: When Victor Frankenstein creates a living man in his laboratory, little does he realize that his life will be destroyed by his own creation. The classic novel by Mary Shelley is vividly and faithfully retold in graphic novel format.

Review: The Graffex series aims to translate works of classic literature into fast-paced but faithful graphic novels, bringing our literary heritage within the grasp of a new generation of readers. Frankenstein[, with its elements of gothic melodrama, existential and ethical questioning and strong characterisation, seems a good fit with this enterprise, and the end result does not disappoint.

Macdonald’s narration is accessible and engaging and the dramatic horror and emotional intensity of Shelley’s novel is well captured in Gelev’s illustrations (his eyes are particularly communicative). One interesting feature is the use of snippets of original dialogue, along with footnotes explaining archaic expressions. This forms a helpful bridge to Shelley’s novel, which may be particularly useful for less confident or more reluctant secondary readers who are asked to study it. Supplementary material provides a biographical sketch of Mary Shelley and a timeline of contemporary scientific discoveries, helping to bring alive the intellectual climate in which she was writing. There is also a map of Frankenstein’s travels, an overview of stage and film adaptations of the story, and a brief introduction to Romantic beliefs about nature and the sublime (a thematic thread which Macdonald is careful to preserve in her own retelling).

This book should appeal to readers from upper KS2 and across the whole secondary range. It is a great read and an excellent ambassador for the series as a whole.

Buy this Book

2008-08-14