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A fun, quick read that makes Beowulf accessible to a modern audience—particularly young readers. The adaptation uses a 1904 translation of Beowulf and throughout the graphic novel, text is kept to a minimum. Hinds instead uses vivid and dramatic illustrations to tell the story of Beowulf from his battle with Grendel to, ultimately, his death. Perhaps it‘s not for everyone but it‘s easy to see how this early “superhero” story would appeal to many.

My daughter went on a school field trip to see Macbeth at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater this week. Not a bad way to spend a day. Not bad at all...& made all that much better because all the students got free graphic novels. Some got adaptations of one of Shakespeare‘s plays while some, including my daughter, got other works. I think I‘ll take a peek, it‘s been some time since I last read Beowolf & when I did, it certainly wasn‘t a graphic novel.

Much of the story is told visually in Hinds‘ adaptation of this ancient epic. The pages with text are based on the #translation by AJ Church. I prefer this #graphicnovel version over García & Rubín‘s because the violence is toned down. The bloodbaths are still there, but Hinds usually paints blood black, which suits my tender sensibilities. The colour palette is subdued, predominantly browns and blue-greys.

Interesting to see how different artists portray the same scene from this epic poem. Above, Grendel‘s head on spears. Left, Charles Keeping. Right, Gareth Hinds.

The artwork in this graphic novel adaptation is absolutely gorgeous. The story as a whole (words and pictures combined) was easy to follow and definitely makes the story more accessible to younger readers.

I found the large blocks of exposition a bit disappointing. They felt more like the summaries you might find in CliffsNotes and lost much of the beauty of the poetry.

I read this in middle school and decided to read it again. I don't remember much, so we'll see how it goes 😉

Condensed...quick...cool illustrations. Lots and lots of fight panels, which borders on too many in my opinion. Then again, that's what Beowulf does best, so I guess it deserves to be highlighted! (Also never in my wildest dreams how I pictured Grendel or the mother!)

Starting the graphic novel version of this one. It's summer reading for Brit Lit. After a two year hiatus, I've been moved back to the English department! Wooo!!!! 😁

Today's in-class production: Beowulf as a representative text #BritLit

Reviewing summer reading for #BritLit class - 💜 Gareth Hinds & his retellings of classic literature!