Gawain and the Green Knight – review

Adapted by: MD Penman and John Reppion

This is a really lovely adaptation of Gawain and the Green Knight. 

If you’re unfamiliar with the story, this is one of the weirder Arthurian legends and there are definite Pagan undercurrents here. If you’re looking for stranger and more supernatural aspects of Arthurian myth, this is well worth your time.

I’m not going to spoiler the story here, but if you’re curious it is easy to find online.

I love the art style MD Penman has used here – the whole comic is black, white, red and green following the style of the cover. The use of colours in the storytelling is really effective. The separation of the world of Arthur’s court and knights from the wild, unsettling nature of The Green Knight is handled so well.  The whole approach to the visual storytelling is engaging, balancing between sinister and playful, familiar and uncanny.

Quite some years ago, I had a pop at turning this story into a small play. It’s a curious thing to try and adapt, and I think John Reppion has done a superb job of that. This is a lean script that doesn’t miss anything important. At the same time, the text captures the cadence of the older writing while being totally accessible to a modern reader. You can thrust this into the hands of eager teens and expect them to be fine with it. 

There’s a charming introduction from Alan Moore, and some interesting end notes which will be helpful to anyone new to the story.

For anyone who is into both Arthur and comics, this is a must have.

https://www.moorereppion.com/greenknight/