 | | ▪ | RELEASED BY: | | WILEY | | | ▪ | ADAPTATION / ART: | | ADAM SEXTON / EVE GRANT /
CANDICE CHOW | | | ▪ | FORMAT: | | ENGLISH / B&W | | | ▪ | PAGES: | | 185 | | | ▪ | RATING: | | T | | | ▪ | RELEASE DATE: | | 02/01/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEW DATE: | | 05/27/2008 | | | ▪ | REVIEWED BY: | | SCOTT CAMPBELL |
Witches, ghosts, murders, battles, blood - if ever a Shakespeare play cried out for a manga version, Macbeth is it! The play regularly sells over 25,000 copies a year, and now manga fans can get caught up in the action as the Bard explores the social forces at work when men act against their better nature and the natural order of things. For those of you who have not heard of, or read William Shakespeare’s classic play, let me tell you that Macbeth is far from outdated or uninteresting. Fate and fortune, murders and atrocities, insomnia and insanity – Macbeth is filled chockfull with all these conflicts. Unchecked aspirations and even decapitation are here too, so what else can you ask for from a tragedy? Power-crazed and convinced of his own invincibility, Macbeth, the Scottish war hero, turns into a serial killer, annihilating anybody who gets in his way –with a little help from his less than moral wife of course. This fast-paced manga edition gets you quickly engrossed in Macbeth's blood-soaked path to power and Shakespeare's timeless themes. The art is surprisingly good and unique for a North American made manga. It’s definitely a manga-inspired work with characters and art that mimic the Japanese style we all know and love – there’s nothing wrong with taking a concept and working with it – mimicking something is the greatest form of flattery! The text is extremely readable, as it should be for any book that is portraying a work of Shakespeare. It’s very much appreciated because the language as it is presented is a bit more difficult to follow, so having the lettering so readable really helps this flow along in a more manageable way. The art flows well too, never being too overcrowded, but always detailed. Having such nice visuals really brings a lot of extra enjoyment to this classic work. The art style in this manga is also noticeably very dark with lots of heavy shadows – this of course works perfectly for Macbeth and really brings the work to the dark levels it should be achieving. Beyond all those positive things, this book is also very affordable, and I’d almost suggest buying it over a Coles Notes version if you’re using it for educational purposes. Having the visuals for character recognition, etc. really helps get the story across to the reader – everyone likes pictures!
IN SUMMARY:
Macbeth is one of Shakespeare’s most recognizable and most cherished tragedies. This well-crafted manga version of the classic play is not to be missed by Shakespeare fans, and even those who would like to read his works, but could use some visuals! |
