Snow, Glass, Apples {graphic novel}

We all know how much I love a good Neil Gaiman story. He's one of my favorite authors currently writing and I've yet to encounter one of his stories that I haven't enjoyed in some way or another. Some of my favorite Gaiman things are the comic adaptations of his prose work. I always find it really intriguing seeing how comic artists adapt the work of Gaiman (an author who got, perhaps, one of his earliest and biggest breaks within the world of comics) into this more visual medium. This is where Snow, Glass, Apples comes into play. It's the latest in a fairly-lengthy line of comic adaptations of Gaiman's work to be published by Dark Horse Comics; ignoring their ongoing American Gods adaptation, it's the second such graphic novel adapting show more some of Gaiman's short stories. What intrigued me the most about this adaptation were the excerpts that featured some of Collen Doran's illustrations. Her style promised a really interesting, unique, and gorgeous take on the original short story and I was very excited to give it a read. How did it turn out? Just as good as I'd hoped it would be, if not better!

The short story this comic is based on is, perhaps, one of Gaiman's best-known shorts. A retelling of the Snow White fairy tale from the point of view of the Step-Mother. What if Snow White were some kind of vampire-esque monster and the "Evil Queen" was only trying to save her kingdom from this threat? This is the question at the heart of the short story, itself a haunting and suspenseful tale that, as you'd expect, ends in tragedy. It's a really solid short story, originally collected in Gaiman's Smoke and Mirrors collection. I'm a sucker for a good twist on an old fairy tale and this one proves to be more than just "what if the villain was misunderstood", pivoting hard into more of a "what if the 'hero' was actually the monster?" and I really dig that. Gaiman handles the subject with care, walking a fine line between sympathy for all the characters and depicting monstrous things with a monstrous touch. It's a really solid, entertaining, haunting, and spooky story and it's one of my favorites of Gaiman's short fiction.

What makes this particular adaptation unique, though, are the illustrations from Colleen Doran. Doran's art style throughout this comic adaptation is more reminiscent of religious stained glass artwork than that found in a traditional graphic novel. This stylistic choice really works well for the material, though, as it gives the whole story an elevated visual identity. Doran's artwork is beautiful and she manages to maintain a superb balance between the beauty of the images and the practicality needed from them to usher the actual story of the graphic novel along. Each of her images, while being gorgeous works of art, exist to serve the story being told. They're beautifully detailed but never too indulgent. It's a perfect balance between beauty and practicality.

All in all, this is a must-read for Gaiman fans. It's a short read - clocking in at around 60 pages - but it's a beautiful new take on a Gaiman classic that will delight you, frighten you, and make you want to read it again and again. The story is haunting and well-executed, Doran's artwork is beautiful and perfectly matches the tone of the story, and the whole affair just serves as a wonderful retelling of a great short story. It's perfect for the spooky season, too, so give it a read. show less

Alternative interpretations of familiar fairy tales are fun. I really liked this. It’s dark, it radically diverges from the popular narrative while keeping many familiar elements, and it is very well told.

A really dark, twisted, and satisfying twist on the old Snow White tale told in gorgeous graphic novel illustrations and written by the insanely talented Neil Gaiman. It honestly sells itself. I can't get over how beautiful it was, very art deco and intricate; the illustrations jump right off the page. Told from the "evil" Queen's perspective, this reversal of storytelling leads to some very surprising twists and finds readers definitely siding with the Queen. I will say there is a lot of nudity and sexual content so this is for mature teens and up; I personally didn't mind it, but I can see a parent's head exploding if they caught their 6th grader reading it. I hope Neil Gaiman does more fairy tale spin offs like this one; I really show more really liked it! show less

This is a very definitely ADULT fairy tale retelling, and it's a lot more horror than I had expected. (I knew it would be dark. It was much darker than I had imagined.) The art is lovely, and I will be looking for more of Doran's work, but I don't think I will be revisiting this particular story.

As the blurb mentions, the stepmother isn't evil in this story. Instead, it's Snow White herself who is the monster (quite literally). Even that twist, though, wasn't the reason I won't be revisiting this story: my reason is the very last few pages. They were too explicitly disturbing for me, and I felt they were unneeded. I thought it would have been better for Gaiman to end his retelling sooner, leaving it more ambiguous.

Additionally, while show more the art in this graphic novel isn't exactly erotica, it is very highly suggestive. I did enjoy the art; it feels lush and sensual. But be very clear: this is an adult book, meant for adults in both the theme and the art. show less

Colleen Doran's art is the main reason to pick up this adaptation of Neil Gaiman's inversion of the Snow White tale. The queen isn't as evil as made out and Snow White nowhere near innocent. Blood and nudity abound in this little horror story with vampires and necrophilia.

The combination of Gaiman's prose and story, with its horrifying inversion of the old fairy tale, and Coleen Doran's increddile, lush, rich, fine art makes this one of the most gorgeous comics of the year. A feast for the eyes and the senses. It's fantastic to see the influence of Harry Clarke blazing through into a modern work of fantasy with such stunning effect. Doran deserves all the prizes and plaudits for this gorgeous, chilling, erotic work.

Edited this to make is seem less like I was drunk when I wrote it. And I wasn't, even.

The dark retelling showcases how the stepmother is the victim and Snow White a vampire like monster. Story is to the point and wished it was more expanded but the art is beautiful and invokes such emotion. I would rate this older teen due to some suggestive erotic scenes.