Translator: Angela Gurria
Publisher: Pegasus Books
Pub. Date: 2012, 2017
Genres: Fantasy, Retelling, Graphic Novel
Pages: 320
Rating: 3 of 5 Stars
Spanish artist Pablo Auladell set out to adapt John Milton’s Paradise Lost into this graphic novel. A few days after Satan’s Fall, he awakens in Hell and rallies his troops to come up with a new plan to attack God. Meanwhile, Adam and Eve are starting their lives together in the Garden of Eden. In this adaptation, we see a condensed and beautiful version of Paradise Lost, even if the characters are relatively flat.
The style of the writing read as so similar to Milton that I am not convinced that this was translated back into English. I think the translator heavily referenced the original English for this. That probably helps with making this an adaptation that maintains the integrity of the original work.
This art medium is effective at creating more emotion for the heavenly scenes than it is for those on Earth and in Hell. It shows the emotions of Michael, God, and the Son well. I am not sure that it portrayed Satan, Adam or Eve better, but it was interesting.
All of the characters felt flat. When I read Milton’s original, I thought Satan and the first humans were developed and round characters. Auladell’s remain pretty flat, though Satan has some stunning appearances. It stuck close to the plot, but it fell flat in actually keeping them round.
If you want to read an adaptation of Paradise Lost that is faithful to the plot and characters of the original, then this is a good graphic novel to read.
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