Review of the Day: Redwall – The Graphic Novel (Part Two)

Plus there’s size and proportion to take into account as well. When you have badgers interacting with mice, or foxes alongside shrews then you need to remember how large one animal would be in comparison to another. In Jacques’ world, animals wear clothes and walk on their hind legs. That’s all well and good, but that would mean that characters like the foxes Sela and Chickenhound would be significantly taller than the rats and mice around them. Blevins then has to fudge the proportions a bit here and there, but the effect is never too distracting.

I noticed that an Amazon reviewer figured that for people unfamiliar with the original book, this graphic novel would be impossible to figure out on one’s own. They thought the images here to be difficult to follow. I admit to not having that problem, but I have read the book before so maybe that helped me. Looking at it, the black and white images on the slick shiny paper could be confusing to kids that haven’t read graphic novels before. I definitely wouldn’t consider this to be a starter GN. Still, for those kids who know their comics and are well-acquainted with following detailed panels and a myriad of different forms and angles, this shouldn’t prove to be a difficult read. Blevins does a fine job of distinguishing between one mouse and another, even with this massive cast of characters. In the end, this new "Redwall" is a fun graphic novel and well worth a look to anyone unfamiliar with the very first story. Read the comic, then read the book. There is much to be gained from both.

Other Blog Reviews:  Comics And… Other Imaginary Tales