▪	RELEASED BY:		WILEY PUBLISHING INC.
		▪	AUTHOR / ART:		ADAM SEXTON / YALI LIN
		▪	FORMAT:		WESTERN / B&W
		▪	PAGES:		186
		▪	RATING:		T
		▪	RELEASE DATE:		02/11/2008
		▪	REVIEW DATE:		04/20/2008
		▪	REVIEWED BY:		HOLLY ELLINGWOOD

Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies. Two houses that hold similar fortune and status are enemies. One has the lovelorn son Romeo while the other, the beautiful and sheltered girl Juliet. When these two meet, star-crossed lovers do they become. The tension between their houses mount and a series of increasingly tragic events will determine the final fate of these young lovers.

Most of you know the story. This is the first time however that I’ve seen it in graphic novel format. What Adam Sexton has done is to cut out many scenes and phrases to try to streamline the tale of woe and stick to the most pivotal scenes. This was done not only for better pacing but obvious length issues involved with graphic novels. The illustrations are supposed to be a big part of telling the story, and artist Yali Lin does a good job of trying to convey the action and the sadness of the lives that are seen here. Short (if one can call 200 pages short) this manga rendition of the play tries to convey the thrust of the tale and in most parts it has succeeded in doing so. There is, however, a certain grandeur lost with all the editing, but it does make the play more accessible on at least a couple of levels. The streamline of it helps whittle it down to its more essential parts so that people who have difficulty with Shakespeare’s prose can more easily follow his most pivotal phrases from the play. This aid in understanding is further assisted by the artist’s expressive style. Although the overall approach in and of itself seemed a bit wispy for this kind of heavy dramatic matter, the exceptionally expressive faces excellently convey the depth of emotions for each scene. Therefore if you’re the type who has difficulty getting around the phrasing, the pictures are truly worth a thousand words.

IN SUMMARY:
An interesting attempt at translating one of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedies to manga.

	1. 20-04-2008 19:13
	This is so neat. I can't wait to get this just for the drawings alone. Registered Report

Namine8

	2. 21-04-2008 17:08
	Have you seen SelfMadeHero's Shakespearean manga? I love their take on R & J--my students love them. www.selfmadehero.com Guest Report

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