Being a self-proclaimed semi-literary type, I try to avoid the netspeak, shortcut, lolcat vernacular so popular with the kids these days. None of this ‘ROFL’, ‘LMAO’ or ‘IYKWIM’ for me. I even try to avoid ‘BTW’.

Having said that:

OMG OMG OMG!!

*whew*

Just in time for Ray Bradbury‘s upcoming 89th birthday party (click the link! You can send him a card!) on August 22nd, comes Fahrenheit 451: The Authorized Adaptation, released two weeks ago. How did I just hear about this now!?

What is it, you ask? Only a graphic novel version of Bradbury’s dark, dystopian masterpiece Fahrenheit 451. If Sin City and Batman have taught us anything, it’s that comic books and graphic novels don’t always have to be fun, superhero kid-stuff – in fact, darker, more sinister subject matter lends itself well to the art form, and Bradbury’s tale of control, censorship and suppression strikes me as the perfect fit for the genre. All that fire. Mm. I think this is going to be great.

The bold artist to have taken on the task, Tim Hamilton, also took on an adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island a few years back, so he’s clearly up to the challenge of an iconic novel.

OMG!

NPR talked to Hamilton if you’d like to learn more.

And us? We have signed copies of Fahrenheit 451 – the original, autographed by Ray Bradbury himself.

And Mr. Bradbury, if you’re reading this – Happy Birthday!