Beowulf
by Gareth Hinds
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Description
This exhilarating graphic-novel edition of an ancient classic honors the spirit of the original as it attracts modern readers. The epic tale of the great warrior Beowulf has thrilled readers through the ages -- and now it is reinvented for a new generation with Gareth Hinds's masterful illustrations. Grendel's black blood runs thick as Beowulf defeats the monster and his hideous mother, while somber hues overcast the hero's final, fatal battle against a raging dragon. Speeches filled with show more courage and sadness, lightning-paced contests of muscle and will, and funeral boats burning on the fjords are all rendered in glorious and gruesome detail. Told for more than a thousand years, Beowulf's heroic saga finds a true home in this graphic-novel edition. show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
Beowulf has been one of my favourite legends since I was a little girl, so when I saw this after reading another of Gareth Hinds' illustrated/graphic novel adaptations, I had to check it out.
I liked it better than most adaptations of Beowulf I've read. I particularly liked how real the clothes, armour, ships, and surroundings in general looked. I've never before seen someone depict the sea monsters in Beowulf's boast-tale as actual sea creatures, either, which was interesting.
It also lent more contrast to the incredibly unreal depictions of Grendel and Grendel's mother. (I admit, when I was first reading, Grendel reminded me of a cross between a cave troll from Middle Earth and Venom from Spiderman.)
Perhaps my favourite of the artwork show more were those pages depicting the dragon at rest, or first waking, watchful over his hoard. The final pages of sea and sky were beautiful, however, and the fade through the story to a close was smoothly and subtly presented through shifting colours and lines.
The adaptation presented balanced nicely between the poetry and rhythm, archaic words and patterns, that hark to the original tale, and an easy to understand format that didn't require a reader to slow beyond what was needed to appreciate and follow the artwork telling the story. Or at least it began that way - it was honestly a little strange how quickly the text faded out to only pictures (which is acceptable enough for high-action scenes, although many of those pages were slightly hard to follow).
After it returned post the first battle scene particularly, the text began to switch between a drier 'report on a tale' feeling (as though I was hearing someone tell me about the tale of Beowulf, rather than telling me the tale) and the occasional resurgence of the nicely-balanced poetic/simplified tone. show less
I liked it better than most adaptations of Beowulf I've read. I particularly liked how real the clothes, armour, ships, and surroundings in general looked. I've never before seen someone depict the sea monsters in Beowulf's boast-tale as actual sea creatures, either, which was interesting.
It also lent more contrast to the incredibly unreal depictions of Grendel and Grendel's mother. (I admit, when I was first reading, Grendel reminded me of a cross between a cave troll from Middle Earth and Venom from Spiderman.)
Perhaps my favourite of the artwork show more were those pages depicting the dragon at rest, or first waking, watchful over his hoard. The final pages of sea and sky were beautiful, however, and the fade through the story to a close was smoothly and subtly presented through shifting colours and lines.
The adaptation presented balanced nicely between the poetry and rhythm, archaic words and patterns, that hark to the original tale, and an easy to understand format that didn't require a reader to slow beyond what was needed to appreciate and follow the artwork telling the story. Or at least it began that way - it was honestly a little strange how quickly the text faded out to only pictures (which is acceptable enough for high-action scenes, although many of those pages were slightly hard to follow).
After it returned post the first battle scene particularly, the text began to switch between a drier 'report on a tale' feeling (as though I was hearing someone tell me about the tale of Beowulf, rather than telling me the tale) and the occasional resurgence of the nicely-balanced poetic/simplified tone. show less
Just finished reading Beowulf Garth Hinds a graphic novel version. This is an amazing interpretation of the epic tale. They use only graphics to represent the action and text appears in the quieter parts of the adventure. Usually I'd not like this but because of the dense poetic style of the original (this translation) it keeps the story from dragging.
The afterwards gives geographical and historical context that made the story come to life for me instead if just being another myth. 10 out of 10.
The afterwards gives geographical and historical context that made the story come to life for me instead if just being another myth. 10 out of 10.
Though I haven't yet read the original (still on my list), this graphic novel retelling of the Old English epic poem offered engaging storytelling and evocative illustrations. It also paired nicely with Grendel, another retelling, but told from the perspective of the monster, which I read not too long ago. This edition is quite violent, but any reader knowing the bare minimum of the story would expect that, though it's obviously slightly more in-your-face and gruesome due to the graphic format. Recommended for anyone considering reading a full-length translation but wanting to gain a basic understanding of the story — it has solidified my intent to eventually read Seamus Heaney's translation.
This graphic novel retelling of the classic Norse myth is absolutely amazing!
There’s no getting away from the fact that the story of Beowulf is a bloodthirsty, gore-filled, horrifying tale. Hinds’s artwork stays true to that fact. Bold in its extreme depiction of the violence of Grendel and Beowulf’s battle, the story of the battle is totally wordless – this entire section of the tale is told solely with pictures. Strong, glorious pictures, using a dark and minimalist palette.
For all the horror though, there is a real feel for the emotion of the characters. As Beowulf ages, and the colours he is painted with turn to muted shades of gray, his final battle with the dragon weighs heavy on him. His doubts about his ability to show more survive are revealed both in the text, and in the colour and imagery of the graphics.
A wonderful retelling, true to the original, so perfectly suited to the graphic novel format. show less
There’s no getting away from the fact that the story of Beowulf is a bloodthirsty, gore-filled, horrifying tale. Hinds’s artwork stays true to that fact. Bold in its extreme depiction of the violence of Grendel and Beowulf’s battle, the story of the battle is totally wordless – this entire section of the tale is told solely with pictures. Strong, glorious pictures, using a dark and minimalist palette.
For all the horror though, there is a real feel for the emotion of the characters. As Beowulf ages, and the colours he is painted with turn to muted shades of gray, his final battle with the dragon weighs heavy on him. His doubts about his ability to show more survive are revealed both in the text, and in the colour and imagery of the graphics.
A wonderful retelling, true to the original, so perfectly suited to the graphic novel format. show less
Gareth Hinds' "Beowulf" has beautifully crafted artwork. It seems dark and earthy in the appropriate places with special detail to certain fight sequences. Especially and most notably the scene where Beowulf rips Grendel's arm off. I was a little disappointed to not see the completion of that act, which was Grendel being beaten with his arm. I know that really a bit much, but for me it was a very layered act in the prose. I did like the way the reader had a close up in a large frame of the sinew tearing, and in a smaller frame inside the larger, the reader sees Beowulf brandishing the arm. The prose hits on the important parts, but loses the tone of the Old English and other translations. Overall, it was a worthwhile read and a great show more tool for a struggling student. show less
Another good adaptation from Hinds, but less of the admittedly boring bits are included—namely, the drawn-out speeches these warriors make to boast about their impressive exploits. This composes the bulk of the poem (if I recall correctly) and the story of Beowulf’s fights versus Grendel and Grendel’s mom are a much smaller part. Not that I’m dying to see the long brag sessions recreated as written in this concise adaptation, but the spirit of those was not captured.
I remember reading Beowulf as a freshman in college. In fact, it was the first assigned reading - which means that although I read it, it was long forgotten. Finding this illustrated Beowulf, including all three books, at our local library book sale for a dollar, I decided to reconnect. Hind's illustrations give a "superhero" look to the fighting scenes in which Beowulf slays Grendel, Grendel's mother and the dragon, complete with comic-like "splat" and "thunk" captions. Yet Beowulf and his fellow men retain a Viking-like look. The close-ups of faces and the drawings of the adversaries were especially good, as was the funeral send-off of Beowulf in his Viking ship. A pleasurable serendipitous purchase!
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Beowulf
- Original publication date
- 2007-03-13
- People/Characters
- Beowulf; Grendel; Grendel's mother; King Scyld (Son of the Sheaf); Hrothgar; Unferth (show all 7); Hygelac
- Important places
- Denmark; Heorot, Denmark; Geatland
- First words
- In the days of old, the House of the Scyldings ruled in Denmark.
- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)And in its vault they heaped the hoard - glittering spoils they had taken from the Worm's lair - trusting it to the ground, gold in the earth useless to men as of yore it was.
- Disambiguation notice
- Do not combine Gareth Hind's The Collected Beowulf with his Beowulf. Beowulf is an updated version with the same drawings, but all of the text is based on the translation by A.J. Church and is a colloquial tran... (show all)slation for easy readability and a YA audience. The Collected Beowulf is based on a translation by Francis Gummerere.
Sample Text:
Collected Beowulf: But sit to the banquet unbind thy words, hardy here as heart shall prompt thee
Beowulf: But I pray thee, hardy heroes, sit down to the feast.
Classifications
- Genres
- Graphic Novels & Comics, Teen
- DDC/MDS
- 741.5 — Arts & recreation Drawing & decorative arts Drawing Comic books, graphic novels, fotonovelas, cartoons, caricatures, comic strips
- LCC
- PN6727 .H53 .B46 — Language and Literature Literature (General) Literature (General) Collections of general literature Comic books, strips, etc.
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 603
- Popularity
- 48,331
- Reviews
- 24
- Rating
- (3.63)
- Languages
- Czech, English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 9
- ASINs
- 1
