Graphic Canon vol. 2: Literary Comics from Lewis Carroll to the Brontë Sisters by Way of Darwin
by Maria PopovaCelebrated contemporary graphic artists adapt some of the most memorable literature since 1800.
Earlier this year, Russ Kick gave us the the first installment of his Graphic Canon trilogy, which culls illustrated adaptations of 190 classic literary works from more than 130 contemporary graphic artists. Today marks the release of the second volume, The Graphic Canon, Vol. 2: From “Kubla Khan” to the Brontë Sisters to The Picture of Dorian Gray (public library), which covers a remarkable spectrum of literature since 1800 and spans everything from “the bad boys of Romanticism” — Keats, Byron, and Shelley — to cornerstones of science and philosophy like Darwin’s On the Origin of Species and Nietzsche’s Thus Spake Zarathustra to prior favorites like Matt Kish’s Moby-Dick illustrations. The tome is the best thing in literary comics since Kate Beaton’s Hark! A Vagrant and a fine complement to the best graphic nonfiction of the past few years.
Lord Byron's 'She Walks in Beauty,' adapted by David Lasky
Herman Melville's Moby-Dick, adapted by Matt Kish
Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass, adapted by Dave Morice
Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, adapted by Tim Fish
Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre, adapted by Elizabeth Watasin
Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Raven,' adapted by Yien Yip
Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, adapted by Huxley King & Terrence Boyce
Detail from the Incan play Apu Ollantay, adapted by Caroline Picard
Of particular fascination and delight to me, as a hopeless Lewis Carroll fan, are the gorgeous takes on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass, “Jabberwocky,” and “The Hunting of the Snark.”
Lewis Carroll's Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, adapted by Dame Darcy
Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark, adapted by Mahendra Singh
The Graphic Canon, Vol. 2, bound to enchant in innumerable ways, will be followed by volume 3 in March, which is now available for pre-order.
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