The Graveyard Book Graphic Novel: Volume 1

by Neil Gaiman, P. Craig Russell (Illustrator)

Overview

The first paperback edition of the glorious two-volume, full-color graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman's #1 New York Times bestselling and Newbery Medal-winning novel The Graveyard Book.

Inventive, chilling, and filled with wonder, Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book reaches new heights in this stunning adaptation, now in paperback. Artists Kevin Nowlan, P. Craig Russell, Tony Harris, Scott Hampton, Galen Showman, Jill Thompson, and Stephen B. Scott lend their own signature styles to create an imaginatively diverse and yet cohesive interpretation of Neil Gaiman's luminous novel.

Volume One contains Chapter One through the Interlude, while Volume Two includes Chapter Six to the end.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062194824
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	09/08/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	69,093
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Neil Gaiman is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of books for children and adults whose award-winning titles include Norse Mythology, American Gods, The Graveyard Book, Good Omens (with Terry Pratchett), Coraline, and The Sandman graphic novels. Neil Gaiman is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNHCR and Professor in the Arts at Bard College.

P. Craig Russell lives in Kent, Ohio, and has spent forty years producing graphic novels, comic books, and illustrations. He is well-known for his graphic novel adaptations of Neil Gaiman's Coraline and Sandman: The Dream Hunters, as well as his Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde series. His work ranges from such mainstream titles as Batman, Star Wars, and Conan to adaptations of classic operas and a Jungle Book series. He has won several Harvey and Eisner Awards.

P. Craig Russell lives in Kent, Ohio, and has spent forty years producing graphic novels, comic books, and illustrations. He is well-known for his graphic novel adaptations of Neil Gaiman's Coraline and Sandman: The Dream Hunters, as well as his Fairy Tales of Oscar Wilde series. His work ranges from such mainstream titles as Batman, Star Wars, and Conan to adaptations of classic operas and a Jungle Book series. He has won several Harvey and Eisner Awards.

Hometown:

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Date of Birth:

November 10, 1960

Place of Birth:

Portchester, England

Education:

Attended Ardingly College Junior School, 1970-74, and Whitgift School, 1974-77

Website:

http://www.neilgaiman.com

Editorial Reviews

” [A] lovely, lyrical adaptation...Fans of Gaiman’s delightfully macabre sensibilities will be elated.

Booklist (starred review)

★ 05/19/2014
As he did with Coraline, Russell makes the recasting of Gaiman’s Newbery-winning novel into graphic form look easy with this vastly entertaining adaptation, first in a two-book set (the second volume is due in late September). Russell conceives the look and layout of the graveyard world inhabited by Bod (short for “Nobody”), the infant who has escaped his family’s murderer; six artists, including Kevin Nowlan, Stephen B. Scott, Galen Showman, and Jill Thompson, contribute a chapter apiece. The overall effect is remarkably unified, and the thread of the narrative is always crystal-clear. Bod’s devoted adoptive parents, the ghosts Mr. and Mrs. Owens, and the other graveyard inhabitants are dressed in evocative period costumes and drawn in ethereal blue, while Bod’s teacher and mentor Silas, about whose status the book was coy, is revealed as a vampire, with a splendid cape and a chiseled jawline. The artwork sets out to entertain rather than to horrify; even the initial murder scene has a certain tranquility. It’s a treasure worth having even if the novel is already on the shelf. Ages 8–12. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

The delights here are many.

NPR

07/01/2014
Gr 5 Up—The award-winning tale about an orphaned boy raised in a graveyard by ghosts is successfully adapted for the graphic novel format by Russell and his cadre of artists. The arresting opening image of a bloody knife sets the tone for this sometimes gory, but often playful, illustrated version. A toddler's family is murdered by a mysterious stranger, and the denizens of the neighboring cemetery (ie. ghosts, vampires, and even a werewolf-type creature) take on the responsibility of being his caretakers. Renamed Nobody "Bod" Owens, the inquisitive boy grows up among the specters, making friends with a human girl, and escaping from several brushes with death. The panel's dark blues, grays, and purples are punctuated with vibrant greens, yellows, and crimson red. Each chapter is illustrated by an artist or two, who in turn infuse the entry with their own technique, while reflecting the story's original heart and atmosphere. Especially successful is the "The Hounds of God" section, illustrated by Tony Harris and Scott Hampton, which observant readers will note undergoes subtle shifts between the graveyard and the Ghoul kingdom. While some of the original's subtlety is lost, this adaptation still celebrates friendship, loyalty, and family with similar humor and aplomb. The concluding interlude segues eerily into the next volume, for which middle graders will anxiously be waiting.—Shelley Diaz, School Library Journal

School Library Journal

2014-03-31
Russell is a brave man. He was willing to cut the very first sentence of Gaiman's Newbery-winning novel, even though it's one of the most memorable lines in children's literature: "There was a hand in the darkness, and it held a knife." By cutting out most of the descriptive text in this first of a two-part adaptation, Russell calls attention to the drama and wit of the language in each sentence. His graphic storytelling is faster-paced than the original book, but it's always faithful, and a few readers may even prefer this version. Though he shares illustration duties with a team of graphic-novel luminaries—every artist gets a favorite monster or creature to draw—Russell's fans will recognize his elegant, distinctive layouts even in the chapters he didn't illustrate himself. The pictures also clarify one plot point. The original book was amusingly coy about whether a character named Silas was a vampire, but here he's given the full Bela Lugosi treatment, and it's beautiful. In Kevin Nowlan's drawings, he has impossibly high cheekbones and a face like pale stone. One scene has even more impact than in the original: Ghosts join hands with the living and begin to dance, and readers see every dancer in the square. The real achievement of this adaptation is that readers will want to jump back to the novel and then leap back again, time after time. (Graphic adaptation. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews

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