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2.8 AVERAGE
2.8 AVERAGE
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Let me just start by saying that I've never read Oliver Twist. I think I saw the Wishbone episode like 15 years ago? So really I have no idea how in character everyone is, but this was a pretty enjoyable little story and I don't think you need to have more than like a working cultural knowledge of Oliver Twist to read it. The story was your standard take [classic novel] and insert [paranormal creature] thing, but it was fun and I liked how they included other things like Jack the Ripper and VanHelsing. The art and coloring was a little bit unpolished in my opinion, but it wasn't awful and except for a few panels where the characters were making REALLY weird faces I don't think it distracted me from the story. A fun story, but it definitely wasn't reinventing the wheel or anything.
Let me just start by saying that I've never read Oliver Twist. I think I saw the Wishbone episode like 15 years ago? So really I have no idea how in character everyone is, but this was a pretty enjoyable little story and I don't think you need to have more than like a working cultural knowledge of Oliver Twist to read it. The story was your standard take [classic novel] and insert [paranormal creature] thing, but it was fun and I liked how they included other things like Jack the Ripper and VanHelsing. The art and coloring was a little bit unpolished in my opinion, but it wasn't awful and except for a few panels where the characters were making REALLY weird faces I don't think it distracted me from the story. A fun story, but it definitely wasn't reinventing the wheel or anything.
ARC provided by NetGalley
As a huge fan of Peter David's humorous writing, I jumped at the opportunity to read this book. The plot looked like the fun kind of silly and the cover was beautiful. Sadly, the insides were disappointing.
The plot varied wildly in tone and couldn't seem to decide what they want to go for- it swerved wildly between dramatic and serious and juvenile humor and it didn’t work well as a whole. I don’t mind silly cross-over stories, but I still expect them to have at least some structure. Artful has kind of an idiot plot going- the kind that keeps happening because everyone in it is an idiot. Not to mention that the pacing was horribly rushed, things kept happening one after another without any breathing space. The book has 200 pages for a plot that could’ve taken just half of those and yet, despite it feeling bloated, it’s still rushed. Not to mention that the “love story” present was completely forced and out of nowhere. The only instance I’ve actually laughed at was the part with the carriage driver.
The art was all over the place too. Sometimes the lines looked beautiful, but most of the time they didn’t. The vampire designs looked like something from a nineties cartoon for small children, and the over-exaggerated faces in every dramatic scene absolutely killed any kind of seriousness the reader might feel. The coloring didn’t help much either- the dramatic and nice colors with the blue undertones would’ve worked very well if used sparingly for added effect, but they were overused. All in all, the art felt childish, and not in the good way.
I wish I could’ve liked this book more. The main trio were delightful characters, but even they couldn’t carry this book, and after some time it felt more like a chore to continue reading it.
As a huge fan of Peter David's humorous writing, I jumped at the opportunity to read this book. The plot looked like the fun kind of silly and the cover was beautiful. Sadly, the insides were disappointing.
The plot varied wildly in tone and couldn't seem to decide what they want to go for- it swerved wildly between dramatic and serious and juvenile humor and it didn’t work well as a whole. I don’t mind silly cross-over stories, but I still expect them to have at least some structure. Artful has kind of an idiot plot going- the kind that keeps happening because everyone in it is an idiot. Not to mention that the pacing was horribly rushed, things kept happening one after another without any breathing space. The book has 200 pages for a plot that could’ve taken just half of those and yet, despite it feeling bloated, it’s still rushed. Not to mention that the “love story” present was completely forced and out of nowhere. The only instance I’ve actually laughed at was the part with the carriage driver.
The art was all over the place too. Sometimes the lines looked beautiful, but most of the time they didn’t. The vampire designs looked like something from a nineties cartoon for small children, and the over-exaggerated faces in every dramatic scene absolutely killed any kind of seriousness the reader might feel. The coloring didn’t help much either- the dramatic and nice colors with the blue undertones would’ve worked very well if used sparingly for added effect, but they were overused. All in all, the art felt childish, and not in the good way.
I wish I could’ve liked this book more. The main trio were delightful characters, but even they couldn’t carry this book, and after some time it felt more like a chore to continue reading it.
'Artful' is a graphic novel adaptation of the novel by Peter David. The adaptation is by Nicole D'Andria with art by Laura Neubert. It seems like an interesting story, but I wasn't that impressed with the art.
Combining characters from Oliver Twist and Dracula with real life characters like Spring Heel Jack, this is an adventure story starring the Artful Dodger. The story takes place after Oliver Twist and England is being taken over by vampires. Artful befriends a young woman. When she is taken by the vampires, he teams up with a relative of Abraham Van Helsing to find her.
There is a lot of action and the Artful Dodger comes across as a kindly but resourceful resident of the streets. There are cameos by other Oliver Twist characters and a few from other books.
The art just didn't impress me. The coloring feels dense and heavy, even in scenes that are in full daylight. The characters seemed skewed and the perspective feels off sometimes. The garish caricaturing of features works okay for the vampires, but on other characters it makes the characters expressions hard to make out.
This includes all 6 volumes of the series. I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Combining characters from Oliver Twist and Dracula with real life characters like Spring Heel Jack, this is an adventure story starring the Artful Dodger. The story takes place after Oliver Twist and England is being taken over by vampires. Artful befriends a young woman. When she is taken by the vampires, he teams up with a relative of Abraham Van Helsing to find her.
There is a lot of action and the Artful Dodger comes across as a kindly but resourceful resident of the streets. There are cameos by other Oliver Twist characters and a few from other books.
The art just didn't impress me. The coloring feels dense and heavy, even in scenes that are in full daylight. The characters seemed skewed and the perspective feels off sometimes. The garish caricaturing of features works okay for the vampires, but on other characters it makes the characters expressions hard to make out.
This includes all 6 volumes of the series. I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
FULL REVIEW TO BE PUBLISHED.
Vampires are such interesting and atractive creatures. We don’t seem to get tired of them anytime soon because of how versatile they are and how easy is to work with them, and even more interesting how they can change a tale such as Oliver Twist’s.
There was also some Anime influence in the look of “Artful.” I cannot put my finger on it, as there is no certain scene to say such thing, but if you’ve seen anime, read manga, manhwa, or any other variant, you may get the same feeling, which got me a very good vibe. It was great to have both Western and Asian style combined.
However, I still have a very good time with this book and would like to see more material like this on the market, as the Pros were more than the Cons. Very grateful to the publisher for sending me this copy, I tried to be as honest as I could.
Vampires are such interesting and atractive creatures. We don’t seem to get tired of them anytime soon because of how versatile they are and how easy is to work with them, and even more interesting how they can change a tale such as Oliver Twist’s.
There was also some Anime influence in the look of “Artful.” I cannot put my finger on it, as there is no certain scene to say such thing, but if you’ve seen anime, read manga, manhwa, or any other variant, you may get the same feeling, which got me a very good vibe. It was great to have both Western and Asian style combined.
However, I still have a very good time with this book and would like to see more material like this on the market, as the Pros were more than the Cons. Very grateful to the publisher for sending me this copy, I tried to be as honest as I could.
Normally, I like anything Dickens, and anything Peter David, but this story of what happened to the artful dodger after the Oliver Twist story ended, with a hint of Vampires thrown in, just didn't sit well with me.
I got bored with it, and had to go back several times, to reread it, just so I could review it.
The art isn't bad, but I didn't find the story all that good, though I did like the idea of the Princess Victoria wandering around in Dicken's world.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
I got bored with it, and had to go back several times, to reread it, just so I could review it.
The art isn't bad, but I didn't find the story all that good, though I did like the idea of the Princess Victoria wandering around in Dicken's world.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
All told, this book just didn't work for me. I like the idea of a spin-off story focusing on the Artful Dodger. Add vampires and you get a nice horror story. I was excited to get a chance to read this adaptation because I enjoyed the novel.
I feel like some of the Artful's personality is lost in this adaptation. It gives the superficial elements, i.e. he's a thief and wants to do good, but there isn't a lot of depth. This sort of carries into the plot in general because it is paced so quickly that it doesn't dig deeper into some of the issues. The setting is evoked really well though, especially with the inclusion of some familiar characters such as Fagin, Oliver, the Van Helsing family, and the Baker Street gang. They prop the book up at times and kept me interested enough to finish it.
I didn't care for the art style. It is geared towards a younger audience for sure. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it dips too much into the cartoony style for my tastes. There aren't any illustrations that stood out to me either, so it becomes forgettable in a format where the pictures should excite me or at least leave some sort of impression. Younger readers should get a kick out of this story.
All told, this book just didn't work for me. I like the idea of a spin-off story focusing on the Artful Dodger. Add vampires and you get a nice horror story. I was excited to get a chance to read this adaptation because I enjoyed the novel.
I feel like some of the Artful's personality is lost in this adaptation. It gives the superficial elements, i.e. he's a thief and wants to do good, but there isn't a lot of depth. This sort of carries into the plot in general because it is paced so quickly that it doesn't dig deeper into some of the issues. The setting is evoked really well though, especially with the inclusion of some familiar characters such as Fagin, Oliver, the Van Helsing family, and the Baker Street gang. They prop the book up at times and kept me interested enough to finish it.
I didn't care for the art style. It is geared towards a younger audience for sure. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it dips too much into the cartoony style for my tastes. There aren't any illustrations that stood out to me either, so it becomes forgettable in a format where the pictures should excite me or at least leave some sort of impression. Younger readers should get a kick out of this story.