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Agatha Christie Graphic Novels #9
The Murder at the Vicarage
HardCover. Pub Date :2008-05-20 48 English HarperCollins UK Miss Marple's first case is adapted into the first Miss Marple comic book in this long-awaited adaptation of one of Agatha Christie's most famous novels.Nothing ever happens in the peaceful village of St Mary Mead.So it seems almost incredible when Colonel Protheroe is discovered shot through the head in the vicarage study.Unfortunately for the murderer. there is someone in the village who knows everything. sees everything and hears everything - and she intends to work out who killed the Colonel.Her name is Miss Marple! The Murder at the Vicarage was the book that introduced Miss Marple to the world.Loosely based on Agatha Christies own grandmother. this charming but suspicious old lady was to become the worlds most famous amateur sleuth. and is brought to life in this graphic adaptation ...
48 pages, Hardcover
First published July 4, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
October 16, 2021
A classic murder mystery, retold in French in comic-book form, and then translated back into English. Agatha Christie is durable. This is briskly paced and colorful, and my only complaint is that two characters look so similar that I thought they were the same character.
People wonder how old Miss Marple is. In this book, her phone number is 35.
People wonder how old Miss Marple is. In this book, her phone number is 35.
July 5, 2017
I'm sure this would have been more enjoyable head I read the book first and this were just a fun retelling. As it was, it was okay.
March 3, 2019
I haven't read the source material for this graphic novel, but given the reputation of Agatha Christie I have to assume the fault in this book is in the adaptation. The story is told exclusively through dialog with no narration or story boxes. Even worse, the dialog is brief and often awkward, with scenes ending abruptly and very little flow to the narrative. It's almost unintelligible. The final nail in the coffin is that the artwork is amateurish, especially the faces. Overall, I can't believe this adaptation does justice to the original work. I gave it two stars only because the strength of the original murder mystery does kind of show through eventually, once you reach the end. But the journey is a painful ride.
November 3, 2018
4.5 starts but rounding down in this case. Enjoyable graphics and the feel of the art and style looks very 1920s. Picks up a lot of key plot points without being too obvious about it. Would recommend.
November 27, 2018
I'm sorry but I really didn't enjoy this concept. I feel like it didn't do Agatha Christie novels any justice and I won't be picking up another one of these. I was very excited to find this in the library but was highly disappointed when I started to read it.
February 1, 2018
Was very incoherent. Blaming it on the comic version.
September 26, 2018
This was so bad that I wish there was a rating in the minus to give this terrible illustrated version of Agatha Christie's work the grade it deserves.
March 10, 2019
3.5 stars
October 13, 2020
2008 = £9.99
December 7, 2016
While it is not essential to understanding the story, it will help a great deal if the reader is familiar with the Christie character of Miss Marple. She is a sharp elderly woman that brooks little nonsense, so is able to see through the clutter of distractors and deceptions in order to solve the crime. While she is sometimes fooled, in general it is not for long.
As befits a Christie story, the dialog and context are very British, the buildings and rooms are exactly what one should see in such a story. One can easily imagine the characters delivering their lines with an authentic British accent. The artist resisted all urges that they may have had to change the environment from a small town in Britain. The vintage cars share the roads with horse-drawn carts and all the men are wearing coats and ties.
The story itself does not generate as much tension in this form as it does in standard print form. Some writers excel at leaving the proper amount of visualization of the scenes to the reader and when those images are provided, the delivery is weaker. That is the case here, the story progresses quite naturally from start to end with very little buildup to a climactic revelation.
While most will enjoy the story in this graphic novel form, many will prefer the traditional written version of this classic murder mystery featuring one of the most delightful of heroines. Absent pictures, we all have our own unique mental image of Miss Marple.
As befits a Christie story, the dialog and context are very British, the buildings and rooms are exactly what one should see in such a story. One can easily imagine the characters delivering their lines with an authentic British accent. The artist resisted all urges that they may have had to change the environment from a small town in Britain. The vintage cars share the roads with horse-drawn carts and all the men are wearing coats and ties.
The story itself does not generate as much tension in this form as it does in standard print form. Some writers excel at leaving the proper amount of visualization of the scenes to the reader and when those images are provided, the delivery is weaker. That is the case here, the story progresses quite naturally from start to end with very little buildup to a climactic revelation.
While most will enjoy the story in this graphic novel form, many will prefer the traditional written version of this classic murder mystery featuring one of the most delightful of heroines. Absent pictures, we all have our own unique mental image of Miss Marple.
October 23, 2014
As much as I'd prefer to read this in English, I made do with the Bahasa version since it only cost me 30k rupiahs (I could have bought 5 titles at a time, but due to a lot of exams to be corrected at home, the rest have to wait..).
One thing I noticed, all the panels on the book evoked somber mood, not sure if the illustrator did this on purpose, but as I've followed ITV's version of Miss Marple with all the majesty of sunny colorful English garden and smiling little granny stooping over a dead body, the book is just a teeny weeny too dark for me. Still, I'd be more than happy to get some more of these graphic novels, and hope that the Poirot version is coming along in the future.
The plot evolved around the titular vicarage, with a village vicar and his young wife serving the tiny little village of St. Mary Mead. The richest person in the village happen to be Colonel Protheroe, a much hated person with a much younger wife. In the TV version, the wife's bosomy and can fit into the big and tall wardrobe. In this book, she's tinier and less 'menacing.' So, the Colonel was found dead by the vicar and Miss Marple decided to investigate.
I'm hoping that as this is the first installment of Miss Marple's mystery, the story will only gets better. Not to be missed!
One thing I noticed, all the panels on the book evoked somber mood, not sure if the illustrator did this on purpose, but as I've followed ITV's version of Miss Marple with all the majesty of sunny colorful English garden and smiling little granny stooping over a dead body, the book is just a teeny weeny too dark for me. Still, I'd be more than happy to get some more of these graphic novels, and hope that the Poirot version is coming along in the future.
The plot evolved around the titular vicarage, with a village vicar and his young wife serving the tiny little village of St. Mary Mead. The richest person in the village happen to be Colonel Protheroe, a much hated person with a much younger wife. In the TV version, the wife's bosomy and can fit into the big and tall wardrobe. In this book, she's tinier and less 'menacing.' So, the Colonel was found dead by the vicar and Miss Marple decided to investigate.
I'm hoping that as this is the first installment of Miss Marple's mystery, the story will only gets better. Not to be missed!
August 15, 2016
When a man despised by seemingly the entirety of St Mary Mead is found dead in the vicarage while the vicar is out on a wild goose chase, questions, red herrings and suspects abound. But never fear, Miss Marple is there to shed light on the true culprits.
A graphic novel adaptation of Christie's classic Miss Marple mystery that remains faithful to the basics of the original. I like the artwork in this adaptation better than some others in this series. And I appreciate that the adaptation is done with tact and while murders and affairs are included in the plot, the images are safe enough for middle schoolers. Agatha Christie is hugely popular at our school, so I'm guessing this series I just picked up won't spend much time on the shelves at all because it will be checked out so often. It's a quick read. So if you don't have time to read the whole Christie original novel, this will do for a quick summary.
Notes on content: Maybe one or two minor swear words. No sexual content or decency issues. An affair is mentioned, but only a hug shown. The victim does appear and shows some blood, but it isn't overly gory.
A graphic novel adaptation of Christie's classic Miss Marple mystery that remains faithful to the basics of the original. I like the artwork in this adaptation better than some others in this series. And I appreciate that the adaptation is done with tact and while murders and affairs are included in the plot, the images are safe enough for middle schoolers. Agatha Christie is hugely popular at our school, so I'm guessing this series I just picked up won't spend much time on the shelves at all because it will be checked out so often. It's a quick read. So if you don't have time to read the whole Christie original novel, this will do for a quick summary.
Notes on content: Maybe one or two minor swear words. No sexual content or decency issues. An affair is mentioned, but only a hug shown. The victim does appear and shows some blood, but it isn't overly gory.
September 17, 2016
Ah very entertaining and gripping read! I was hooked, from the first page. I kinda suspected who the murderer was though. Of all places it has to be in the vicarage. It had wonderful accompanying illustration but paired with the wording it was a little hard to follow at times. I do not know whether it was because that was what Christie intended, since I sometimes got confused between between who was who or because the appearances of certain characters were similar. Either way, I hope to read more and perhaps it means I should read and look at the illustrations more carefully? I also hope to read the real novel.
September 11, 2011
I'm reading a lot of "free Friday" books that I've downloaded to my Nook. This is one of them. The narrator is a cleric in a small English village. The small town setting and the narrator reminded me of Father Tim and the Mitford series. Christie kept me guessing as to who the murderer was right up until the end. This was a fun read.
January 9, 2016
I was first amazed to find that there's a graphic novel/comic book of Agatha Christie. Since I was a fan of her, I bought it right away. And I'm curious how it will be if it's converted in comic book.
It was good. The illustrations were good. Concise. But still, I prefer to read the original book. I would like to know more details as if I'm the one also cracking the mystery.
It was good. The illustrations were good. Concise. But still, I prefer to read the original book. I would like to know more details as if I'm the one also cracking the mystery.
January 31, 2016
This graphic novel, which I purchased by mistake, is a nice ‘comic book’ version of the Christie mystery. I’ve read my share of graphic novels and nothing in this one really stands out. However, there is a whole Christie graphic novel series by Norma (aka Norbert Morandiere) so if you’re into collecting such things, this could be an adventure.
December 28, 2016
I didn't realise there were Agatha Christie graphic novels! When I saw this in the library, I knew I had to read it. It was very entertaining, lots of twists and turns. Not my favourite mystery of hers (having said that, I've only read 2!) but I did enjoy it. I liked the art style and I liked the content but I did get a bit confused with the characters.
August 22, 2011
What can be better than the first Jane Marple mystery? Once again, I thought I had this one only to find (once again) I was sadly mistaken.
April 26, 2014
Decent graphic novel version, but if you have time, the proper text is worth it for the tension
April 2, 2015
I just love Miss Marple with her wits, and intuition. :)
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews