 Graphic
Classics volume 15: Fantasy Classics
Eureka Productions
(w) Various
(a) Various
BW, 144 pgs $11.95
The fifteenth volume of Graphic Classics is an anthology of venerable
fantasy tales. The headliner is Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". The
adaptation is sufficient but I was distracted by the artwork. It's an odd, cartoony
style which wouldn't have been my first choice to depict the imagery created
by Shelley, but what is even more distracting is that much of it is washed out
and blurry. I'm guessing that the source material just didn't translate well
to the printed form.
"Rappaccini's Daughter" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is next. It's text
heavy, prose alongside images. The illustrations are mostly of characters in
the story, but what fantastic character designs they are. Unfortunately, the
prose was too heavy and the story not compelling enough for my liking.
With L. Frank Baum's "Glass Dog", Fantasy Classics started
to look up. It's funny and sad at the same time, and has something quite unflattering
to say about courtship and marriage.
Finishing off this volume is an H.P. Lovecraft composition, "The Dream-Quest
of Unknown Kadath". Featuring detailed artwork by Leong Wan Kok and an
adaptation by Ben Avery of Hedge Knight fame, this story really captures
the wild mind that was H.P. Lovecraft, without invoking the Cthulhu mythos for
which he is most known. "The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath" is the
longest of the stories that comprise Lovecraft's "Dream Cycle". It
is a mix of fantasy and horror, and depicts the scope of the protagonist's wondrous
and horrific dreams. It's a side of Lovecraft with which you might not be familiar.
Volume fifteen of Graphic Classics is better than Gothic
Classics, but it's not as strong as Adventure
Classics. In terms of quality, it's right in the middle of the volumes
that do not focus on an individual author. It has a couple weak adaptations
alongside a couple strong ones. There are a few poems peppered throughout but
they neither add nor detract from this comic experience. (Chad Boudreau)
3 of 5
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