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A review by michaeljohnhalseartistry
Beowulf by Santiago García
1.0
Beowulf. Everyone knows Beowulf, or at least the significance of Beowulf. It’s an Old English poem, and possibly the oldest surviving Old English poem dating back to somewhere between 700-1000 AD. It tells the story of Beowulf, a hero of the Geats, who comes to aid the Danes who are under attack by a monster known as Grendel. After Beowulf slays Grendel, the monster’s mother attacks and is also defeated by Beowulf. Victorious, he returns home to Geatland (modern Sweden) and becomes king of the Geats. After nearly fifty years, Beowulf defeats a dragon harassing his own people, but is mortally wounded during the battle. Beowulf has been translated over and over, re-imaged and reinterpreted. There are least five different graphic novels about him, along with countless novels, songs, operas and theatre productions, as well as movies and even video games. I think it’s safe to say that we have covered Beowulf enough… it’s time to stop.
I first saw Santiago García’s Beowulf graphic novel while scouring through the comic book section at Chapters after winning a pretty prize during the store’s Christmas promotion, and it looked impressive. The cover is an ombre of deep, rich red, and across it is etched the face of Beowulf in light lines over the dark face of Grendel. It’s a striking cover! And I remember being generally impressed with the artwork inside while flippantly turning through the pages. I wasn’t impressed, or blown away… but I thought, it’s Beowulf, it’s more about the story, less about the artwork.
Unfortunately, this graphic novel of Beowulf failed on both accounts. First let’s talk about the artwork. At best it was subpar, highly cartoonish, and incredibly amateurish. There were some beautiful panels, and the flow of the pages was interesting and unlike anything I’ve read before, but mostly I had no idea what was going on because the artwork was so jumbled and confusing, and felt almost rushed. And in a way, that rushed feeling of the artwork was mirrored in the writing. García took the epic poem and stripped it of all it’s guts and kept the action. His version is a rushed, testosterone fuelled, action-packed, rushed retelling… which kind of sucked, I’m so tired of people taking old stories, unpacking the meat, and leaving in the blood and guts.
I had SUCH high hopes for this graphic novel, but I was let down… although apparently I’m not the only one. Reviews have been varied and maybe if I had read them before purchasing I never would’ve bought it. But hey, you and live and learn, and if anything it’s got an impressive look to it. Something to add to my Gatsby’s library.
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FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse
I first saw Santiago García’s Beowulf graphic novel while scouring through the comic book section at Chapters after winning a pretty prize during the store’s Christmas promotion, and it looked impressive. The cover is an ombre of deep, rich red, and across it is etched the face of Beowulf in light lines over the dark face of Grendel. It’s a striking cover! And I remember being generally impressed with the artwork inside while flippantly turning through the pages. I wasn’t impressed, or blown away… but I thought, it’s Beowulf, it’s more about the story, less about the artwork.
Unfortunately, this graphic novel of Beowulf failed on both accounts. First let’s talk about the artwork. At best it was subpar, highly cartoonish, and incredibly amateurish. There were some beautiful panels, and the flow of the pages was interesting and unlike anything I’ve read before, but mostly I had no idea what was going on because the artwork was so jumbled and confusing, and felt almost rushed. And in a way, that rushed feeling of the artwork was mirrored in the writing. García took the epic poem and stripped it of all it’s guts and kept the action. His version is a rushed, testosterone fuelled, action-packed, rushed retelling… which kind of sucked, I’m so tired of people taking old stories, unpacking the meat, and leaving in the blood and guts.
I had SUCH high hopes for this graphic novel, but I was let down… although apparently I’m not the only one. Reviews have been varied and maybe if I had read them before purchasing I never would’ve bought it. But hey, you and live and learn, and if anything it’s got an impressive look to it. Something to add to my Gatsby’s library.
-----
FOR MORE BOOK REVIEWS, MY OWN NOVELS, AND PHOTOGRAPHY, CHECK OUT MY WEBSITE:
michaeljohnhalse.wix.com/michaeljohnhalse