Manga Classics A Midsummer Nights Dream

by William Shakespeare, Julien Choy (Artist)

Overview

One of Shakespeare's most famous comedies finds a brilliant new life with this incredible Manga Classic adaptation.

A Midsummer Night's Dream portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and Hippolyta. These include the adventures of four young Athenian lovers and a group of six amateur actors (the mechanicals), who are controlled and manipulated by the fairies who inhabit the forest. The play is one of Shakespeare's most popular works for the stage and is widely performed across the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781947808102
Publisher:	Manga Classics
Publication date:	02/18/2020
Series:	Manga Classics Series
Pages:	340
Sales rank:	185,069
Product dimensions:	5.70(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.10(d)
Lexile:	GN790L (what's this?)
Age Range:	13 - 16 Years

About the Author

William Shakespeare is considered by many to be the greatest playwright in the history of the English language. The bulk of Shakespeare’s working life was spent in the theater world of London, where he established himself professionally by the early 1590s. He enjoyed success not only as a playwright and poet, but also as an actor and shareholder in an acting company. Although some think that sometime between 1610 and 1613 Shakespeare retired from the theater and returned home to Stratford, where he died in 1616, others believe that he may have continued to work in London until close to his death. Shakespeare was born in April 1564 in the town of Stratford-upon-Avon, on England’s Avon River. When he was eighteen, he married Anne Hathaway. The couple had three children—an older daughter Susanna and twins, Judith and Hamnet. Hamnet, Shakespeare’s only son, died in childhood.

Crystal S. Chan is the chief adapter of the Manga Classics. She is an award-winning author and television screen play writer and holds a degree in language and literature. Crystal is a huge fan of authors such as J. K. Rowling and she is equally passionate about Sailor Moon. Her passion for classic literature combined with her love of the comics medium allows her to strike a solid balance between preserving the depth of the original content while adapting the stories for a new generation of readers.

Poe Tse is a veteran in the comic-activists community. His uncanny talent of drawing authentic shojo style as a male artist has made him a rare breed among his peers. Also known as Lemon Po to his followers and friends, Po’s drawing style is inspired by classic manga artists of the 80's. Aside from being a shojo comic artist, Po is a domestic husband who enjoys making desserts to delight his friends and family.

Date of Death:

2018

Place of Birth:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Place of Death:

Stratford-upon-Avon, United Kingdom

Editorial Reviews

07/26/2019

Gr 7 Up-Shakespeare's tale of mismatched, unrequited love gets "manga-ized" in this lushly illustrated volume. While Old English vernacular can be difficult for readers, Chan's adaptation will resonate with teens. The magnificent black-and-white drawings in this play about star-crossed lovers perfectly capture characters' emotions. What initially begins as a story of forbidden love between Hermia and Lysander morphs into a complicated and multidirectional story involving feuding fairies, magic love potions, and a domineering donkey thespian. This over-the-top romantic comedy meshes well with Tse's art and would pair well with the original play to help readers keep track of the characters and their exploits and decipher the dense figurative language. VERDICT A great entry point for new Shakespeare readers and manga enthusiasts alike. For most middle and high school libraries.-Tamela Chambers, Chicago Public Library, IL

School Library Journal

2019-02-13

Manga that brings to life Shakespeare's classic romantic comedy.

This third entry in Manga Classics' adaptations of Shakespeare's plays maintains their practice of reproducing the full text of the original. The black-and-white illustrations allow readers to easily follow the plot while also picking up on subtle themes that are significant to understanding the play. For example, the abundant imagery surrounding the moon is emphasized by the moon's presence in the backgrounds of many panels throughout the book, drawing readers' attention. Long dialogues are also explained visually, which allows young readers to grasp what is being discussed without the need for a glossary or translation into modern English. The nobility is portrayed in a typical manga fashion with large eyes, small noses, and well-defined ears—but with appropriate Grecian clothing—while the commoners are easily visually distinguishable from them in style. The guide to reading manga at the beginning unfortunately describes the right-to-left reading order as "backwards from the normal books you know," a strangely judgment-laden description for a book using manga to broaden the cultural exposure of young readers. However, the creators' notes at the end offer fascinating insights into the adaptation process and may inspire budding manga artists to attempt their own works.

Shakespeare's fantastical dream in an appealing format that can be shared with a wider audience. (cast, creators' notes, character design sheet) (Graphic fiction. 12-18)

Kirkus Reviews