo (and Shakespeare's Macbeth is rife with such unjust murder and assassination)!

Likewise, Mr. Tamai's artwork is competant at best, if inconsistent. The lush style of illustration remains intact for all of 55 pages before degenerating into a completely different one, as if the pages were incomplete at the time of publication. The expressive eyes and astute detail return some twenty pages later, but soon dissipate back to the "new" style. It could be argued that this sharp shift in drawing style is a microcosm representative of Scotland's descent into madness, though for such a purpose it is sadly ineffective.

Together, both the text and the illustration occasionally work against each other, providing not so much complimentary story-telling techniques, but distraction. This is, unfortunately, especially prominent in the first few pages of the book, where the witches deliver their opening lines and the King's fighting men speak poetically during a complex, heavily detailed battle. The beauty of Shakespeare's words are combined with Mr. Tamai's fantastic rendering of a futuristic skirmish, yet the two provide such a juxtaposition as to render a steep mount of confusion.

Helpful would be some form of "spacing," or the use of separations signifying the breaks in the play's Acts (the short book's "chapters," if you will). Also, a brief description of the cast of characters would aid the reader in discerning who's who (since the book does run shorter than the play upon which it is based, thereby creating a minuscule window of opportunity into which the uninitiated reader may enter). Finally, a well-versed knowledge of the original play would assist the reader in getting through the entire book, as the book by itself neither involves nor moves the reader.

It is a lofty aspiration for Penguin Graphics to attempt such an adaptation, so it is especially disappointing that such a valiant effort should fall so short.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars my review, May 18, 2007

A Kid's Review

This review is from: Macbeth: The Graphic Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

"Macbeth the Graphic Novel"

I like the book to some extent, like the plot and graphics, but the rest of the book was rather boring. It's boring due to the fact that it's been written hundreds of times before. There was nothing new except the comics used to illustrate the actions of the characters.

It was nicely drawn out but three quarters of the way through, the graphics became all sloppy and seemed to have been poorly drawn. It has many large words and old English dialogue, so it may be complicated to some readers. I was able to comprehend most of the language, but most of it I just faded in and out.

The idea is clever to set it in the Star Date 1040, and to add pictures to appeal to younger readers, but they should just leave Shakespearean literature alone and keep it the way it was intended.


Overall I considered the book wordy and poorly thought out. But I give it an A+ for creativity and use of graphics and the blend of suspense, comedy, and tragedy. Although I don't recommend the book, due to its many flaws and poor graphics.

3.0 out of 5 stars good for the lulz, March 31, 2008

By 

pdRydia (Baltimore, MD, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Macbeth: The Graphic Novel (Mass Market Paperback)

As others have pointed out, this is not a refined, polished product. It reads and looks like a rush job, but isn't bad enough as to be incomprehensible--which is saying something, for Shakespeare. The comic doesn't offer much except that taking Macbeth into a futuristic setting is good for a laugh.

I picked the book up at the local bookstore on sale for $3, and I'd say it's worth bargain bin prices.