John's Reviews > The Hobbit

As a long time fan of Tolkien since I was a child (having even been a TA in a college-level Tolkien studies class), I'm always interested in how Tolkien is adapted. When I saw this graphic novel edition of the Hobbit, I was very curious as to how the story would play in the medium of the "comic". And I'm actually happy to say that the novel itself comes across really well. The story, characters and plot are all evenly handled. However, a fundmental problem with the medium of comic books would definitely be visual approachability. In a less dense story, you could show the action in the graphics/drawings, and the dialogue in word form. But when there's a linear approach to a story's plot, the graphic medium may not be the best way to handle it...because I found the actual act of reading this book a bit frustrating...having to re-read panels over again because the flow of dialogue and action were a bit confusing (ie, do I read this bubble first? or that one? it seemed to change, depending on the layout. So, hence, minus one star.

But other than that...the story has always been a lot of fun (riddles rule!). I don't think I have to praise the original any more than it already has been...but yeah, anyone who's a fan of fantasy loves it (hobbits, the dwarves, the wizard and dragons). In short, I've read the hobbit a handful of times...and as always, it feels like visiting an old friend.