Autumn seems to be the time that I dabble in reading graphic novels as last September I read three graphic novel versions of Agatha Christie’s The Big four, Evil Under the Sun and Dead Man’s Folly. Today I am finally reviewing the Christie graphic novel I read this September, a couple of weeks ago. I have reviewed Christie’s Murder on the Orient Express on my blog already, and it is a story I am pretty familiar with. So, my interest in reading this new adaptation was to examine how the different format conveys the original mystery.
Books are more than their covers, and we are often told not to judge a book by one, but I think it would be remise of me to not comment on how lovely a job they did with the production of the cover for this graphic novel. The previous graphic novels I have read are only 46 pages long, whereas Al-Greene’s is over 200 pages, which is a tremendous amount of work. Due to its larger size, I was hopeful more of the original plot and its conversations would be retained.
The opening two pages are very evocative. It is nighttime, it’s snowing and Hercule Poirot is alone in the darkness, trapped in the middle of nowhere.
The artist does a good job of conveying the remoteness of the train later in the story too, as demonstrated in the image below. The whiteness of the snow removes more unique landmarks and contrasts with the blood of the crime scene. Poirot’s speech bubble situated in the sky reinforces the sense of isolation.
The graphic novel is divided into three sections and the first of these is: Part One – The Facts. I felt the image on this page was effective as it clearly depicts the travel context of the story that lies ahead and shows the route the train needs to take. I like how the information is visually transmitted, almost indirectly, as the reader needs to choose to pick it out.
Part Two begins with a map of the sleeping carriage, identifying who has which compartment and again this is useful background information for the reader to use as they wish.
I liked the drawing style on the whole and I think the artist does a good job of using facial expressions to intimate voice tone. However, there were a couple of panels where excessive use of shadow creates an odd effect on Poirot’s face.
In addition, there is an aerial shot of the crime scene cabin and the victim in situ. I found the corpse looked more peaceful than expected. Furthermore, the amount of blood seemed plausible, but there were no stab wounds for the blood to come from. I felt this was a detail which should have been retained.
Returning to the idea of using images to convey ideas, rather than words, I liked how the artist uses different strategies for suggesting Poirot is moving through the train.
I thought the use of various camera angles worked well here and on other pages too, with some showing you what Poirot himself can see. I felt this gave a sense of immediacy to the action, as well as displaying some of Poirot’s character traits.
Close ups of characters’ faces, in particular their eyes, is also a feature of this edition, which I thought tapped into themes explored in the original novel. In my review for this book, I explore this theme more deeply, reflecting upon what the eye descriptions say about the characters.
Images in grey scale are deployed to depict flashback scenes, which again is something you pick up on without having to be told directly that this is what is happening. The red on the panel below is also more vivid as a result.
Another aspect of the graphic novel experience that I appreciated was the way the artwork is used to maintain the puzzle-mystery and clue elements of the story. For example, at the end of part one key physical objects are singled out and the way this is structured encourages reader engagement and armchair sleuthing.
Dialogue has to be more minimal in a graphic novel, but I think the adapter does a good job of making a few words go a long way, using hesitation and specific words to convey Poirot’s real meaning to the reader, such as in the image above when Poirot feels it is ‘convenient’ that the murderer broke the watch, thereby seemingly fixing the time of death.
Poirot’s notebook is another device utilised for reducing the need for conversation and extra panels. It also becomes a useful tool for summarising key facts or questions that Poirot wants to answer. These questions are then discussed in a later section between Poirot, Dr Constantine and Monsieur Bouc, a conversation which further aids reader armchair detection, if the reader does not already know the solution.
Perhaps because of these conversation saving elements, the graphic novel is able to spend more time depicting little character details, that don’t move the story along but give the piece a cinematic quality. That said I think there might be too many panels devoted to Cyrus Hardman blowing chewing gum (which did exist by the 1930s) and getting it stuck on his face.
I was particularly impressed by the way the graphic novel format handled the clue regarding whether suspects were left or right-handed. This is something Poirot tests, yet he does it in such a way that the reader may not notice it until nearer the end when he explains it. I felt the way this clue was depicted was fair but indirect.
I am not sure the final panels of the story fully capture the emotions of this last scene in which the solution is revealed, and decisions need to be made on how to deal with the guilty party. Although I did feel that Monsieur Bouc’s awkwardness of being put on the spot and asked to decide which solution to give the police, is well illustrated.
So overall, as someone who does not dip their toes into graphic novels too often, I think this is a very good reading experience and I think the artwork is effective in conveying Christie’s story. This would make for an excellent Christmas gift. I am curious though whether my experience would have been different if I was not already familiar with the mystery and had not read the full-length original novel.
Rating: 4.5/5
Source: Review Copy (Harper Collins)