Fowl is Good

Ever hear of Artemis Fowl? Don't curse yourself if you have not. Outside of Europe, not too many people have. After all, the author is Irish. But here's something that should impress you. He is one of the few teen fantasy heroes to have survived the Harry Potter phase. The reason l mention this is that comic afficionados have a rare opportunity coming up: the chance to compare a novel to its graphic novel adaptation to its movie adaptation. Not bad, eh?

For those of you who aren't in the know, here's a short introduction. The Artemis Fowl series of books by Eoin Colfer is the next big thing in fantasy fiction. Its Harry Potter gone super-smart and hi-tech meets criminal genius Muggle. The good news is that they're on the same side (not quite accurate, but its the best I can do; you'll have to read the book to understand). And you'll be rooting for the Muggle, or Mud Man, as we're called here. It doesn't have witches, but there's fairies, centaurs, goblins, trolls, dwarves, wizards, warlocks and pixies- which isn't bad compensation if you're a Harry Potter fan.

Artemis Fowl - the graphic novel has been adapted to a comic by author Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight). It features art by Giovanni Rigano (Incredibles) and colour by Paolo Lamanna (Daffodil series).

Now, if you've read the book, the first thing you'll do is good long look at the cover of the comic, which is a collage of all the characters in the book. Not just to compare them to the images we all form of characters while we read, but more because of the cryptic biographer that Colfer claims to be.

Confused? Well, just pick up any Artemis Fowl book and read the back. Colfer claims the stories are from classified files, which Artemis allows to be printed on condition that his face never be shown. Indeed, the covers of the novel feature stylized silhouettes, and never any faces.

The comic starts out just like the novel, with a note from the author on Fowl's background, almost like a prologue. Since its on the left page of the book, there's a good chance you might miss it. Then, the first few frames illustrate the narration, moving into the story, just like the novel.

The storyboarding has been done extremely well, with all the story highlights being covered. Am sure Colfer made sure of that. Now, this is where the graphic novel is better than the book. Colfer's style of writing gets slightly irritating because the story jumps perspectives when there is no real call for it. An amateurish attempt at suspense. The graphic novel is linear, with well-placed chapter breaks, and a pleasure to read.

I've read the entire series of novels and I hope all of them get adapted to graphic novels. And that's the verdict: the comic is better than the novel.