Bibliofreakblog

Manga Shakespeare: Julius Caesar by William Shakespeare & Mustashirk Mahbab

Perhaps it is the nature of Comedy vs. Tragedy, but of the two Manga Shakespeare editions I’ve read so far, I liked A Midsummer Night’s Dream much better.

Then again, it might have just come down to the illustrations.

I found illustrator Mustashirk Mahbab’s drawing to be very sketch-heavy.  As they were not colored in, this was particularly problematic.  There were so many dark lines, they often obscured the details of the characters’ faces, making it difficult to tell people apart (something I have trouble with in black and white graphic novels to begin with).

Also, this was adapted by Richard Appignanesi.  I’m not sure how much slicing and dicing was done here, but I do know that AMSND wasn’t adapted, or at least, no adaptor was credited.  

And, of course, I had read AMSND before and hadn’t read Julius Caesar.

All of this, though, became inconsequential when it came time for Mark Antony’s speech:

“Friends, Romans, Countrymen, lend me your ears!”  etc., etc.

And then the crowd (who really, have a serious case of follow whomever is speaking, crowd mentality) are all, ” Me thinks there is much reason in his sayings”  (and any time someone says “methinks” in Shakespeare, I get a kick out of it).

The story of Julius Caesar is pretty well known, but the run-down is that Cassius et. al want to be on top, which means getting rid of Caesar, and so they go to Brutus, who is genuinely a good guy, and they play to his ethical side, and are all like, for the good of Rome, we must kill Caesar because he’s a tyrant.  And then they do.  And then there is war and Mark Antony and Octavius kick their asses, and to save face, Cassius and Brutus kill themselves (because it is Shakespearian tragedy and there has to be at least one suicide, otherwise you’ll want your money back).  

It is all very tragic, but really, the good guys to win in the end, so a little less tragic than usual.  I guess that technically speaking this is not a tragedy, but one of the histories, but those all tend to be downers, too.

Still, reading it in this format was quite pleasant.  

Also, I dug the motorcycles and helicopters.

 
Buy Manga Shakespeare: Julius Caesar on Amazon 

If you like this book/author, you might like:

(my reviews in blue)

The Forgotten Legion by Ben Kane
The Odyssey (Marvel Illustrated) by Roy Thomas, Alexandre Dumas, and Greg Tocchini
The Iliad (Marvel Illustrated) by Homer, Miguel Angel Seupulveda, and Roy Thomas
Beowulf: Monster Slayer by Paul D Storrie and Ron Randall
The Book of Genesis Illustrated by R. Crumb
Watchmen by Alan Moore
V for Vendetta by Alan Moore
The Life of Julius Caesar by Nicholas Saunders

Other works in the Manga Shakespeare series*:

Manga Shakespeare: Romeo and Juliet
Manga Shakespeare: Macbeth 
Manga Shakespeare: Hamlet
Manga Shakespeare: The Tempest 
Manga Shakespeare: As You Like It 
Manga Shakespeare: Richard III
Manga Shakespeare: Richard III 
Manga Shakespeare: Twelfth Night 
Manga Shakespeare: A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Manga Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing 
Manga Shakespeare: The Merchant of Venice 
Manga Shakespeare: Twelfth Night 
Manga Shakespeare: Henry VIII 
Manga Shakespeare: King Lear 

*All books in the Manga Shakespeare series are written by William Shakespeare, illustrated by various