*Question of the Moment is at the bottom*
Genre: Fairy Tale/Graphic Novel
Publishing Date: August 1st, 2011
Page Count: 176
Source: NetGalley
Format: E-Book
Description from Goodreads.com:
Five of the world's greatest fairy tales are retold in the popular and attractive graphic novel format. Beautiful, bold illustrations give these timeless tales a modern edge. The stories include Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, Princess and the Pea, Snow White, and Thumbelina.
Review:
I usually don't review graphic novels, but i decided to make an acceptation. I really love fairy tales and the thought of classics becoming a graphic novel style book reeled me in, because i LOVE pictures. The cover alone is what made me check this out. I love her hair and i think the title is very clever instead of just saying "fairy tales" or "classics to modern" or some other unoriginal name. The title draws you in to wonder what its about. Instead of just doing overall review i think im going to review each story individually and then do an overall at the end, like usual.
Rapunzel: This was my favorite story out of the five. I loved the graphics and i loved that it had a darker side to it, it actually shocked me with the graphics of the prince at the end. I think the illustrator did an amazing job and it definitely showcased my favorite type of design. I found myself looking all over the screen to make sure i took in everything the pictures had to offer and i was sucked into the story, because i don't remember too much about it, besides the key facts that the princess is locked up by a witch and has long hair that the prince uses to save her.
Thumbelina: As far as the graphics for Thumbelina i liked that they felt very playful. It seemed like the graphics were targeted towards kids, but i feel like the story line, although i liked it, could have taken a darker twist which scared me at times. I especially liked how they drew Thumbelina, i thought she was adorable and perfect for a tiny girl. I didn't like the ending though, because i felt like it was rushed since all that had to happen was her being happy and going home.
Snow White: Out of the five stories i feel like Snow White's was the closest to an actual comic and was targeted more towards those who love graphic novels, rather than those who love fairy tales. I liked the drawings of the prince of the queen, and for some reason i liked that the queen's hairstyle was different each time. However, i didn't like the drawing of Snow White or the seven dwarfs. With Snow White i felt like i was looking at Michael Jackson every time they showed her and she was just far too pale with too long of a neck and too big of eyes. The Dwarfs were drawn almost like trolls or like they belonged in Zelda or something, and they didn't make really any contribution to the story. Their names weren't even introduced and i didn't like the fact that there was one HUGE buff dwarf. They just didn't make sense.
Beauty and the Beast: The graphics for Beauty and the Beast were by far the cleanest. I think they did a really nice job with making the story and the graphics very clean cut. I enjoyed the story a lot, but because its my favorite fairy tale i found myself making a lot of judgements for things that didn't match up to other retellings, but i have to remind myself it IS a retelling. Out of all the endings i really liked this one's the best.
Princess and the Pea: This one's graphics was the second closest to a usual comic book, but was still playful, which i liked. Since i haven't read this story in a long time i was very unfamiliar to the story line, but i enjoyed being reminded. I really liked the comical side to it, i found myself laughing at the expressions on the prince's face and the way that the unruly princesses acted. The only part of the story i didn't like was when the princess shows up to the prince's house. I felt that she was going to turn out to be a phony and i didn't like how fast paced the marriage was, i mean they only knew each other a day, and there wasn't any true romance to justify it.
Overall:
I really enjoyed the graphics and that was the entire reason i check it out in the first place. I really wanted to see the graphics and fall in love with them, which for some stories that happened, but for others i just didn't care for them. Also the stories weren't very different from what usually happens in them, so the only thing that was different about these stories are the pictures that go along with them, but even then there were still stories i didn't care for and graphic's i didn't care for either. One thing i really loved about this graphic novel is that at the end of each of the fairy tales it told you the history behind the stories, which i really, really enjoyed. I think that was one of this graphic novels high points, because i was being told things i had no clue about. I think i would recommend this to people who, in general, love fairy tales and love pictures. Other than that, i don't think there is a direct target audience where only those types of people would like this, it could be liked by all.
Rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ 3/5
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Question of the Moment 36
Which one of your favorite fairy tales would you like to see made into a really nice graphic novel?
Mine would be Beauty and the Beast. I feel like i was criticizing the version that is in this graphic novel too much, because its one of my favorite stories and so of course i am going to find things to nit pick. I think if the entire graphic novel was designated to the one story, Beauty and the Beast, then it would have been much better and i would have liked it a lot more.
So which fairy tale do you want to see made into a comic? Let me know in the comments below =]
