A beautifully crafted graphic novel adaptation of Harper Lee’s beloved, Pulitzer prize–winning American classic.
"Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."
A haunting portrait of race and class, innocence and injustice, hypocrisy and heroism, tradition and transformation in the Deep South of the 1930s, Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird remains as important today as it was upon its initial publication in 1960, during the turbulent years of the Civil Rights movement.
Now, this most beloved and acclaimed novel is reborn for a new age as a gorgeous graphic novel. Scout, Gem, Boo Radley, Atticus Finch, and the small town of Maycomb, Alabama, are all captured in vivid and moving illustrations by artist Fred Fordham.
Enduring in vision, Harper Lee’s timeless novel illuminates the complexities of human nature and the depths of the human heart with humor, unwavering honesty, and a tender, nostalgic beauty. Lifetime admirers and new readers alike will be touched by this special visual edition that joins the ranks of the graphic novel adaptations of A Wrinkle in Time and The Alchemist.
To Kill a Mockingbird: A Graphic Novel is a 2018 Harper publication.
I’m not going to review the plot of ‘To Kill a Mockingbird�, but will instead offer you a review of the graphic novel version of the beloved classic.
I am new to the graphic novel category and am still getting my sea legs, so to speak, but I have discovered one of the best ways to acclimate myself is by reading familiar stories in the graphic novel format. So far, I am having a blast re-reading a few classics and having that experience enhanced by graphic art or drawings, depicting the scenes in the book.
One of my initial concerns was for the respect of the material, especially when we are talking about one of the most cherished books ever written. I was equal parts skeptical and excited. I initially thought it was a cool idea, but, I worried that it might somehow reduce the impact of the story.
However, the artwork is simply wonderful! Lovely and detailed, colorized illustrations capture the essence of the novel, and will appeal to anyone who loves the story, but will certainly entice younger readers to read this important story, without thinking of it as homework.
I soon forgot my skepticism and reacquainted myself with this story all over again, enjoying it anew in a fresh and revitalized way.
There are many ways to enjoy stories and every one of them are valid and useful. Graphic novels are one more way to enjoy books and I’m very pleased to have discovered, and approached it with an open mind, this format, which gives me an even deeper appreciation for classic or familiar stories, but also brings new and imaginative ones to my attention, broadening my scope of learning and entertainment.
I’ve loved Harper Lee’s “To Kill a Mockingbird� ever since I found it in a library at age 11 and promptly feigned an illness the next day so that I could cut school and finish it (Atticus Finch would have disapproved, but Scout Finch would totally get it). And it kept its charm for me for all the years since.
I was both excited and nervous to read this adaptation. In a book like this it’s easy to strike a false note, but recent amazing graphic novel adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five� gave me hope that these adaptions can be done right. And it indeed ended up great, even if Atticus did not look like Gregory Peck in the slightest.
It gets the spirit of the book just right, with wonderful art that really well fits the time period described - Alabama in the times of the Great Depression. It incorporates the most memorable scenes and quotes with respect to the source material while making it feel fresh and unique and still very powerful.
Can it replace Harper Lee’s book? Absolutely not. It’s hard for an adaptation to be as great as a cherished original, and this one should never replace the classic. But as a lovely view on the wonderful story through a new medium it’s pretty perfect.
5 stars.
My review of Harper Lee’s original “To Kill a Mockingbird� is here.
This graphic novel really does justice to the original book! This is one of my favorite books and I love the movie! Anyone who is a fan of this book will love this graphic novel. I have went a little overboard on the pictures I added so bear with me 😊
I purchased the paperback edition a few years ago and placed it on my bookshelf.
I attempted to read it once, but I found the initial few pages to be somewhat dull.
This book is among the ten books that every law student should read, according to websites.
Fortunately, I discovered this graphic novel and the illustrations are stunning.
Harper Lee's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel To Kill a Mockingbird is a timeless classic that imparts valuable lessons about compassion, empathy, and the importance of upholding what is right.
"Mockingbirds do nothing except produce music for us to enjoy. They don't devour people's gardens, don't build nests in corn cribs, they do nothing except sing their hearts out for us. That's why it's a sin to kill a mockingbird."
The novel prompts us to consider prejudice, integrity, justice, innocence, and the conflict between good and evil.
This time it's a widower, a man in his late 40s. . . father of two. . . an attorney.
His name is Atticus Finch.
He lives in the Deep South, among an appalling racism that is shoulder deep, yet he has taught his children that being a racist is like cheating. . . cheating at being human.
He takes every difficult case, even if the client can't properly pay him, and he raises his kids, rather than pawning them off on female relatives, and he is always there. . . always there. . . for his children, his community, his clients, his neighbors.
Yep, he's there for his neighbors, and that Miss Maudie across the street knows it, too. It's so obvious that she wants to get her gloved hands all over him. But, guess what, Maudie? I make a meaner casserole than you. I make a meaner cobbler, too. (Disclaimer: this is absolutely untrue).
Either way, back away, Maudie, 'cause Atticus Finch is my dream man, right up there with Augustus McCrae and Rhett Butler. . . and, rumor has it. . . he looks a lot like Gregory Peck, too.
Hell, even as a drawing. . . he's a giant of a man.
It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the bravest man who ever lived.
In which Marquise picked up this graphic novel recced by Natashenka, who from now on is in charge of fixing her TKAM withdrawals and 'splainin' stuff to the sheriff.
What did Marquise think of this adaptation? From the beginning, Marquise was very surprised, and pleasantly so, that this was so very faithful to the novel (which she read right before this) that you could accuse Fred Fordham of simply illustrating the text of the novel scene-by-scene were it not for some very necessary summations. The entirety of the story is here, and couldn't be otherwise as this graphic novel is near 300 pages long whilst the novel is about 384 pages long in Marquise's edition; so indeed very little is omitted or summed up. This is a proper and true adaptation.
The artwork is lovely, without being aesthetically mind-blowing. I think it got the 1930s South atmosphere well, at least as I imagine it must've looked like (I'm not American, so natives might find objections I can't), with the difference that I'd imagined the Radley mansion grander somehow. The characters also look different to how I saw them in my mind, only coincidences being that Scout, Dill, and Boo do look like how I envisioned them.
Atticus, however, doesn't look like what I see him as. In my mind's eye, he looks like my dad, sans the eyeglasses. To me, Atticus Finch will always be like my dad.
After Ryan North's this is the second really great graphic novel adaptation I have read in the last couple of months.
Both SH5 and To Kill a Mockingbird are amongst my favorite novels ever. And both adaptations are handled with a lot of care and respect for the source material.
Like Harper Lee's novel this is a deeply moving story of a girl coming-of-age and of the injustice a young man is facing only because of the color of his skin. It provides both the warm feeling of childhood memories and that terrible sense of powerlessness, of the inevitability of what's going to happen. It's a story about the loss of innocence and of how we should always strive to be the best person we can be, even when sometimes the world won't let us succeed.
Fred Fordham did a good job bringing this to another medium. The text stays mostly true to the novel and the artwork is pretty good too.
The first graphic adaptation of this American classic that I taught several times a day every semester I taught high school, also showing the Gregory Peck film version, which if you haven't ever seen, is a must. Fordham, a Brit, who also illustrated an adaptation of Philip Pullman's Golden Compass, is faithful to the story, and says so in his afterword. This is not a creative interpretation of/reflection on To Kill, but as in the first Harry Potter film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's/Philosopher's Stone, it is very very true to the text, and to those who have seen the film, feels familiar.
Of course you would not only read this version, but use it as a chance to reflect on the story. Or compare versions. Or use to help struggling readers "see" the text. The illustration/comics work here is lovely. I won't retell the plot, but I can say you get to fall in love with the story all over again. I will say I see it as somewhat different than I did decades ago when I taught it to exclusively white kids as an anti-racist text. Now, living in a large urban city, I can see how some non-white readers might view it as a book directed almost exclusively to white people with, as some people now say, a Great American White Savior speaking for the seemingly passive victims, the "mockingbird" blacks (and people with disabilities, the autistic Boo Radley), and I appreciate that point, but as a portrait of the American South in a particular time (Fordham defends his and Harper Lee's use of the "n"-word), it has very powerful moments, and Scout is one of the absolutely central girl characters in the history of American literature.
"I simply want to tell you that there are some men in this world who were born to do our unpleasant jobs for us. Your father is one of them . . . We're so rarely called on to be Christians, but when we are, we've got men like Atticus to go for us." -- neighbor Miss Maudie to siblings Jem and Scout, regarding their father Atticus Finch's burdensome courtroom defense of Tom Robinson
An American cultural touchstone, To Kill a Mockingbird is considered a classic both as the best-selling, Pulitzer Prize-winning 1960 novel AND the 1962 blockbuster film featuring Gregory Peck, who deservedly took home Oscar gold for his dignified portrayal as Atticus. (Peck's porch swing conversation with Mary Badham's Scout is one of my absolutely favorite moments in any film.) With these indelible versions still solid after 50+ years is there really need for a graphic novel adaptation?
Pleasingly, illustrator Ford Fordham's interpretation more than holds its own against the book and the movie. The story - a tomboy girl's recollection of her widowed lawyer father defending a black man accused of sexual assault in Great Depression-era Alabama - loses none of its power or impact. In fact, it even improves somewhat on the film version by including some characters and scenes that were excised for time constraints. By the story's conclusion I'd like to think we'd all agree that if our country (or our world) currently had more men like Atticus Finch - who is still routinely voted as a favorite fictional character / father / attorney, etc. - making decisions it would be a better place.
Adaptacja jest momentami nieco chaotyczna, ale rozumiem, że ciężko jest oddać tak złożoną emocjonalnie powieść w prosty, komiksowy sposób. A jednak obrazy zadziałały na mnie na tyle mocno, żeby mnie maksymalnie wzruszyć.
I really, really enjoyed this! I loved the original book and it was so so cool to see it as a graphic novel. The drawings are amazing and the color is perfect. The story is just as funny and great as it was originally. View my review of To Kill A Mockingbird here
Thank you so much Harper Collins for an Advanced Reader's Copy!
Uncle Jack Finch: "You want to grow up to be a lady, don't you?" Scout: "Not particularly."
Until this book fell into my hands, I would have scoffed, "Ah, yes, a graphic novel . . . for those who are too lazy to read the Cliffs Notes version."
But, oh, this is gorgeous: the familiar story told through dialogue, and sun-dappled watercolors. From my original reading of the book, I mostly remembered the trial, but this book brought back the story of Scout, and Jem, and their magical childhood before life became too real, and too sad, and they were forced to suddenly grow up.
Reading this was a lovely way to spend a lazy summer afternoon.
It has been a pleasure to revisit this classic novel so soon after it won the Great American Read. Seeing the story in this new format gave me insights I had not had from the full-length novel. A wonderful companion to the print version and highly recommended.
Thank you to HarperCollins and Edelweiss for a digital ARC of this new graphic novel.
To my surprise, I’ve actually rated this higher than Harper Lee’s original; I’d attribute that to the fact that I read the novel in high school and haven’t reread it since then, so I tend to associate it with boring essay assignments and a sense of duty. I’m also surprised by how little I remembered of the plot from the book or the Gregory Peck movie, such that there were a few moments here that actually made me gasp. Fordham’s version is highly faithful, including plenty of direct quotes from the book, and the artwork is very effective. My only gripe would be that I think Scout looks a bit too old at times, more of a preteen than a tomboy. Look out for the mockingbird on the fence on three pages. (What do you want to bet high school students will start reading this instead of the full novel?! In all honesty, if it gets them engaged in the story and characters in a way they wouldn’t be otherwise, that’s no bad thing in my opinion.)
A favorite line: (Atticus to Scout) “Simply because we were licked a hundred years before we started is no reason for us not to try to win.�
Absolutamente recomendable. Muy fiel al original y con un dibujo que encaja perfectamente en el contexto.
Me ha sorprendido con que nivel de detalle consigue abarcar la novela original, sólo se deja atrás algunos detalles irrelevantes.
Me vino muy bien como lectura complementaria de la obra original y extendería este comentario con todos los que se hicieron durante la lectura conjunta de la misma:
To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee is my favourite book of all time and I feel blessed that a graphic novel version also exists. The artwork is exquisite and it complements the story so perfectly. At this point, To Kill A Mockingbird is not a favourite book anymore, it’s an emotion to me. I am so thankful to Fred Fordham for creating this beautiful book and making the characters alive with perfect colors and strokes. He did such an amazing job adapting a full fledged novel into a graphic novel format without leaving any details out. Ah, this book is perfect. �
Είχα διαβάσει το μυθιστόρημα όταν ήμουν μικρότερη και το είχα αγαπήσει. Αυτό το graphic novel σέβεται απόλυτα το πρωτότυπο. Εικόνες και χρώματα ταιριάζουν με την ατμόσφαιρα του βιβλίου. Είναι μια εξαιρετική δουλειά κι ίσως σε αυτή τη μορφή γίνει γοητευτικό για τους εφήβους, που δυστυχώς (στην πλειοψηφία τους) αποφεύγουν τα κλασικά. Τα θεωρούν απίστευτα βαρετά.
i read the non illustrated version of this book years ago and i enjoyed it. i enjoyed it even more as a graphic novel. it was entertaining and easy to follow because of the illustrations. i highly recommend it.
"Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird."
i finally got the chance to read the graphic version of the book 'to kill a mockingbird'. it was simply the best feeling ever. ever since i've read the book back in january, it's been an all-time favorite of mine. a thought-provoking and impactful read that stayed with me for a long while. this was as expected, even better. it gave off a new kind of reading experience and helped to get a better understanding of the story. it was designed in a way to attract the attention of even younger readers. the art style and narratives were very much impressive and well detailed. it was a bunch of raw emotions bundled up all together. the graphic version of it worked so well for me because i could pin down these emotions on different faces—all the reasons to love it more. through this book, we get to meet the people of a southern town, maycomb and hear their stories—ordinary people leading ordinary lives who are making a huge difference in their own way every day. a coming-of-age story about growing up in a difficult society. a father's love and advice for his children as he teaches them the ways of life.
“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.�
atticus finch: he's one of the main characters of this book, a very remarkable one. he's a single father of two children and a well-respected lawyer in maycomb; raising the kids all on his own while providing the unfortunate ones with legal support, never once letting off his morals, no matter how much judgement he received for it. he was wise, insightful, and believed in people, not in the ways they were different from one another. atticus was also an excellent father figure, he was equally patient and strict with his children; he knew exactly when they needed a father and when they needed a friend. coming home after every day's exhaustion, he still made time to read to them and ask them about their day. i loved the kind of bond he shared with his family and all the valuable lessons he taught them. there were moments when his kids would ask him about his work details, and he would so willingly talk about it with them, he never made them feel left out just because they were children.
“I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and see it through no matter what.�
scout finch: the youngest finch sibiling and also the protagonist of this story. she's a bit tomboyish in nature and as much of a prankstar as her brother. she picked up fights all the time and sulked when her brother picked up on her for acting too much like a girl. she's a curious soul trapped in a one-minded society. scout is her dad's biggest supporter; she always follows close to his morals, an observer who sees things for what they are. she grew up seeing people being wronged over trivial matters and didn't understand why it had to be that way. her optimism and strong desire to see a change made up the better half of the story. we could see how proud she is of her father and the job he does, so prepared to defend him─who gives his all to defend maycomb from injustice─from the taunts of others.
jem finch: scout's brother jem had the biggest character development in this story. going from a troublemaker with all sorts of wild ideas to a boy who worried about his father and weeped over the sheer absurdity of an innocent man framed for serious offence just because of his race and social upstanding. he was growing up to be so much like atticus; a true gentleman and the voice of reason at all times—it was heartwarming to witness. as the story goes on, scout relies more and more on her brother, at the same time blaming him for growing up too fast. the finch siblings were one of a kind, unique in their own ways, yet united when it came to protecting family values.
“There are just some kind of men who're so busy worrying about the next world they've never learned to live in this one, and you can look down the street and see the results.�
'to kill a mockingbird' paints a clear picture of the society we live in. it addresses many social issues like class, politics, poverty, gender, racial prejudices. this book shows that the law is the only place we are considered equals, but it too is tainted with the cruel reality we live in. how the defendants of the good are almost always overruled. all these crucial themes blended in a splendid storyline, along with the illustration magic, brought forward the amazing outcome that the book is.
I really love this story and it was lovely to read it as a graphic novel. This story is important because it teaches us to accept people for who they are, the colour of our skin should not have any affect on how we treat a person, God gave us our skin and He loves us all. I love atticus, the way he treats his children with kindness and teaching them to see people and to respect their choices to look past their grumpiness, their colour and their fears and always show them kindness. This stuck out to me in reading this format. Just wonderful and so important. My dream would be that we would all love and respect all people, no person is greater than another we are all on this journey called life. Help not hate.
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee is one of my favourite books. As cliche as it sounds, this book changed my life. It made me aware that the colour of one's skin can be enough for someone to hate you, that truth and justice wasn't always going to be fair and the good guys don't always win. Lee's writing also inspired me as a writer. When I saw that Lee's book was getting adapted into a graphic novel, I had mixed feelings as I didn't know how faithful it would be to the original story. Were they going to add or take big things out. Phew, Fordham did an amazing job! Not only were the illustrations great, but the story is faithful to the book and hits all the great scenes. This is one I hope to buy as it a must for any collection, especially fans of the writer and the book.
"Podes matar todos os gaios azuis que encontrares, se lhes conseguires acertar, mas lembra-te de que é pecado matar uma cotovia."
"Coragem é sabermos que estamos vencidos à partida, mas recomeçar na mesma e avançar incondicionalmente até ao fim."
Acho que quase toda a gente está familiarizada com a obra To kill a mockingbird, da Harper Lee.
Eu conhecia mais ou menos a história, apesar de nunca ter lido a narrativa. Sabia que se tratava de um advogado do Sul profundo, a defender um inocente, cujo único crime era ser preto.
A história passa-se numa época e numa região, o sul dos EUA, em que as pessoas eram distinguidas pelo tom de pele. Parece impossível que um país dito civilizado nem há 50 anos perseguia pessoas por terem uma cor de pele diferente e isso faz-me muita confusão.
Neste livro temos só o melhor pai de sempre da história da literatura, Atticus Finch, um homem correto, honrado, sem preconceitos e que tenta ensinar isso aos seu filhos, Jem e Scout.
Apesar de a história não ter o final desejado, porque a vida não são sempre finais felizes, acaba por haver algo a aprender, uma silver lining.
Gostei bastante do livro, da história, dos personagens e da arte de Fred Fordham.