Coraline, the Graphic Novel: 04/03/10

A year ago my family went through a Coraline frenzy. With the film coming out my husband saw that I had a copy of Gaiman's book and decided to read it. He hadn't yet become a fan of the author's books so was reading it out of skepticism. When he loved it he lent the book to his family. When we got the book back he read it to our son (then six) who thought the Other Mother was the coolest book monster ever.

After the book reading frenzy we rented the film which I loved. Although I adore most of the things by Gaiman that I've read, Coraline didn't wow me as much as it did the rest of my family. The film did, though. When we rented the film we didn't show it to either Sean or Harriet, feeling they were both too young for it.

Sean though, having heard of the movie through friends at school pestered us to see it (for about six month). I decided to test his readiness by getting P. Craig Russell's adaptation of the novel as a graphic novel. I figured if he liked seeing the Other Mother in that form he could handle an animated version of her. Sean ended up reading the book in about a week. It was a hit and he showed it to his sister.

Anyway before I returned the book to the library I read it to. I still prefer the film to either version of the book but I see it as a sliding scale. At one end is the book and at the other end is the film. Bridging the gap is the graphic novel.

Now please don't get the wrong idea; Russell doesn't change the text of Gaiman's novel. He doesn't introduce characters like the film does. But his visuals are similar. The house looks a good deal like the Pink Lady in film and the location is once again moved from Britain to the United States.

Since Sean ended loving the graphic novel and the original novel, we re-rented the movie and let him and Harriet see it. Although Harriet had a few hide behind the couch moments she stuck with hit through the end (about six times too) with her brother. Sean loved it, even the changes. Yesterday I saw the film on sale and bought a copy for our DVD collection. We've already watched our copy twice.

Comments (4)

Comment #1: Friday, April, 9, 2010 at 21:12:55

Karen

Thanks for visiting my blog through the blog hop! Now I'm checking out yours! I haven't read the Coraline but my husband & I loved the movie!!

Comment #2: Friday, April 9, 2010 at 21:11:11

Pussreboots

There are two ways to read Coraline: the original novel and the graphic novel. Both are very good.

Comment #3: Sunday, May, 2, 2010 at 15:23:09

Little Willow

Thanks for the link! I love the book and story and really liked the graphic novel as well. The movie was decent, but I preferred the novel.

Comment #4: Monday, May 3, 2010 at 11:08:52

Pussreboots

I like all three versions but the film is my favorite.