"The Stories of Edgar Allan Poe" (Manga Classics) by Stacy King, et al

My kids are getting old enough to not be too creeped out by classic horror stories anymore (at least, so they claim), so I've finally pulled out a few Manga Classics titles that I had avoided until now.  Including this one!  (I knew once I read them, they'd demand to read them, so I just had to bide my time.  Mom life, yo.)

This volume has four stories and one poem, all by Edgar Allan Poe.  Each one was illustrated by a different artist, but all were adapted by Stacy King.  The stories and illustrators are:

"The Tell-Tale Heart," art by Virginia-Nitouhei -- this one was appropriately weird, and I liked how some of the angles of the artwork made me think of film noir.

"The Cask of Amontillado," art by Chagen -- I love this short story, but I feel like this retelling could have been a bit cooler and darker.  Maybe it just paled in comparison to the excellent weirdness of the previous piece.

"The Raven," art by pikomaro -- Really, really, really well done.  This has the full text of the original poem and brings it to live with wonderful vividness.

"The Masque of the Red Death," art by Uka Nagao -- another favorite short story of mine, and I think they brought this one to life quite well.

"The Fall of the House of Usher," art by Linus Liu -- never been a favorite of mine, and I feel like this retelling rushed things a little bit, at the expense of the suspense.

Overall, this was super enjoyable, and not as gruesome as I feared it might be.  Definitely less scary than the stroll we took through the Halloween costume section of Party City yesterday :-b

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13.  Nothing toooooo gross or graphic, nothing smutty, no bad language... but definitely creepy on purpose.

This is my 25th book read from my TBR stacks for the 2024 Mount TBR Reading Challenge.

"Best Shot in the West: The Adventures of Nat Love" by Patricia C. McKissack and Frederick L. McKissack Jr., illustrated by Randy DuBurke

What a fun and engaging way to present the life of "Deadwood Dick," also known as Nat Love, one of the Old West's premiere cowboys!  This fast-paced graphic novel presents Nat Love's life and adventures in a way that mixes the flavor of tall tales with a healthy dollop of facts.  It's written as if an aging Nat Love is writing down his experiences for a newspaperman, which is a fun way to frame the stories, especially since they are all taken from Love's autobiography.

Is this a 100% factual biography?  Nope, and it doesn't pretend to be.  The authors acknowledge that, while historians are pretty sure Love embellished some of his adventures, there are quite a few that have been verified by outside sources.  Instead of trying to sort the totally true from the exaggerated, they simply picked a nice collection that showcase the diversity of Love's adventures.

Nat Love was born into slavery in Tennessee in 1854.  He left home in his mid-teens and went west, working as a cowboy for twenty years and gaining fame for his prowess as a horse-breaker and bronc rider, as well as his skill with a rope and gun.  If you want to learn more about him, I wrote an article about Love for the Prairie Times a few years ago, which you can read online here.  Or you can find a copy of this graphic novel and read that!

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for a little rough language and some mild mentions of violence.

"The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" (Manga Classics) by Mark Twain (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Kuma Chan (art)

Another winsome Manga Classics edition!  While I have never cared as much for Huck's book as for Tom Sawyer's, I really enjoyed reading this manga.  The pacing was wonderful, the characterization was thoughtful, and the artwork was charming.  

They included much of the original language of Twain's novel, so be aware there are words and racial slurs used here that may offend some people -- but the manga team make a point of explaining that the reason they included them is the same reason Twain originally used them: to show the cruel thoughtlessness of racism.  Huck spends a great time grappling with the fact that he's been taught all his life it's wrong to help a slave escape... but he eventually decides he's just going to have to give up trying to be good if it means stopping Jim from escaping slavery.  He doesn't realize it, but he's learning to follow his God-given conscience instead of society's dictates, and they bring that through so eloquently here!

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for a lot of racial slurs, some mild cursing, and some violence.

This has been my #32nd book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.

"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer" (Manga Classics) by Mark Twain (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Kuma Chan (art)

I have loved Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn ever since I was in single digits and read the Great Illustrated Classics abridged versions of their books.  I later read the actual books by Twain, repeatedly, and very much enjoyed them, especially The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.  So I was fully prepared to relish this Manga Classics edition... and I did!  It was just the right blend of childhood fun and mischief, adventure, and frolicsome fun.  I can't wait to read their version of Huck's story.

This was a perfect summertime read!  Also, it's really cool how the cover for this one and for The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn fit together to make one whole map and picture.  You'll see what I mean if you search online for their covers.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for a couple of mild curse words and racial slurs that are used in the original book.  

This is my 31st book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream: Modern English Edition" (Manga Classics) by William Shakespeare (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), Michael Barltrop (modern English adaptation), and Po Tse (art)

You know what?  I am just going to have to accept the fact that I really don't enjoy the story of A Midsummer Night's Dream.  I get very frustrated with every single character at various points, except Helena.  I actively dislike most of them, actually.  And I don't like Helena enough to want to suffer through the rest of the story just for her.  Unless it's the 1935 movie version, which I enjoy enough for the cast to watch it once in a great while.

However, the artwork is really fun and cute in this Manga Classics edition, so I didn't suffer too much reading it.  I did put it down for like two months because I was so annoyed by everyone, though.  But I finished it at last, whew.  I thought they did a good job translating Shakespeare into modern English, and they even replaced most of his bawdier jokes with more kid-friendly ones.  There's one moment where a character alludes to someone being upset whenever women refuse to open their thighs, but that's the only skanky spot, and it's pretty mild.

Not going to be a manga I reread, but it is very pretty, so there's that.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate it: PG-10 for the above bawdy reference and for two or three old-fashioned cuss words.

This is my 27th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023.

"The Jungle Book" (Manga Classics) by Rudyard Kipling (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Julien Choy (artwork)

I absolutely love All the Mowgli Stories by Rudyard Kipling, but it's been probably a couple decades since I read just The Jungle Book.  So this was a fun way to re-experience the non-Mowgli stories from that.  In fact, my favorite in this Manga Classics edition ended up being one of the non-Mowgli stories!

My favorite Jungle Book character has always been Bagheera, the great black panther.  I didn't mind his portrayal as a character here, but his artwork made him too round-faced and cute for my taste.  Not quite cat-like enough, I guess.  

The three Mowgli stories here are "Mowgli's Brothers," "Kaa's Hunting," and "Tiger! Tiger!"  I liked their treatment of "Kaa's Hunting" the best, but all three were quite fun.  Some of the action scenes in "Tiger! Tiger!" were particularly good.

I've always found "The White Seal" and "Her Majesty's Servants" kind of boring, and I'm afraid they were here too.  Likewise, I've never connected well with "Toomai of the Elephants," though all the elephant artwork here is splendid.

The absolute standout here, for me, is "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi."  The story is told as a full-blown action-hero sort of story, which was completely perfect and delightful and adorable.  

Rikki-Tikki himself is drawn as the absolute cutest mongoose... but when he fights, he goes kind of Wolverine from the X-men and leaps fiercely into battle with these monstrous snakes, claws out.  Really wonderful stuff.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for danger and peril, violence, and death.  Probably too scary for very little kids.

This has been my 4th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2023

"Les Miserables" (Manga Classics) by Victor Hugo (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and SunNeko Lee (artwork)

The Manga Classics team did a remarkable job of paring down Victor Hugo's massive, rambling novel into a manga under 350 pages.  If you're familiar with the musical, you'll probably like a lot of the streamlining they did, as it's pretty similar to the musical.  They glossed over Fantine's final resorts to earn money in a tasteful way, enough so that I'll let my tween daughters read it.

I don't have lots to say about this one.  It presents Jean Valjean's journey from being released from prison to falling back into thievery, to repentance and reformation, to running from Inspector Javert over and over, to adopting orphaned Cosette and seeing her fall in love with a revolution-leaning lawyer named Marius, and so on.

I did feel that some of the artwork, especially Jean Valjean, reminded me of Nokman Poon's art for the Manga Classics Great Expectations and Count of Monte Cristo, and not so much like SunNeko Lee's art for their Jane Eyre... and then, I discovered at the back of the book that Nokman Poon served as the Chief Art Assistant here!  So that was kind of cool.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for depictions of poverty, theft, violence toward a child, men taunting a woman, and revolutionary violence that is pretty bloodless but does include a child's death.

This has been my 65th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022!!!

"Great Expectations" (Manga Classics) by Charles Dickens (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Nokman Poon (art)

I read the full Great Expectations twenty-some years ago because I was all excited that the BBC made a movie version starring Ioan Gruffudd in 1999.  My family didn't have cable, so I didn't get to watch that version, but I did buy the book and read it.  And didn't like it much, to be honest.  So much so that I STILL haven't seen the version starring Ioan Gruffudd even though he's one of my favorite actors to this day.

I will not deny that I got this Manga Classics version hoping that I would like it enough that it would prompt me to actually, finally watch that BBC movie.  And I think it did the trick!  I read this whole thing in one afternoon, and I think I really have a good grasp of the story now, so I'm eager to watch the 1999 movie.  It feels like a good sort of story to experience in the fall, doesn't it?

Like all the other Manga Classics I've been reading over the past few months, this book really brings out the story in an understandable and enjoyable way.  The art by Nokman Poon was alternately charming and creepy, as befits the story.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for a couple old-fashioned cuss words, lots of creepy spiderwebs and stuff for the Miss Havisham scenes, and some violent parts involving escaped convicts.  Like the other Manga Classics, it's intended for middle school on up.

This is my 44th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Hamlet" (Manga Classics) by William Shakespeare (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Julien Choy (art)

There are two options to read this play in the Manga Classics series.  One is to read it in the original language, and the other is to read it in a more modern adaptation.  I chose the original language edition, so that's what I'm reviewing here.

This book is breathtaking.  The art is just gorgeous -- crisp and moody, atmospheric and alluring.  And the story is "staged" very nicely, suiting the actions to the words in ways that made the story come to life.  

Like the other Manga Classics I've read this summer, I handed this off to my kids when I was done with it.  All three of them have read the Usborne graphic novel of Hamlet, so they knew the basics of the story already, and who the characters were.  My 14-yr-old son and 12-yr-old daughter both read this whole manga, and they did ask me a lot of questions about archaic words, but they did not have trouble understanding the story.  My 12-yr-old daughter read part of it and decided it was too creepy and weird, so she stopped reading.  I agree with her that the Ghost is quite creepy -- he's supposed to be, but I understand why she would object.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for containing the original curse words, accusations of marital infidelity, and violence.  It's not filled with gore, but the deaths at the end do involve some blood spatter.  Which is black and white, and cartoony, but still might not be acceptable for some readers.

This is the 40th book I've read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Sense and Sensibility" (Manga Classics) by Jane Austen (original story), Stacy King (story adaptation), and Po Tse (art)

This is my favorite of the Jane Austen books from Manga Classics.  They didn't let the actual point of the book slide the way they did with Emma, and they didn't have anyone calling anyone else by an anachronistically incorrect name the way they did in Pride and Prejudice.  The artwork was awesome, and the storytelling was spot on.

I really loved how they used hairstyles to highlight the personality differences between Elinor and Marianne.  Marianne has loose, flowing, sometimes untamed hair, while Elinor's is always pulled into a well-contained bun.  That really suited them, and I enjoyed learning from the afterword that Po Tse deliberately designed their hairstyles to represent them in exactly that way!

I wish that this series would do Austen's other three major novels, too.  It looks like right now, they're focusing on releasing modern language versions of the Shakespeare titles in their stable, but maybe they'll return to Austen one day?

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G.  They did portray young Eliza as pregnant, but they did not mention in writing how Willoughby had dishonored her, so younger readers probably won't be shocked or confused by that.  Like the others, though, this would probably be more of interest to tweens and up rather than children, anyway.

This has been my 37th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Pride and Prejudice" (Manga Classics) by Jane Austen (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Po Tse (art)

Like the Manga Classics version of Emma, this book updates a lot of the language from the original book, presumably to make it more understandable and accessible to kids these days.  I don't have an issue with that.  This isn't pretending to be an illustrated edition of the original book, but a manga adaptation.  However, I do have one issue with this aspect of this book:  Elizabeth Bennet constantly calls Mr. Darcy just plain "Darcy."  Aloud, in her head, to his face, all of it.  And that annoyed me a LOT.  It might not bother you at all, but it bothered me.

Aside from that, this is a completely adorable book.  In particular, the chibi version of Mrs. Bennet that cropped up whenever she was upset or excited was super duper cute!  I really liked the artwork, and I thought they brought the book to life very well, over all.

But it's not okay to call Mr. Darcy just plain "Darcy."  It's not.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G.  They glide genteelly over the reasons why Wickham and Lydia running away together are a problem, while not understating how terribly this affects the other Bennet girls.  Quite delicately handled.

This is the 34th book I've read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Emma" (Manga Classics) by Jane Austen (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Po Tse (art)

This was sweet and fluffy and fun, but I think the adapters here may have lost some of the deeper meaning contained within Austen's original.  I don't think they show Emma maturing as much here as she does there, in other words.  Actually, this has inspired me to want to reread the original, so that's pretty cool :-)

If they don't portray Emma's maturing from a judgmental and meddlesome young lady to a kinder and more contented young lady, that might partly be because the Emma here starts out fairly nice and kind and sweet.  Which makes the whole manga light and enjoyable, and that is not all bad.  I suspect my ten-year-old is going to love it.

The language feels more updated and modern than in the previous Manga Classics I've read, which was a little jarring, but I was mostly okay with it.  

This is a minor quibble, but I really disliked the goatee they gave Mr. Knightley.  It looked like a villain's goatee from a cartoon, and I was not a fan.  

(Mine from my Instagram account)

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: G for clean and unobjectionable.

This has been the 32nd book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Jane Eyre" (Manga Classics) by Charlotte Bronte (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and SunNeko Lee (art)

These Manga Classics were so perfect for me in the first days of recovering from my broken arm!  They held my attention that was sometimes really drifty thanks to pain meds, and I could read them in little chunks as my awakeness permitted.

Since Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte is my favorite novel, I was prepared to be picky about this adaptation.  But I was also prepared to be charmed.  Happily, I was mostly charmed!  They really captured the essence of the characters so well -- Jane is valiant but yearning, Rochester is mercurial but kind, and St. John Rivers is cheerless and misguided.  

Best of all, they did not glide over the twin turning points that Bronte hinges her story on -- that Rochester repents of his former ways and attitudes and asks God to help him do better, and that Jane stops relying on her own strength and intelligence and asks God to guide her.  It's those two moments that combine to make the happy ending possible, but filmmakers almost never get that right, which means that this manga is superior to most filmed versions of Jane Eyre, imho.

(Mine from my Instagram)

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for mild depictions of a madwoman, mentions that Mr. Rochester had mistresses and lovers before he met Jane, and speculation that Adele may be his daughter.  My youngest is 10, and I'm letting her read this, but I don't know if I would give it to younger kids.

This has been my 30th book read from my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022

"The Count of Monte Cristo" (Manga Classics) by Alexandre Dumas (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Nokman Poon (art)

This manga blew me away.  Particularly the artwork by Nokman Poon.  I mean, the Anne of Green Gables in this series was super cute, but this retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo is fabulous.  The artwork in particular is magnificent.  Sometimes, I would stop reading and just bask in the glorious art.

The original book is my second-favorite novel of all time (you can read my review of it here), so I had high expectations for this manga.  And it did not disappoint.  At all.  They included nearly all the parts I consider necessary and portrayed nearly all the characters in ways that absolutely delighted me -- there was not enough of Grandfather Noitier's beautiful relationship with his granddaughter, but that's my only real quibble.  As soon as I finished reading this, I handed it to my kids, who all took turns devouring it too!

(My favorite page...)

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate it: PG for plot points involving poison, illegitimate babies, attempted infanticide, kidnapping, dueling, and murder.  They're handled delicately, but I probably wouldn't give this to a kid under 10.

(Mine from my Instagram account)

This has been my 29th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"Anne of Green Gables" (Manga Classics) by L. M. Montgomery (original story), Crystal S. Chan (story adaptation), and Kuma Chan (art)

I am enchanted by this manga version of Anne of Green Gables. So enchanted that I can't wait to read more in the Manga Classics series!  And this one has definitely found a home on our shelves.

Obviously, this is an abridgement of the original text.  There are a few chapters that only get one or two pages in this, Crystal S. Chan sets forth all the really key parts in loving detail.  Anne driving through the White Way of Delight for the first time?  Check.  Anne flying into a rage when Mrs. Rachel Lynde twits her about her looks?  Check.  Anne breaking a slate over Gilbert's head?  Check.  And so on.

Kuma Chan's artwork is completely adorable.  Every few pages, I would just stop and marvel at the sweetness and cuteness.  It is every bit as charming as it ought to be.

Now that I've read it myself, I've passed it on to my kids, and my ten-year-old read the whole thing in a little over an hour this afternoon.  She also completely loved it, and she is begging me to get some Manga Classics that retell Jane Austen books.  So look for more reviews of this series to come, because you know I have a great fondness for Jane Austen!

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  G.  Absolutely clean and wholesome.

This has been my 24th book read off my TBR shelves for #TheUnreadShelfProject2022.

"The Storm in the Barn" by Matt Phelan

I absolutely love Matt Phelan's graphic novel Snow White, so when I spotted The Storm in the Barn at the used book store, I had to have it.  And it did not disappoint.

The story centers around a boy named Jack growing up during the Dust Bowl in Kansas, 1937.  It's been years since any rain fell on the Great Plains, and his whole life seems to be covered in dust.  The faces on these pages are hopeless, desperate, and lost.  Well, most of them.  Jack has a sister who suffers from "dust pneumonia" but remains a bright, happy girl.

One day, Jack thinks he sees something weird in a neighbor's abandoned barn.  A bright flash of soundless light.  Eventually, he investigates.  Eventually, he discovers a being that could solve... not all his problems, but maybe some of them.  Maybe, if Jack is brave enough, he can at least bring some hope back to his world.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG for mild bad language and somewhat scary images like the one on the cover.

This is my 30th book read off my TBR shelves this year for #TheUnreadShelfChallenge2021.

"Black Heroes of the Wild West" by James Otis Smith

This is a fantastic book!  It tells the stories of three Black Americans and their real-life adventures in the Wild West.  And it does it in a graphic-novel-like style that is engaging and fun.  I found it at the library and might just have to pick up a copy to add to my homeschooling history shelves.

The three heroes it features are "Stagecoach Mary" Fields, Bass Reeves, and Bob Lemmons.  I actually got this from the library because I'm working on an article about Mary Fields for my next Prairie Times column, and I thought this was going to be just a standard biography, text and maybe a few illustrations.  But nope!  Full-color, fully illustrated little biographies.  AND it has real photographs here and there of actual Black cowboys and pioneers.  AND it has a six pages at the end about other famous Black westerners.  Yup, I really think I'm going to need a copy of my own.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG because it does include some violence and a tense moment or two, albeit non-gory and brief.

Manga Shakespeare "Hamlet" adapted by Richard Appignanesi, illustrated by Emma Vieceli

Occasionally, I find a graphic novel version of Hamlet that I haven't read before.  Or, as in this case, my husband finds one for me :-)  I've read at least three others -- maybe I ought to do a post here comparing them sometime.

This one is set in the future.  The prologue says, "The year is 2107.  Global climate change has devastated the Earth.  This is now a cyberworld in constant dread of war.  Prince Hamlet of Denmark has come home to face an uncertain future..."  By setting it in a futuristic cyberworld, they were able to emphasize the "truth vs. illusion" aspects of this story really well, I thought.  What's real, and what is someone just trying to convince you of via lies and trickery?

I found some of the trappings a little weird -- people have ports like headphone jacks in their bodies that they can plug what are basically USB drives into to exchange information, rather than reading letters, and so on.  Also, Hamlet had two ports like that in one of his arms, but they never got used or explained.  Hmm.

They used the original text, in abbreviated form, and chopped up/rearranged only a few lines, rather than paraphrasing.

The artwork was good, if you like manga.  I don't love the manga style, but I don't hate it either.  It was all black-and-white except for a semi-colored Dramatis Personae at the front of the book.  They didn't play up the sexier aspects of the story much, so I'm going to let my 12-yr-old read this now that I've finished it.

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It: PG-13 for scary images (ghosts and skulls, y'all) and violence.

This is my 20th book read for #theunreadshelfproject2020 -- I'm halfway to my goal of 40 books read from my TBR shelves this year!

"The Graveyard Book" Graphic Novel Adaptation by Neil Gaiman & P. Craig Russell

You might recall how much I loved The Graveyard Book earlier this year.  Probably my favorite new read in all of 2019 thus far.  Well, when I was buying a copy of my very own, I discovered that there's also a graphic novel adaptation of it!  And I happen to love good graphic novels, so I bought that too, mostly because I liked how they drew Silas on the front cover.

It rocks!  They kept a lot of my favorite lines, the whole story unspools just as delightfully in this format as in the novel, and yeah... I could not be more pleased with it.

They even included the line about Silas not eating bananas.  I am weirdly in love with that line.  "Silans consumed only one food, and it was not bananas" (p. 24).  I do not know why that line delights me so much -- I think it's because it strikes me as the funniest way ever of saying, "This guy is a vampire."  It cracks me up.  I can't even think it in my head without grinning.

In fact, I liked this graphic novel so much that I took about two months to read it because I was savoring it as much as I could.  I got the single-volume edition that has the whole book in it, and it's satisfyingly heavy and substantial and... beautiful.  I have hugged it.

(Mine from Instagram)

If This was a Movie, I Would Rate It:  PG-13 for scary scenes involving demons, ghosts, witches, and a creepy murderer who tries to kill a baby.

"Snow White" by Matt Phelan

Does it ever happen to you where someone mentions a book, and you're like, "Whoa, that could be cool!" and then you get it... and it is way cooler than you could possibly have imagined?  And then you love it so much, you re-read it immediately.  And then you re-read it again quick before you have to take it back to the library.

Yeah, that's totally what happened with this book, for me.  Someone in the Rooglewood Fairy Tale Contest Facebook Group mentioned this graphic novel that turned the Snow White story into a noir story set in the 1930s, and I was like, "I MUST READ THIS."  And the library had it!  So I got it.  And I read it.  And now I've read it three times, and I want my own copy.  Because wow, it is just brilliant.

I was going to scan in some of my favorite panels, but then I found the official book trailer on YouTube, and it has so many of the good ones that I'm just sharing that here instead.

See?  It's no wonder I fell in love with this book.

If This was Actually a Movie Instead of Me Just Wishing It was, I Would Rate It: PG for some images that would probably scare young children, like the stepmother as an old hag and the guy chasing Snow with a knife.