The Graveyard Book #2 (graphic novel adaption), by Neil Gaiman

Previously, when I reviewed the first installment of the graphic novel adaption of Neil Gaiman's The Graveyard Book, I bemoaned the fact the graphic format had taken an awesome stand-alone book and split it into two parts. As of late, Hollywood has made this into a nasty trend with book-to-movie adaptions and, well, let's just say I'm not a fan of that concept. I hate waiting. Especially when there's a cliffhanger involved.

Fortunately, I didn't have to wait long before The Graveyard Book vol. 2 was in my hands. When book one ended, Bod, the boy raised by graveyard ghosts, made a few ill-fated attempts to venture out into the world. He met a witch--or at least the ghost of one. He visited the ghoul city of Ghulheim and was rescued by a legendary Hound of God. And, of course, The Man Jack begin to plot how to find (and dispose of) the child who escaped him years earlier.

Book 2 picks up where Book 1 left off. Here, we find Bod older, but not necessarily wiser, about the world outside the Graveyard he calls home. Still, Bod's previous adventures have made him curious. He wants to attend school and make friends his own age--friends who are not ghosts. Unfortunately this opens the door to more trouble...and that trouble leads Bod into the worst sort of danger. Yes, he has his friends and family to help, but ghosts can only do so much when one is faced with mortal danger. Can Bod figure out how to outsmart The Man Jack when the two come face to face? Will he ever get out of the graveyard? And, more importantly, will he want to? Read the book to find out. 

As with vol. 1, each chapter in The Graveyard Book vol. 2 is illustrated by a different artist. This time, however (with the exception of the first chapter), the artistic styles are more similar, so this second installment doesn't feel as disjointed as the first. 

Together, these two books pay spectacular homage to Gaiman's original story. The dialogue stays true to the original story, and the illustrations are beautiful, colorful, and detailed. These two books are definitely worth checking out! 

--AJB

The Graveyard Book, by Neil Gaiman (graphic novel adaption)

I've been waiting for the release of the graphic novel adaption of Neil Gaiman's award-winning The Graveyard Book for the better part of 2014, and it finally arrived in my hands. YAY! I'd read the actual book a few years back when it was a selection for our annual Middle School Battle of the Books competition. It was quirky, creepy (ish), weird (in a good way), 100% creative, and unlike anything I'd encountered in the past. It had a certain Tim Burtonesque quality about it..and I loved it!

So of course I was excited to hear there would be a graphic novel adaption!

I hoped it would do the story justice. 

For the most part, the graphic adaption was true to the book. Bonus points. Unfortunately, though, it only covers the first half of the book (unlike the graphic adaptions of Gaiman's Coraline and Stardust, both of which contained the complete story). This has become an unfortunate and annoying trend with book-to-movie adaptions, and book-to-graphic adaptions are no less annoying. It's the main reason I refused to read the graphic adaption of the Twilight series, which, I hear, is still in the works. 

Back to The Graveyard Book adaption. Each of the six chapters is illustrated by a different artist. While it is interesting to see how each interprets the characters and settings, it breaks up the continuity and distracts from the story. This is especially jarring when a particular artist's (or artists') style differs drastically from that of the others. Or when an artist's take on a character (or setting) wasn't what I imagined when I read the book. For example, I didn't like how Silas was portrayed. The artists made him way, way too Count Dracula-ish. This was not at all how I imagined him to be when I read the book. Also, I pictured Eliza (the witch from Chapter 4) as being much older (in her 20s), and in the graphic she didn't look much older than Bod. ...but I'm aware that this is a risk the reader takes when reading a graphic adaption of a beloved book (or seeing the film adaption, for that matter).

Fortunately, neither quirk ruined my enjoyment of the book. 

The verdict: A solid effort by the artists to rework this new classic. After all, they had a huge task to tackle. I'll probably end up reading #2 when it crosses my desk. --AJB

The Graveyard Book

One dark, foggy night, a mysterious man carrying a knife sneaks into a house while the family sleeps. The only survivor is the baby--who gets away only by chance. The child, then a nameless boy, crawls up a nearby hill and through the gate of an old graveyard. The ghosts residing here rescue the child from certain death, name him Nobody ("Bod" for short), and raise him as their own. Bod has many adventures growing up among the ghosts and tombstones. The only condition is Bod must not leave the graveyard, for surely the man who disposed of his family is still hunting him down, hoping to finish the job. And this is true. But, sooner or later, Bod must face this terrifying past if he is to have a future.

Neil Gaiman proves once again he is a master storyteller with The Graveyard Book. Recently chosen as one of our 6th Grade Battle of the Books books, this combines fantasy, mystery, suspense, and humor. Quirky black and white illustrations enhance an already excellent story. This one's definitely worth checking out. You'll be glad you did! --AJB