Macbeth: Manga Classics: Modern English Edition

by William Shakespeare, Julien Choy (Illustrator), Michael Barltrop (Adapted by)

Overview

Macbeth, the Thane of Cawdor, is a loyal subject of Duncan, the King of Scotland. At least, he used to be. With tempting words and treacherous images, three witches and his own wife inspire Macbeth to a terrible act of treason and murder. As one murder follows another, Macbeth begins to lose his grip upon both his sanity and his hard-won kingdom - but what could possibly unseat him from his bloody throne? Manga Classics presents a NEW EDITION of Shakespeare's brutal Scottish tragedy, featuring lush visuals and the FULL, ADAPTED MODERN ENGLISH text of the classic play!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947808218
Publisher:	Manga Classics Inc.
Publication date:	09/21/2021
Series:	Manga Classics Series , #1
Pages:	324
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	13 - 16 Years

About the Author

Widely esteemed as the greatest writer in the English language, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was an actor and theatrical producer in addition to writing plays and sonnets. Dubbed "The Bard of Avon," Shakespeare oversaw the building of the Globe Theatre in London, where a number of his plays were staged, the best-known of which include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, and Macbeth. The First Folio, a printed book of 36 of his comedies, tragedies, and history plays, was published in 1623.

Date of Death:

2018

Place of Birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Place of Death:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Editorial Reviews

"Choy’s black-and-white manga-style artwork is crisp and dynamic, suiting the martial moments but also adeptly portraying characters’ internal struggles." - Kirkus (NOT A POSITIVE REVIEW)

From the Publisher

2021-10-21
Shakespeare’s shortest tragedy gets an overlong Manga Classics series treatment.

This is a modern-language counterpart to the series’ 2018 manga adaptation of Macbeth that preserved the original text. Choy’s black-and-white manga-style artwork is crisp and dynamic, suiting the martial moments but also adeptly portraying characters’ internal struggles. The sharp lines and claustrophobic close-ups capture Macbeth’s journey from loyal liege to unhinged tyrant. Disappointingly, the less nuanced portrayal of Lady Macbeth relies on a literal interpretation of her lines. In a mostly successful attempt to illustrate and explain Elizabethan analogies, Macbeth’s abundant allusions, metaphors, and similes are translated into background imagery. Regrettably, the accompanying, modernized dialogue ultimately detracts from the retelling. The cadence and language of the original text is lost, sacrificed for an unappealing blend of stilted formal English and clichéd phrases. Converting a Shakespearean play to a popular, visual, modern medium may attract new audiences otherwise daunted by archaic language, thick tomes, and impenetrable theatrical productions, but the new dialogue has its own biases and interpretations that may escape readers unfamiliar with other approaches to understanding the play. No Throne of Blood, the medieval-ish Scottish setting remains intact, and the characters read as White.

A modernized Macbeth for manga fans, but the Bard deserves better. (cast list, manga-reading instructions, character sketches, creators’ notes) (Graphic fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews