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War Of The Worlds
One of the most influential science-fiction novels ever written, H.G. Wells's 'The War of the Worlds' is brought to cinematic life in a modernized adaptation of a story of human survival that will resonate with today's readers, just as the original galvanized its audience over a century ago. Mature.
Paperback
First published May 1, 2005
About the author
Stephen L. Stern
73 books2 followersStephen L. Stern is best known as the writer/creator of the independent comic-book, 'Zen Intergalactic Ninja', which has sold over 3 million copies and spawned two videogames, a line of action figures and many other licensed items. He is also the author of the 'Beowulf', 'A Christmas Carol' and 'War of the Worlds' graphic novels, as well as the author of the official comic-book adaptation of the animated classic, 'Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol.' His current projects include 'Frickin' Butt-Kickin' Zombie Ants' and 'Serving Supes', and his autobiographical graphic novel, 'Majestic Comics', is scheduled for release in 2017. Stern is also the founder of Storyboard Graphic Novels.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 5, 2014
One of the hazards of adapting a classic into graphic novel form is that the format requires abridgement and alteration.
For some odd reason, this adaptation ADDS whole plot lines to the story, which requires even MORE abridgement of the main story. While moved from England to the United States, this version owes more to the Orson Welles radio version, including a brief tip of the hat to the locale of the Welles version.
The real difficulty is that the added plot, about rushing the pregnant wife of one of the characters to the hospital during the crisis, falls flat. Yes, you can care about this one woman and her unborn baby, but the story quite literally rushes past thousands of deaths while getting her to the delivery room. In addition, there's a second subplot involving an autopsy of one of the Martians which thoroughly ruins one of the points of the story, as well as adding an air of implausibility to the science. "Hmmm...this Martian appears to have died of a lung disease, so they'll all drop dead in a few minutes." Yeah, right.
Worst of all, though, is that in this version the humans give the Martians a reason to be so violent. Man shot first. No, really. Full out use of nuclear weapons as the Martian vessels first enter the atmosphere. Never mind how bad an idea that is ["Let's nuke something directly overhead."], but at that point all the humans knew was that the Martians weren't answering human radio signals. How, exactly, were they supposed to know what frequency? And did they speak English?
Look at it this way...the Martians didn't bring a full invasion fleet, but instead what appears to be an armed scientific expedition, with the equipment to "Marsiform" the Earth. They didn't bring a huge military force, or one properly prepared to deal with combat in an unfamiliar environment. If, as in this case, the humans provoke the violence, it changes the whole point of the story. It turns the Martians from evil invaders into the crew of the Enterprise.
Overall, Stern turned in a story that was diminished in power and altered in intent from the Wells original. It's still an exciting story, which is why it earned a second star.
For some odd reason, this adaptation ADDS whole plot lines to the story, which requires even MORE abridgement of the main story. While moved from England to the United States, this version owes more to the Orson Welles radio version, including a brief tip of the hat to the locale of the Welles version.
The real difficulty is that the added plot, about rushing the pregnant wife of one of the characters to the hospital during the crisis, falls flat. Yes, you can care about this one woman and her unborn baby, but the story quite literally rushes past thousands of deaths while getting her to the delivery room. In addition, there's a second subplot involving an autopsy of one of the Martians which thoroughly ruins one of the points of the story, as well as adding an air of implausibility to the science. "Hmmm...this Martian appears to have died of a lung disease, so they'll all drop dead in a few minutes." Yeah, right.
Worst of all, though, is that in this version the humans give the Martians a reason to be so violent. Man shot first. No, really. Full out use of nuclear weapons as the Martian vessels first enter the atmosphere. Never mind how bad an idea that is ["Let's nuke something directly overhead."], but at that point all the humans knew was that the Martians weren't answering human radio signals. How, exactly, were they supposed to know what frequency? And did they speak English?
Look at it this way...the Martians didn't bring a full invasion fleet, but instead what appears to be an armed scientific expedition, with the equipment to "Marsiform" the Earth. They didn't bring a huge military force, or one properly prepared to deal with combat in an unfamiliar environment. If, as in this case, the humans provoke the violence, it changes the whole point of the story. It turns the Martians from evil invaders into the crew of the Enterprise.
Overall, Stern turned in a story that was diminished in power and altered in intent from the Wells original. It's still an exciting story, which is why it earned a second star.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 16, 2010
I must admit that by the time I started reading this I was a tad frustrated. I hadn’t been able to lose myself deeply in a novel for several weeks or more and it was getting to me. Plus I’m a H.G. Wells fan and one of my favourite stories is The War of The Worlds so at the beginning of this one I was already rolling my eyes at it. The first thing I found myself asking in a huff was, ‘Why does this have to be set in modern times, and why is the main character driving a sporty convertible. Why, oh why?’ Yes that’s what I asked myself. I really was not impressed when I came across that very early on, but I forced myself to keep reading even though that had turned me off. You never know when it could turn out differently to what you expect.
To be fair when it comes to the art work, I think I can be a bit spoilt when it comes to reading graphic novels. I never grew up or read a lot of comics, my main exposure has been artsy graphic novels and Heavy Metal magazines so the art is really plain and generic to me. It’s a typical black and white comic art rather than anything else, but in a way that is good because it leaves me to focus more on the story then on the art itself and getting lost. And yet there are some really cool artistic panels in there, mainly the ones that have action instead of dialogue and take up an entire page.
For the rest of my review please check out my blog post.
To be fair when it comes to the art work, I think I can be a bit spoilt when it comes to reading graphic novels. I never grew up or read a lot of comics, my main exposure has been artsy graphic novels and Heavy Metal magazines so the art is really plain and generic to me. It’s a typical black and white comic art rather than anything else, but in a way that is good because it leaves me to focus more on the story then on the art itself and getting lost. And yet there are some really cool artistic panels in there, mainly the ones that have action instead of dialogue and take up an entire page.
For the rest of my review please check out my blog post.
November 11, 2016
As someone that has read the original classic story by Wells several times, I remain impressed with it as true visionary science fiction. It is a story that has established a series of adaptations as well as other stories based on the fundamental premise of an alien invasion. This graphic novel is a modern adaptation of that story, primarily set in the area of New York City in the early twenty-first century.
This book has all the tension of the original, while humans do score some military successes against the Martians, they seem unstoppable until the bacteria win the war. There is a subplot involving a late-term pregnancy that gives it added human interest value.
The image on the cover is a throwback to the days of science fiction pulp magazines. Martian machines are threatening a man and a woman, she is very busty and her top is on the verge of falling down. The scantily clad damsel in distress used to be a standard cover image for many of the science fiction magazines.
When a story is a great one, it can be told in many ways and remain interesting and entertaining. This book is proof that the original story is a great one.
This book has all the tension of the original, while humans do score some military successes against the Martians, they seem unstoppable until the bacteria win the war. There is a subplot involving a late-term pregnancy that gives it added human interest value.
The image on the cover is a throwback to the days of science fiction pulp magazines. Martian machines are threatening a man and a woman, she is very busty and her top is on the verge of falling down. The scantily clad damsel in distress used to be a standard cover image for many of the science fiction magazines.
When a story is a great one, it can be told in many ways and remain interesting and entertaining. This book is proof that the original story is a great one.
May 31, 2015
This is a modernized graphic novel adaptation of HG Wells's classic work.
September 13, 2016
Didnt like the art style and the retelling was flat out boring.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews