News:Redwall: The Graphic Novel Advance

Contributed by LordTBT at 4:26PM EST, 29 March 2007

THIS NEWS POSTING CONTAINS SPOILERS REGARDING THE REDWALL GRAPHIC NOVEL

Today I received an Advance of Redwall: The Graphic Novel, and let me say, it is fantastic. It's about 6inX9in, and 143 pages in length.

It's very well done. All the drawings are black and white; and Blevins' illustration really brings the characters to life. A character that is supposed to be a baddie truly looks evil, be it Sela, Asmodeus, or Cluny the Scourge. Cluny is particularly menacing throughout the comic.

I don't want to say it's violent per se, but better terms are gritty and raw. When battle goes on, we see blood flying around. Asmodeus is depicted as being completely decapitated.

When it comes to size depiction, shrews and Sparra are shown as smaller than Matthias.

Squire Julian Gingivere is actually large enough for Matthias to ride.

Not seen in the novel is the exploration of typical Redwall archetypes, like feasting, depth of characters like Skipper and Ambrose Spike, etc.

Overall, the GN consists more of the adventure of Matthias, and tends to sidetrack characters like the Churchmouses.

I have not read it in completion yet; I've only had the time to do some pretty in depth scanning and skimming.

The GN ends as Abbot Mortimer dies; the Summer of the Talking Squirrel is not mentioned at all.

Click the front cover to see it bigger, that's Matthias on the front with Cluny looming in the background.

On the back (below) is Asmodeus.

I've also included a scan of one cell from the GN to demonstrate how great a job Blevins has done. This is from the scene when Basil first appears, and is taunting Cluny by bounding around Mossflower.

The Redwall Graphic Novel is a great addition to the Redwall saga, and anyone who is a fan should definitely pick this up when it comes out in October.

According to the book, the official summary is as follows:

When the peaceful life in and around ancient Redwall Abbey is shattered by the arrival of the evil rat Cluny and his villainous hordes, Matthias, a young mouse, determines to find the legendary sword of Martin the Warrior which, he is convinced, will help Redwall's inhabitants destroy their enemy.