Adapted/Writer: Steve Niles
Illustrations: Elman Brown
Book Design: Robbie Robbins & Cindy Chapman
---------------------------------------------------
Publisher: IDW
Hardcover: n/a
Softcover: 4th Printing, December 2007
Pages: 239 pages
Cover Price: $19.99
Includes: n/a
Collects: I Am Legend #1 to #4
TPB to Read Before: n/a
TPB to Read After: n/a
---------------------------------------------------
- Compelling drama with rich characterization and psychological overtones.
- A compelling post-apocalyptic tale if you enjoy that theme.
- At times can be too wordy and rely too much on the original novel narrative rather than a true comic book adaptation.
- Faithful to the original novel. Original story barely changed.
- Intense black & white character sketches.
Recommended for those who enjoy:
- Post-Apocalyptic Tales
- Zombie comics & movies
- Solo human dramas
- I Am Legend (novel)
---------------------------------------------------
It was with guilt that I read this graphic novel. For starters, let me clear something up: The recent Will Smith motion picture I Am Legend originated with a book, not a graphic novel! I know some people who seem to think this graphic novel was the original story for the movie, but alas, it's simply a comic book adaptation of the novel. For me, the guilt was that I felt like I was reading the "dummy version" of Richard Matheson's classic story. As if I wasn't capable of reading a story without pictures! But with lack of quality post-apocalyptic zombie stories to read, I had to pick this one up at my local comic book store.
If there was any prolonged guilt over reading a simple version of a text-heavy novel, that was quickly forgotten when I realized this graphic novel was sometimes a word-for-word transfer of the book. We're talking LARGE letter boxes with sometimes only one or two simple sketches on a page. If you ever thought a writer like Brian Michael Bendis was text-heavy, you haven't seen anything until you read this! Somewhere in the creative process, the adapters felt they should focus more on Matheson's original story instead of trying to convey the same themes with original art. Don't get me wrong, the art can be stunning at times, but it is basically a simple black & white sketch with most of it focused on the main character's facial expressions.
Not having read the book, to my knowledge, the graphic novel is extremely faithful. (Although if you saw the movie, you're going to expect something different.) To summarize the story, we pick up with Robert Neville, a man forced to live a hermit lifestyle in a world where humanity has vanished. Robert is one of the few survivors of a plague that reduced most inhabitants to a simple vampire lifeform and struggles to maintain his sanity in his old residence that has been constructed into a nice fortified compound. The "vampires" raid his compound daily after the sun sets thus giving them a vampiric feel, although they're more akin to zombies, and as Robert tries to unravel the secrets of their existence, he gradually discovers what life remains on the planet.
If you dig post-apocalyptic stories, you're really going to enjoy I Am Legend, even with this overly verbose adaptation. Frankly, I found myself skimming over some of the narratives at times, but I quickly read this baby from start to finish. The adapted writer was Steve Niles, creator of the famous 30 Days of Night, and his love of the source material shows. While it contains horror themes, the true central theme in this tale is man's battle with isolation, and I recommend it to anyone looking for something a tad bit different to add to their collection.
If there was any prolonged guilt over reading a simple version of a text-heavy novel, that was quickly forgotten when I realized this graphic novel was sometimes a word-for-word transfer of the book. We're talking LARGE letter boxes with sometimes only one or two simple sketches on a page. If you ever thought a writer like Brian Michael Bendis was text-heavy, you haven't seen anything until you read this! Somewhere in the creative process, the adapters felt they should focus more on Matheson's original story instead of trying to convey the same themes with original art. Don't get me wrong, the art can be stunning at times, but it is basically a simple black & white sketch with most of it focused on the main character's facial expressions.
Not having read the book, to my knowledge, the graphic novel is extremely faithful. (Although if you saw the movie, you're going to expect something different.) To summarize the story, we pick up with Robert Neville, a man forced to live a hermit lifestyle in a world where humanity has vanished. Robert is one of the few survivors of a plague that reduced most inhabitants to a simple vampire lifeform and struggles to maintain his sanity in his old residence that has been constructed into a nice fortified compound. The "vampires" raid his compound daily after the sun sets thus giving them a vampiric feel, although they're more akin to zombies, and as Robert tries to unravel the secrets of their existence, he gradually discovers what life remains on the planet.
If you dig post-apocalyptic stories, you're really going to enjoy I Am Legend, even with this overly verbose adaptation. Frankly, I found myself skimming over some of the narratives at times, but I quickly read this baby from start to finish. The adapted writer was Steve Niles, creator of the famous 30 Days of Night, and his love of the source material shows. While it contains horror themes, the true central theme in this tale is man's battle with isolation, and I recommend it to anyone looking for something a tad bit different to add to their collection.
0 comments:
Post a Comment