King Lear by Gareth Hinds

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Synopsis
In a graceful adaptation, Gareth Hinds transforms Shakespeare’s timeless tale of pride and defiance, loyalty and ambition, betrayal and revenge into a graphic-novel format, packing it with visual drama and providing accessible notes. This artful edition — like an extraordinary stage performance — offers a striking new perspective on one of the most powerful and beloved tragedies in the English language. Incorporating excerpts from the bard’s own language, Gareth Hinds’s inventive format opens the experience of King Lear to students and fans of graphic literature.

A taut adaptation of Shakespeare’s masterwork by Gareth Hinds — the standard-bearer of graphic-novel retellings of literary classics.

suggested retail price (U.S./CAN):
$22.99 / $27.00
isbn-10/isbn-13:
0763643432 /  9780763643430
on sale date:
10/2009
type/format:
Graphic Novel / Hardback
age range:
12 yrs and up
# of pages/size:
128 / 7 3/4" x 10 7/8"
grade range:
Grade 7 and up

subjects: Classics; Comics & Graphic Novels; Fiction; Science Fiction & Fantasy; Ghost Stories; Royalty



My Review

A while back, I was elated to find a copy of King Lear by Gareth Hinds at Hyde Brother's Booksellers but it is also available at this link if you want your own copy. 

If you aren't familiar with Gareth Hinds, he is the creator of several acclaimed graphic novels based on classics, and in 2008, Booklist named King Lear one of the 10 best graphic novels for youth. 

King Lear, derived from the legend of Leir of Britain, a mythological pre- Roman Celtic king, was one of  William Shakespeare most famous tragedies.  

This dismal story is about a king who descends into madness when his life transforms from good to bad fortune due to his own misjudgment and we largely see how betrayal and revenge ensue throughout the kingdom.

The story begins with King Lear deciding to divide up his realm amongst his three daughters. His two oldest daughters Goneril and Regan flatter him and are given their portion while the youngest daughter Cordelia does not resort to conniving and is disinherited and her portion split amongst the other two. 

To make a lengthy play much briefer I'll only hint at some of the scenes. 

After the defeat of the invading French army, Cordelia and Lear are taken, prisoner, meanwhile, sister's Regan and Goneril act in a cruel and capricious manner and eventually, they tussle over the evil Edmund. In a rage, the Duke of Albany ( Goneril's husband) demands that Edmund and Goneril be arrested for treason. 

Before Edmund is arrested, Edgar shows up and stabs his evil brother, and Goneril poisons Regan prior to committing suicide. Edgar reveals his identity to Gloucester who dies shortly thereafter. Albany and a dying Edmund try to prevent Lear and Cordelia being hanged but are too late for Cordelia. After Cordelia's death,  a visibly shaken Lear carries her corpse in his arms.


If you are familiar with Shakespeare plays you will know that he uses figurative language and metaphoric reflections. 

The storm on the heath is a reflection of King Lear's state of mind and also the kingdoms downward spiral of wickedness and despair. 

I truly appreciate that Hinds creates his imagery for this classic using a medium of technical pen and watercolor as it helps fuse a sense of anarchy. 

The ink and watercolor appear to be applied initially with lighter value and much of the heavy dialog is intact and included in a myriad of speech balloons. Additional washes are added to show an intensification of color or to strengthen shadows with loose marks.

I thought the page where waterdrops are staining the cheeks clever as the speech balloon cascades down and across the page much like a waterfall or tear would. And I found the mixture of lead gray to vibrant red easing into a heavenly blue, tarnishing to a page where we see the wash of dull gray to be crafty. 

These colors emerge and contribute to our sensing Lear's state of disorder. His anger and torment at the turmoil of what transpired is clearly visible and eventually, we see his acceptance of grief.

We know that the deep sorrow of what Lear ensued overwhelmed him for so long - he eventually dies and the kingdom is left to the Duke of Albany and Edgar to preside over.


Last year, you might recall I reviewed another Gareth Hinds classic graphic novel POE: Stories & Poems, that review can be found here. 

 visit Gareth Hinds here https://www.garethhinds.com/wp/