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34th out of 52 books
—
45 voters
King Lear
One of the greatest tragedies of English literature is now a full-color graphic novel by the creator of Beowulf and Bearskin. An old king seeks to set aside his crown and divide his realm among his three daughters. But treachery and madness lie ahead for King Lear
Paperback, 128 pages
Published
October 1st 2007
by TheComic.com
(first published September 21st 2007)
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Category: graphic novel
This book is based on Shakespeare's play, King Lear. The story is about a king who is dividing up his kingdom among his three daughters. His two oldest daughters flatter him and are given large portions; the youngest daughter, who is the only one who actually loves him, refuses to flatter her father and is disowned. Then the two older sisters get all tyrannical and treat their father horribly, and he ends up going mad. The two older sisters also fight over which one of the...more
This book is based on Shakespeare's play, King Lear. The story is about a king who is dividing up his kingdom among his three daughters. His two oldest daughters flatter him and are given large portions; the youngest daughter, who is the only one who actually loves him, refuses to flatter her father and is disowned. Then the two older sisters get all tyrannical and treat their father horribly, and he ends up going mad. The two older sisters also fight over which one of the...more
I only knew Hinds from his 'Beowulf,' rendered with much bolder line than 'King Lear,' so was a liitle put off at first by his more delicate hand here, and especially by the dialogue balloons, with text in frilly, curlicueish cursive. Shakespeare's language already requires decoding effort, I grumbled.
But once acclimatized, it all made sense. Hinds alternates comic book panels with other graphic organization, often using dotted lines and arrows to follow characters as they move within a scene. I...more
But once acclimatized, it all made sense. Hinds alternates comic book panels with other graphic organization, often using dotted lines and arrows to follow characters as they move within a scene. I...more
King Lear has always been one of my favorite Shakespeare plays, and this graphic novel adaptation is unique. Rather than adapting the story to 9-panel pages, Gareth Hinds gives it to us the way we might see it on stage, only with visible dialogue. Stage directions are shown in action and sometimes dotted lines that show you which direction to read; lighting and color are also used to great effect. I think this could be very useful to readers who have trouble visualizing what the heck is going on...more
This version of the play is illustrated like a graphic novel and it really helped me understand the complicated plot of the tragedy King Lear. Without this book I never would have understood how King Lear and his daughter Cordelia interacted at the end nor how Gloucester's son protected his father after being disowned. The physical setting was much clearer in the graphic novel and it was vitally important to understand what was going on. The author used much of Shakespeare's original language an...more
Apr 07, 2009
ஐ Briansgirl (Book Sale Queen)ஐ
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
first attempt at Shakespeare
Shelves:
other-fiction,
library-books
This was my first Shakespeare. The story is tragic as are most Shakespeare stories. It's also my first graphic novel. (As a child, we called these comic books). I have trouble reading shakespeare because you aren't reading a novel, but a play. The symatics of "character A walks to spot X and says..." is so confusing, I lose the plot. I didn't have that problem with the graphic novel, and there are even lil dashed lines that swirl around the page telling you in which direction to read the speech...more
I appreciate the concept behind this. I don't know if there is another playwright whose work can be sensibly translated into as many formats as Shakespeare and a graphical format seems a reasonable approach, especially with the possibility that this may make Shakespeare accessible to those who may eschew reading a traditional play. In reality though, I found this version of King Lear distracting, disappointing, and messy. The graphics were cartoonish, the dialogue broken up in a way as to destro...more
The flap copy called this an accessible introduction to King Lear, but I found it very confusing. The story seemed familiar (maybe I read it in high school), but I thought Hinds' Merchant of Venice was much more accessible. In Merchant of Venice, the language begins in a modern dialect and changes subtly to classic Shakespearean. In King Lear, the reader is immediately plunged into Shakespeare's own words. The illustrations did help a lot, as did the cast of characters with pictures at the begin...more
This is the most successful adaptation of Shakespeare to the graphic medium that I have read. Wisely, Hinds keeps large parts of the original dialog so the poetry and the passion of the play are undiluted. In supplementary notes at the end of the text he explains his choices.
To the text he has added superlative composition. Dialog is presented in a script typeface of his own design that’s clear to read and complementary to the composition. For most of the work he either adapts or abandons the t...more
To the text he has added superlative composition. Dialog is presented in a script typeface of his own design that’s clear to read and complementary to the composition. For most of the work he either adapts or abandons the t...more
Nov 12, 2012
Jennifer Wardrip
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
trt-posted-reviews
Reviewed by Sally Kruger aka "Readingjunky" for TeensReadToo.com
Shakespeare is, of course, the backbone of many literary studies. But is there a way to add something fresh and new to the works of the ancient bard? Gareth Hinds has created the graphic novel interpretation of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, KING LEAR.
Although the presentation may be unique, the story holds true. The great king is dividing his realm. Three daughters will receive three portions, but each must prove herself wort...more
Shakespeare is, of course, the backbone of many literary studies. But is there a way to add something fresh and new to the works of the ancient bard? Gareth Hinds has created the graphic novel interpretation of one of Shakespeare's greatest plays, KING LEAR.
Although the presentation may be unique, the story holds true. The great king is dividing his realm. Three daughters will receive three portions, but each must prove herself wort...more
I can give this 3 stars because there is nothing to complain about in regards to the story. It's King Lear, the most emotionally devastating Shakespeare play, and possible one of the most devastating stories ever.
That said, I don't see why the illustrations in this story were so cheerful. Like, the illustrations of a children's book, not a YA retelling. I would see a lot of dark earthy colors, or a blood red kind of palette. They weren't bad. They just didn't fit.
That said, I don't see why the illustrations in this story were so cheerful. Like, the illustrations of a children's book, not a YA retelling. I would see a lot of dark earthy colors, or a blood red kind of palette. They weren't bad. They just didn't fit.
While the artwork was stunning and I enjoyed the way that the text was written (in cursive and following a dotted, twisted line along the page). This is not a good introduction to King Lear or Shakespeare.
Myself (a self proclaimed Shakespeare nerd) enjoyed that the feel of the original play was preserved, in iambic pentameter but if this is your first introduction to King Lear you will be confused.
Myself (a self proclaimed Shakespeare nerd) enjoyed that the feel of the original play was preserved, in iambic pentameter but if this is your first introduction to King Lear you will be confused.
Taking a play by Shakespeare and condensing it into a graphic novel is hard work. Gareth Hinds doesn't do a bad job. In fact, there are moments when he is down right brilliant (i.e Lear in the storm, Cordelia's death). However, some of the basic conventions (cursive text, dotted lines to represent on stage movement) were more distracting than helpful.
3.5/5
3.5/5
When we first checked out this version of King Lear we weren't sure how much the kids would enjoy it, or if we would even get through the first Act. However, this ended up being a big hit with the entire family. Five String did a great job giving voice to Shakespeare's characters and the illustrations and editing by Gareth Hinds made this play accessible to our family. Everyone loved The Fool and we all came away shaking our heads at how blind King Lear truly was.
Wicked! Great to see this work through the spastic eyes of Gareth Hinds.
He creates "theatre production" style visuals that fills in the minds eyes without being too descriptive or distracting from the actual text.
It truly was like sitting in a theatre watching a production of King Lear.
He creates "theatre production" style visuals that fills in the minds eyes without being too descriptive or distracting from the actual text.
It truly was like sitting in a theatre watching a production of King Lear.
Apr 28, 2011
Marianna
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
could-not-finish,
may-try-to-reread
The art is great. The order in which to read the dialogue was a bit confusing, added to my inability to process the language made it a little hard to read at a quick pace. I skipped to the end and spoiled it for myself. I may try to read it in its entirety another time.
Much more successful than Hinds' version of The Merchant of Venice because he doesn't modernize the text and he's more creative and colorful with the art. A pleasurable way to flip through the play.
Sep 07, 2010
Kerry
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
graphic-novels,
couldn-t-finish
I was never really fond of this play so I'm not really sure why I thought I'd enjoy the graphic novel. Not really fond of the artwork, but it's a fair adaptation.
Parenting lessons from Will Shakespeare: Do not pit thee your children against eachother whilst fishing for compliments, lest everyone shalt die. Zzzz.
Becky says, "I think this could be very useful to readers who have trouble visualizing what the heck is going on in Shakespeare."
Awesome graphic novel version of Shakespeare's play.
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Pretty good stuff. I'd never read King Lear before, and this was helpful for making sense of exactly what was going on.
I didn't love the artwork, but again, the graphic novel format allowed me to follow the action a little better.
3 1/2 stars
I didn't love the artwork, but again, the graphic novel format allowed me to follow the action a little better.
3 1/2 stars
Carefully researched and illustrated, a graphic novel may just be, as Gareth Hinds suggests, the best way to read Shakespeare.
My review applies to the graphic novel adaptation, and not the Bard's actual play.
I may assign this students someday, so no comment here. The single star in enough.
Great graphic adaptation. Loved the artwork, the flow of the text.
May 17, 2013
Odetoemma
marked it as to-read
May 17, 2013
Ben Hurgen
marked it as to-read
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Gareth Hinds is the creator of several acclaimed graphic novels based on classics. About THE ODYSSEY, he says, "It was incredibly exciting to work with this material. Gods, monsters, flawed heroes, battles, and all the best and worst of human nature, set against an ancient Mediterranean backdrop. It’s a dream project."
Gareth Hinds lives in Watertown, Massachusetts.
More about Gareth Hinds...
Gareth Hinds lives in Watertown, Massachusetts.
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