Great Expectations: Manga Classics
Registered by 
GoryDetails
of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 6/27/2017
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
GoryDetails of Nashua, New Hampshire USA on 6/27/2017 This Book is Currently in the Wild!
2 journalers for this copy...
I got this softcover at Barnes and Noble today. I've enjoyed others in this manga-adaptations-of-classics series.
I first read the original novel - or excerpts from same - in high school, and don't recall liking it much, but a re-read a couple of years back impressed me much more. Lots of atmosphere and suspense, quite a bit of humor, especially regarding the classic helpful-Dickensian-sidekick Wemmick, with his tiny house-with-moat and cannon on the roof (did that inspire the scene in "Mary Poppins"?). The death-masks in Jaggers' office, the crumbling wedding-cake at Miss Haversham's, the gradual change in Pip's relationship with Magwitch...
This adaptation includes a great many plot-points that are usually dropped from screen adaptations, and while it does leave out a few of my favorite bits - Wemmick's house, for example - it does justice to the friendships Pip has forged with Herbert and Wemmick, and to his growth from a lonely child to a spoiled youth to a responsible man.
The artwork's generally good, though I think it misses the mark here and there: Joe Gargery is drawn as a bishounen, for one thing, which doesn't quite fit. And some of the more grisly scenes - usually involving Miss Havisham - aren't quite as in-depth as I'd have liked. But we get the full plot with all its secret relationships, long-hidden villains, last-minute rescues, and heart-wrenching conclusion. I liked the adaptation notes, too, which explained some of the choices, including that regarding which ending to use - Dickens helpfully provided two {wry grin}.
[This has been the inspiration for several films and mini-series; the 1946 film is a sentimental favorite of mine, the first one I saw. I wasn't too fond of the 1998 modern-day adaptation, but some of the mini-series versions look good.]
[There's a TV Tropes page on the novel and some of its adaptations.]
I first read the original novel - or excerpts from same - in high school, and don't recall liking it much, but a re-read a couple of years back impressed me much more. Lots of atmosphere and suspense, quite a bit of humor, especially regarding the classic helpful-Dickensian-sidekick Wemmick, with his tiny house-with-moat and cannon on the roof (did that inspire the scene in "Mary Poppins"?). The death-masks in Jaggers' office, the crumbling wedding-cake at Miss Haversham's, the gradual change in Pip's relationship with Magwitch...
This adaptation includes a great many plot-points that are usually dropped from screen adaptations, and while it does leave out a few of my favorite bits - Wemmick's house, for example - it does justice to the friendships Pip has forged with Herbert and Wemmick, and to his growth from a lonely child to a spoiled youth to a responsible man.
The artwork's generally good, though I think it misses the mark here and there: Joe Gargery is drawn as a bishounen, for one thing, which doesn't quite fit. And some of the more grisly scenes - usually involving Miss Havisham - aren't quite as in-depth as I'd have liked. But we get the full plot with all its secret relationships, long-hidden villains, last-minute rescues, and heart-wrenching conclusion. I liked the adaptation notes, too, which explained some of the choices, including that regarding which ending to use - Dickens helpfully provided two {wry grin}.
[This has been the inspiration for several films and mini-series; the 1946 film is a sentimental favorite of mine, the first one I saw. I wasn't too fond of the 1998 modern-day adaptation, but some of the mini-series versions look good.]
[There's a TV Tropes page on the novel and some of its adaptations.]
I'm putting this book in the manga/graphic novel bookbox, which will be on its way to its next stop soon. Enjoy!
Taken from the manga box.
Firstly, I have to admit that despite starting Great Expectations multiple times, I've never actually successfully finished it, so I am probably not a good judge of this book from an adaptation POV.
Over all, my impression of this comic was that it was decent, but there was really nothing that impressed me. The art was competently executed, but bland and often static-looking, without particularly striking character design, layout, or pacing. The overall tone seemed tilted towards lighter "thwarted romance drama" with a focus on Pip's crush on Estella, which didn't really seem like a good fit for the more somber parts of the novel I've read.
I finished it, but felt little interest in what I was reading. Hopefully it will be more enjoyed by the next reader.
Over all, my impression of this comic was that it was decent, but there was really nothing that impressed me. The art was competently executed, but bland and often static-looking, without particularly striking character design, layout, or pacing. The overall tone seemed tilted towards lighter "thwarted romance drama" with a focus on Pip's crush on Estella, which didn't really seem like a good fit for the more somber parts of the novel I've read.
I finished it, but felt little interest in what I was reading. Hopefully it will be more enjoyed by the next reader.
Journal Entry 5 by emmejo at Little Free Library #47780 - 336 S Geneva St. in Ithaca, New York USA on Saturday, December 2, 2017
Released 6 yrs ago (12/1/2017 UTC) at Little Free Library #47780 - 336 S Geneva St. in Ithaca, New York USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Added to the Little Free Library
