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The Circle: The Graphic Novel #3
White: The Great Pursuit
The fate of two worlds hangs in the balance of one man's choices--an unlikely hero who may not survive the next 24 hours. Original.
Paperback
First published October 9, 2007
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464 people want to read
About the author
Ted Dekker
193 books10k followersTed Dekker is known for novels that combine adrenaline-laced stories with unexpected plot twists, unforgettable characters, and incredible confrontations between good and evil. Ted lives in Austin with his wife LeeAnn and their four children.
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
March 16, 2024
A fun graphic novel interpretation of an epic story.
January 28, 2019
It was good to finish the series, despite the fact that it isn’t the end of the series. They improved with each installment; it’s such an epic story though, so I hate that if feels rushed, especially with Thomas and Chelise.
December 22, 2013
A good close-out to this inspirational thriller/urban fantasy series...or is it? >.>
There's definitely a sense of most ends being tied in a satisfying conclusion to the circle trilogy--though there's some obligatory wiggle room left open for plenty of spinoffs or even potential continuation. The allegory angle is still a bit heavy-handed at time, in this reader's personal opinion--and the relational aspects to the comic interpretation can feel a bit rushed. But all in all, there's a pleasing symmetry.
The artwork is just as vivid and well crafted as the previous two, with no trouble in following the panel flow.
There's definitely a sense of most ends being tied in a satisfying conclusion to the circle trilogy--though there's some obligatory wiggle room left open for plenty of spinoffs or even potential continuation. The allegory angle is still a bit heavy-handed at time, in this reader's personal opinion--and the relational aspects to the comic interpretation can feel a bit rushed. But all in all, there's a pleasing symmetry.
The artwork is just as vivid and well crafted as the previous two, with no trouble in following the panel flow.
October 23, 2014
I'm loving Dekker's graphic novels of the circle series. This full length graphic novel was included with the 25th Anniversary edition of the complete novel. From the first page to the last I was hooked. The artwork and dialogue is incredible and pulls you in from the start. I am beginning the novel now, I'm super excited about how this story has turned out. Definitely check it out. Five Stars. Raving for Dekker's genius.
January 29, 2022
2007 was a big year for Other Earth. It’s three years after Ted Dekker’s breakout Circle Trilogy—about a million copies sold—and he’s just about to release the first two in what will eventually become a six-book young adult series that expands the Circle mythos. It only made sense, then, to ride the Other Earth wave into new kinds of media with a graphic novel series.
The Circle Trilogy: Visual Edition was first published in three separate volumes in October 2007, then combined into an omnibus version in December 2009. While the omnibus has the perk of being a hardcover and being one book rather than three, it’s also smaller in size. The originals were printed on large 6.5”x10.25” panels while the omnibus has a smaller
5.5”x8.5”. For general readability, I like the originals better.
I shouldn’t need to say much about the story, but if you aren’t familiar with the novels these comics were adapted from, then check out my reviews here—Black, Red, White. In graphic novel form, there are things that have to go. Each 400+ page book gets trimmed into a 130-page graphic novel. That’s a lot of trimming. Different people on Dekker’s team took on different roles throughout the process. Here are some of the major players:
• Black. Adapted by Bob Strachan and Matthew Hansen; edited by Kevin Kaiser; art by Big Jack Studios.
• Red. Adapted by Matthew Hansen; edited by Kevin Kaiser and Bob Strachan; art by Jack Studios.
• White. Adapted by J.S. Earls and Mike S. Miller; edited by Mike S. Miller and Kevin Kaiser; art by Mike S. Miller.
Some things that you’ll notice immediately just from this list: White has a significantly different team than either Black or Red. I have no details on what predicated that change, but it was a good one. It’s super evident reading the omnibus version that the artistic vision of White is much different—and much better. Looking at the first two volumes, there’s a lot of odd angles and character poses. Body proportions are sometimes, well, comical. The colorists are pretty jarring as well, using some very sharp shading that creates a harsh tone. The characters seem to be always in motion and always hyper-dramatically frustrated. This seems to the doing of lead Big Jack artist, Ig Barros. Notably, while the rest of the Big Jack team worked on the later adaptation of the Lost Books, Barros did not—and a quick look at his other work confirms a long of angular poses with constipated-looking faces.
In White, Mike S. Miller takes over. Mike had previously done work on graphic novels from material written by George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan and worked for both Marvel and DC. Miller takes a much softer tone, making the characters more lifelike, particularly in facial details. Having one artist—someone also involved in the adaptation and editing—seems to have made for a much better product.
In terms of story, Matthew Hansen—current Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics/Dabel Brothers Productions—handled some adaptation duties, before handing over the reigns to J.S. Earls, while Kevin Kaiser handled editing duties. It’s always difficult translating a full-length novel into a relatively short graphic novel and a lot of character depth is missing. To Kaiser’s credit, every major plot point and every major character make an appearance in the graphic novel. There seems to have been an understanding that most readers would be coming from the novels and have a working knowledge of the story. The visual edition is here to add a visual layer to the story, not be its foundation.
Overall, I’d give Black and Red a 2.5 out of 5 and bump White up to a 4. The art of the first two volumes is just really distracting and that’s the whole reason why this version exists. White understands that a bit better, but has the weakest storyline of the three books.
The Circle Trilogy: Visual Edition was first published in three separate volumes in October 2007, then combined into an omnibus version in December 2009. While the omnibus has the perk of being a hardcover and being one book rather than three, it’s also smaller in size. The originals were printed on large 6.5”x10.25” panels while the omnibus has a smaller
5.5”x8.5”. For general readability, I like the originals better.
I shouldn’t need to say much about the story, but if you aren’t familiar with the novels these comics were adapted from, then check out my reviews here—Black, Red, White. In graphic novel form, there are things that have to go. Each 400+ page book gets trimmed into a 130-page graphic novel. That’s a lot of trimming. Different people on Dekker’s team took on different roles throughout the process. Here are some of the major players:
• Black. Adapted by Bob Strachan and Matthew Hansen; edited by Kevin Kaiser; art by Big Jack Studios.
• Red. Adapted by Matthew Hansen; edited by Kevin Kaiser and Bob Strachan; art by Jack Studios.
• White. Adapted by J.S. Earls and Mike S. Miller; edited by Mike S. Miller and Kevin Kaiser; art by Mike S. Miller.
Some things that you’ll notice immediately just from this list: White has a significantly different team than either Black or Red. I have no details on what predicated that change, but it was a good one. It’s super evident reading the omnibus version that the artistic vision of White is much different—and much better. Looking at the first two volumes, there’s a lot of odd angles and character poses. Body proportions are sometimes, well, comical. The colorists are pretty jarring as well, using some very sharp shading that creates a harsh tone. The characters seem to be always in motion and always hyper-dramatically frustrated. This seems to the doing of lead Big Jack artist, Ig Barros. Notably, while the rest of the Big Jack team worked on the later adaptation of the Lost Books, Barros did not—and a quick look at his other work confirms a long of angular poses with constipated-looking faces.
In White, Mike S. Miller takes over. Mike had previously done work on graphic novels from material written by George R.R. Martin and Robert Jordan and worked for both Marvel and DC. Miller takes a much softer tone, making the characters more lifelike, particularly in facial details. Having one artist—someone also involved in the adaptation and editing—seems to have made for a much better product.
In terms of story, Matthew Hansen—current Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics/Dabel Brothers Productions—handled some adaptation duties, before handing over the reigns to J.S. Earls, while Kevin Kaiser handled editing duties. It’s always difficult translating a full-length novel into a relatively short graphic novel and a lot of character depth is missing. To Kaiser’s credit, every major plot point and every major character make an appearance in the graphic novel. There seems to have been an understanding that most readers would be coming from the novels and have a working knowledge of the story. The visual edition is here to add a visual layer to the story, not be its foundation.
Overall, I’d give Black and Red a 2.5 out of 5 and bump White up to a 4. The art of the first two volumes is just really distracting and that’s the whole reason why this version exists. White understands that a bit better, but has the weakest storyline of the three books.
July 22, 2018
Story takes an interesting twist as Tomas of Hunter finds a new love.
May 25, 2020
Great series...great author!
October 26, 2020
AWESOME BOOK! I LOVED IT.
October 14, 2009
Again, just to clarify, this is a review for the graphic novel of Red. If you want to read my review of the regular novel, click here.
Mikil tells Thomas Hunter that she dreamed about Kara Hunter, Thomas' sister from the other world. She tells Thomas that he died there, which explains why he hasn't dreamed about earth in thirteen months. Mikil insists that without his help, the Raison Strain will be released. Thomas remembers the blank book and writes a quick story that ends with Thomas Hunter coming back to life.
In France, Thomas awakes on a gurney with a white sheet draped over him. Not only is he alive, but the blank book of history came with him. This sets off the third and final book in the Circle Trilogy of graphic novels. The race is on for Thomas to try and stop the spread of the Raison Strain from killing all but a select few of the world's population. And in the future world, Thomas falls in love with a scab.
In graphic novel form, this story goes by really quickly, but I felt this third book was easiest to follow for someone unfamiliar with the series. Ted Dekker is brilliant the way he weaves the plots of both worlds together. Thomas knows and loves Elyon and Justin in the future world, and he seeks to find the truth of that same creator on earth. This was the perfect ending to the series. I love Dekker's creativity and pacing. It's non-stop action that comes down to one man's choice to save the world or save himself.
As mentioned in my reviews of the Black and Red graphic novels, White is a bit gory with its fight scenes, but it's a comic book. To read my review of the Black graphic novel, click here. To read my review of the Red graphic novel, click here. Also, check out the interactive Web site for the graphic novel series here: http://www.thecircletrilogy.com/.
Mikil tells Thomas Hunter that she dreamed about Kara Hunter, Thomas' sister from the other world. She tells Thomas that he died there, which explains why he hasn't dreamed about earth in thirteen months. Mikil insists that without his help, the Raison Strain will be released. Thomas remembers the blank book and writes a quick story that ends with Thomas Hunter coming back to life.
In France, Thomas awakes on a gurney with a white sheet draped over him. Not only is he alive, but the blank book of history came with him. This sets off the third and final book in the Circle Trilogy of graphic novels. The race is on for Thomas to try and stop the spread of the Raison Strain from killing all but a select few of the world's population. And in the future world, Thomas falls in love with a scab.
In graphic novel form, this story goes by really quickly, but I felt this third book was easiest to follow for someone unfamiliar with the series. Ted Dekker is brilliant the way he weaves the plots of both worlds together. Thomas knows and loves Elyon and Justin in the future world, and he seeks to find the truth of that same creator on earth. This was the perfect ending to the series. I love Dekker's creativity and pacing. It's non-stop action that comes down to one man's choice to save the world or save himself.
As mentioned in my reviews of the Black and Red graphic novels, White is a bit gory with its fight scenes, but it's a comic book. To read my review of the Black graphic novel, click here. To read my review of the Red graphic novel, click here. Also, check out the interactive Web site for the graphic novel series here: http://www.thecircletrilogy.com/.
September 15, 2011
I just remember being disappointed with the ending and with the explanations behind everything. I don't know whether it was because I didn't understand it (lack of theological knowledge) or because it just didn't make sense, but I didn't like it. The Great Romance thing annoyed me as well as the change between female leads (I like characters to fall in love and stay in love; I don't do well with the idea that there can be more than one true love in a person's life; I guess I expect that most people settle for a decent kind of love rather than an epic one and that in fiction the epic ones should last). I don't mind religious undertones in a book, an allegory isn't a bad thing, but this book really slaps you in the face with the message (even if I didn't understand it all...)
Violence, language and sex are pretty consistent throughout the trilogy.
Violence, language and sex are pretty consistent throughout the trilogy.
August 7, 2012
My wife and my brother spent forever trying to get me to read the Circle Trilogy and though I really wanted to, I happen to be a bit of a slow reader and spend most of my time reading non-fiction. However, I also love to read graphic novels and comic books so when I got around to reading these, I was left in awe.
The Circle Trilogy is an amazing story. I'm sure it's even better as a book, but the graphic novels are great as well and offer amazing art. I don't think I have seen any other writer do such a good job with creating such a powerfully symbolic fantasy/sci-fi story in relation to Jesus. Absolutely awesome, all three of these books.
I don't think there's a graphic novel for Green as of yet, so I may actually have to read that one.
The Circle Trilogy is an amazing story. I'm sure it's even better as a book, but the graphic novels are great as well and offer amazing art. I don't think I have seen any other writer do such a good job with creating such a powerfully symbolic fantasy/sci-fi story in relation to Jesus. Absolutely awesome, all three of these books.
I don't think there's a graphic novel for Green as of yet, so I may actually have to read that one.
December 19, 2012
A sad yet satisfying end to a wonderful series, *White* brings the *Circle Trilogy* graphic novels set to a close with the expected--yet somewhat unexpected--death of Thomas Hunter, who would do whatever it takes to save his friends in both worlds.
I was happy with the way it ended. And, I am very tempted to read more of Ted Dekker's books and graphic novels now, if I can find them at the library after it reopens.
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The one thing that kinda surprised me was how attracted to the Scab leader's daughter, Chelise, that Thomas turned out to be in the fantasy world. But, it all made sense in the story, and it played out pretty nicely, when she "drowned" and became one of the circle members.
I was happy with the way it ended. And, I am very tempted to read more of Ted Dekker's books and graphic novels now, if I can find them at the library after it reopens.
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The one thing that kinda surprised me was how attracted to the Scab leader's daughter, Chelise, that Thomas turned out to be in the fantasy world. But, it all made sense in the story, and it played out pretty nicely, when she "drowned" and became one of the circle members.
July 22, 2011
The last book in the circle triology. I loved the way it ended. Endings are VERY important to me! If a book doesn't end in the way I feel it should, I have a hard time enjoying the whole book! I loved the way the circle series ended. The whole series is very interesting.
Read
July 5, 2010F DEK circle bk.3
April 16, 2011
on to Green.........
May 29, 2015
Matched my imagination, while providing a new look about things.
June 13, 2014
Rating: 4.5/5
Review coming soon.
Review coming soon.
February 1, 2012
You can read my full review here: http://knowitnotsomuch.blogspot.com/2...
July 22, 2015
I just couldn't...
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews