Tamara Drewe - Alternate Format, graphic novel

Author: Posy Simmonds

Title: Tamara Drewe

Production/Bibliographic Information: graphic novel, Posy Simmonds (creator)

No of pages: 134 pages

Publication date: 2008 (U.S.) 2007 (U.K.)

Part of a Series: Not part of series

Book tie-in: Yes, loosely inspired by Thomas Hardy’s Far from the Madding Crowd

Subject Heading(s):

• Accidental death
• Great Britain – Social life
• Retreats
• Columnists and customs
• Social classes
• Drug abuse
• Infidelity
• Stalking victims
• Extramarital relations
• Man woman relationships
• Teenage girls
• Farms
• Middle-age
• Troubled marriages
• Graphic novels
• Midlife crises
• Writers

Plot Summary: Tamara Drewe has recently renovated her life and gone from being shy and bookish to becoming an irresistible, sexy gossip columnist.  She returns to her childhood home following the death of her mother and reacquaints herself with her neighbors, Beth and Nicholas Hardiman, who operate a nearby farm as a writer’s retreat.  The semi-famous Tamara attracts the attention of all of the locals, including Nicholas, an inveterate philanderer, Andy, Beth’s handyman, and two local teenage girls.  The story weaves their lives together until the characters are inextricably bound at the conclusion. 

Appeal: The main appeal of this graphic novel is likely the almost soap opera feel of all the tangled relationships as the leisurely-paced story unfolds.  The frame of the British countryside writer’s retreat and village is also appealing, as is the author’s skillful use of British dialogue.  There is also a good deal of character development in this novel.  This graphic novel does contain sexual themes, nudity, and occasional strong language and is recommended for adults.

Features: Uses a combination of sequential art, prose narrative, and fake newspaper columns and headlines to tell the story.  The detailed illustrations are also an interesting mix of color and shades of gray, sometimes mixed together on the same page. 

Prizes or Awards:

2008 Booklist Editors’ Choice – Adult Fiction for Young Adults

Similar Works:

• Ghost World by Daniel Clowes – introspective graphic novel dealing with the relationship between two teenage girls as they graduate from high school and enter the adult world.
• Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy – the novel that Tamara Drewe is loosely based upon.
• Cheat by Christine Norrie – graphic novel that deals with the marital issues and infidelity of two couples, issues that are also featured in Tamara Drewe.

Reviewer’s Name: Jennifer Lehner

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born - Alternative Format, Graphic Novel

Title: The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born

Author: Script by Robin Furth and Peter David, Illustrated by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove

Production/Bibliographic Information Marvel, 2007, unpaged but approximately 100 pages

Part of a Series: Yes, first in the Dark Tower graphic novel series

Book tie-in: based on the Dark Tower series by Stephen King

Subject Heading(s):

• Bleak
• Comic Book, strip, etc
• Fantasy comic books, strips, etc (
• Fate and fatalism
• Graphic novels
• Gunfighters
• Menacing
• Quests
• Supernatural
• Western

Plot Summary: In a world where no one ever feels safe and only a few are courageous enough to take on the evildoers, Roland and his fellow gunslingers set out on a journey to prevent a plot to take over the world’s oil and create a business monopoly. This event is just one of the many journeys that Roland will take guided by his ka, or destiny, in order to fulfill the ultimate goal of finding the Dark Tower.

Appeal: Tone: dark, menacing; Plot: good vs. evil; Pace: quick paced due to the format- reads similar to a comic strip; Style/Language: uses a unique language similar to that found in the Dark Tower series by Stephen King

Features: vivid and detailed illustrations; alternate cover illustrations, maps of the world in which the book takes place, really nice website found at: http://www.stephenking.com/darktower/the_graphic_novels.html

Prizes or Awards: YALSA Great Graphic Novels for Teens 2009

Similar Works:

Preacher vol. 1: Gone to Texas by Garth Emmis – graphic novel, supernatural, western, fantasy fiction

Reviewer’s Name: Taryn Kingery

 

Form adapted from Fiction Annotation Form in Saricks, Joyce G. and Nancy Brown. Readers’ Advisory Service in thePublic Library 2nd. Chicago: ALA, 1997.

Dracula - Alternate Format, Graphic Novel

Author: Bram Stoker

Adapted by: Gary Reed
Illustrated by: Becky Cloonan

Title:  Dracula

Publication Date: 2006

Number of Pages: 176

Part of a Series:  No

Subject Heading(s):

• Comic books, strips, etc. -- Juvenile literature
• Counts and countesses -- Comic books, strips, etc
• Dracula -- Comic books, strips
• Fiances -- Comic books, strips, etc.
• Graphic novel
• Graphic novels -- United States -- Juvenile literature
• Horror comic books, strips, etc. -- Juvenile literature.
• Lawyers -- Comic books, strips, etc.
• Lust -- Comic books, strips, etc.
• Men/women relations -- Comic books, strips, etc.
• Stoker, Bram, 1847-1912. Dracula. Adaptations
• Vampires -- Comic books, strips, etc.

Geographical Setting/ Time Period: England and Transylvania, sometime in the past

Main Character(s):

• Jonathan Harker- a young lawyer; curious, brave and willing to risk his life for his loved ones.
• Mina- Jonathan’s fiancée; kind, practical, virtuous, and very smart- she is faithful to Jonathan.
• Lucy- Mina’s best friend; bright and vivacious, she is susceptible to darkness.
• Count Dracula- a vampire from Transylvania; he is mysterious, cunning, and powerful.
• Professor Van Helsing- an expert at science and medicine.

Plot:  Jonathan Harker is sent to Transylvania by his law firm to work for the mysterious Count Dracula. What he discovers there sends him fleeing for his life and afraid for his loved ones. When he finally makes it back to England, strange occurrences force Jonathan to admit that the worst possible nightmare is upon him: Dracula has found a way across the ocean to England

Special Features: Interview with the illustrator, short bio of Bram Stoker, and a section of sketches by the novel illustrator and cover creator.

Appeal: This is a graphic novel adaptation of Bram Stoker’s Dracula and is labeled a YA graphic novel. The tone is dark and suspenseful. The pace is fast, and the movement in the illustrations helps to push the plot along. The illustrations are in black and white and use darkness and shadows to reinforce the tone and subject of the story. This graphic novel is not text heavy, except for a few excerpts from Jonathan’s letters to his fiancée and a journal entry or two. Readers will rely upon the illustrations to tell the story, using text to give the major points of the plot and to fill in any gaps in information the images cannot convey. Because most violence takes place off stage or isn’t shown in graphic details and characters are not drawn with sexually exaggerated features, this novel is appropriate for most young adult readers.

Brief quote: “I have seen things that do not seem possible. Yet they are real. I heard a noise one night and looked out the window. And below me, I saw something that looked like a giant bat and then like a man.” P. 32

Prizes or Awards: none

Similar Works: Tales of the Slayer by Joss Whedon

Reviewer's Name: Lori Chatman

 

Form adapted from Saricks, Joyce G. and Nancy Brown. Readers’ Advisory Service in the Public Library 2^nd.  Chicago: ALA, 1997.