Graphic Classics Volume 8: Mark Twain - 1st Edition - Softcover

Twain, Mark

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0971246483 ISBN 13: 9780971246485

Publisher: Eureka Productions, 2004

Synopsis

• Graphic Classics: Mark Twain features a comics adaptation of "The Mysterious Stranger" by Rick Geary, "A Ghost Story" by Anton Emdin, "A Dog's Tale" by Lance Tooks and nine more great stories. Plus Twain's "Advice To Little Girls," with art by seven women illustrators including Shary Flenniken, Mary Fleener, and Kirsten Ulve.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

With a terrific lineup of artists and unbeatable material, Pomplun has assembled a collection of Mark Twain's work that should delight graphic novel fans and anyone seeking to boost their general cultural knowledge. The stories collected here are, of necessity, taken from Twain's short works, and if not every single word has made it into these comics adaptations, there is still an abundance of the great man's rhetoric, which should satisfy all but the most exacting readers. The book begins with Twain's 70th birthday oration, delivered in 1905, and continues with one of Twain's later works, "The Mysterious Stranger," a dark morality tale set in 16th-century Austria. The mood lightens with "How I Was Sold in Newark" and "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County." Other yarns include "A Ghost Story" and "A Dog's Tale." Interspersed are shorter pieces: "Ode to Stephen Dowling Bots, Dec'd" (excerpted from Huckleberry Finn), a short discussion of a 19th-century fraud entitled "P.T. Barnum and the Cardiff Giant" and a superbly tongue-in-cheek advertisement for "A Curious Pleasure Excursion," in which the public learns Twain has leased a comet and is ready to take patrons on a deluxe ride through outer space. With over 20 different artists interpreting Twain's work, illustrations range from discreet drawings accompanying a page full of text to boffo spreads where characters cavort through the tale. Particularly charming is the collection of images accompanying Twain's practical "Advice to Little Girls," recommendations as timely now as when they were written.
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From School Library Journal

Adult/High School--From the troublemaking, steel-trap mind of Twain comes this collection of illustrated short stories, anecdotes, and epigrams. Interpreted in black and white by various artists, these adaptations vary greatly in artistic style, yet through it all Twain's unmistakable insight never waivers. Some of the pieces, such as the consistently enjoyable tragicomedies "The Mysterious Stranger" and "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County," receive a traditional comic-book treatment. Other pieces have a more modern, even expressionistic feel. Twain's language can be florid, and many readers will have to refer to the dictionary for clarification. In addition, his work is complex (many of the pieces involve him having a discussion with some incarnation of himself) and can be challenging. The heartbreaking "A Dog's Tale," a story of animal innocence in the face of casual, human evil, is accompanied by sociopolitical iconography that requires a sophisticated audience. While illustrated adaptations of Twain's lesser-known works are not for every reader's taste, teens looking for an unusual introduction to the writer will certainly find this book engaging.--Douglas P. Davey, Halton Hills Public Libraries, Ontario, Canada
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: Eureka Productions
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0971246483
• ISBN 13: 9780971246485
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144
• Editor: Pomplun Tom