MADreads

Words, words, words…and some cool drawings

September 25th, 2007 Amy - Hawthorne

So many good, well-known, and beautiful lines:  To be or not to be.  The lady doth protest too much, methinks.  To thine own self be true.  What a piece of work is a man.  And they are alive in the Manga Shakespeare Hamlet adapted by Richard Appignanesi, and illustrated by Emma Vieceli.  This series for young adult readers, which so far includes only Romeo and Juliet, really helps convey the meaning of lines, not to mention the story, which might otherwise seem incomprehensible or obscure.  And the manga style drawings are so hip, sexy, and modern.  Purists may scoff and whine when their high brow is morphed into a postmodern unibrow of high and low art, but I’m of the opinion that the more ways to approach art the better.  Hey, my first exposure to Hamlet was the 1966 Gilligan’s Island version as a musical set to the music of “Carmen!”  Who could forget the Skipper as Polonius? 

Those who are unfamiliar with manga or are over a certain age may find it hard to follow.  My husband, for instance, who loves Hamlet and teaches it every year to highschoolers, couldn’t seem to distinguish the characters.  I’m not going to worry about him though.  He’s not the intended audience.  There are also the occasional cherubic chibi versions of the characters, which are a sort of Precious Moments-style manga convention to express an emotion or action in a small panel.

The story is set, a bit strangely, far in the future of 2107.  The character’s fashion, hair, and communication devices made me smile.  I suppose it is more appealing to teens to be set in the future as opposed to the past.  All this coolness is put to good use – drawing you into the story, the passion, and the intensity of the gorgeous language.  I’m not saying it’s the same as reading the actual play, and I’m no expert on Shakespeare (or manga for that matter) but I liked it.  Since brevity is the soul of wit…this post is toast.

Entry Filed under: Graphic Novel, Young Adult