CORALINE by Neil Gaiman(2008)
© Harper Collins
Mania Grade: A
Graphic Novel: Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Artist: P. Craig Russel
Publisher: Harper Collins
Page: 186
Price: $18.99
Buy it now!
Graphic Novel: Coraline
Author: Neil Gaiman
Artist: P. Craig Russel
Publisher: Harper Collins
Page: 186
Price: $18.99
Buy it now!
Graphic Novel Review of Coraline
By: Tim JansonReview Date: Sunday, July 06, 2008
There are comic writers, and good comic writers, and then there are a select few in an elite class who are simply head and shoulders above the rest. They are like LeBron James playing basketball with guys from a YMCA league. One of these is Neil Gaiman, whose beautiful prose never ceases to amaze. Gaiman’s 2003 best-selling novel has been adapted into graphic format by artist P. Craig Russell. Harper Collins describes this as a novel for young readers but that sells the book short. This modern fantasy is perfect for all ages…a kind of modern day Alice in Wonderland although much darker in tone.
Coraline (Not Caroline!) has moved into a big house in the country with her parents. The house is shared by elderly, retired actresses Miss Forcible and Miss Spink, who live in the lower flat, and Mr. Bobo, who claims he trains mice, who lives in the upper flat. Coraline is a typical young girl, curious and easily bored. While waiting out a rainy day, she decides to explore the big house and finds a door with a brick wall behind it. He mother explains the house was separated off when it was turned into apartments. But Coraline cannot help but be inquisitive about the mysterious door, especially after it is open when she knows she saw her mother lock it.
One day, with her parents away, Coraline opens the door to find the brick wall gone and another apartment on the other side; an apartment almost like her own and yet subtly different. She steps through to find herself in an alternate world. Here, her parents are attentive to her every need and are not busy with work all the time. But her new mother is not quite like her real mom. Her fingers are longer and bonier, and she has coat buttons where her eyes should be. She wants Coraline to stay with her forever! Coraline retreats back to her apartment only to find her parents missing. Now, she’ll have to go back to the other mom and use all of her wits and resources to find her real parents and escape back to her world.
Coraline is a work of dark, and sometimes disturbing beauty. The last third of the book features very intense imagery as Coraline gambles in a game of wits with her otherworldly mother. As Coraline makes progress in their wager, we see the new mom’s loving, cheerful guise begin to fade as a darker side manifests itself. Besides her new parents there are twisted versions of the elderly women and Mr. Bobo to contend with although Caroline will find aid from an unexpected source as she uncovers the secrets in the other apartment.
Gaiman crafts a story where a little girl has to find her own identity but also speaks to the idea of family values. We have to sometimes step back from our jobs and everyday stresses to realize what it important to all of us unless we too get caught up in our own dark realities. There is perhaps no better artist suited to tell this story than P. Craig Russell. His fluid, graceful style brings Gaiman’s characters to life, often in terrifying fashion. Even with buttons for eyes, Russell captures the malevolence of the new mom.
Harper Collins has been putting out some fantastic graphic novels in the past couple of years and Coraline is the best one yet!
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seriously though, this is a mesmerizing tale full of dark beauty (not the crappy deathclub kind, the real kind) and imagination. If you had to describe his work in a single word it would be imagination. I gobble up every morsel he throws out there and try to pass it on to someone else. I just finished listening to his narrated version of Coraline and can't wait to share it w/ my kids when they get old enough to enjoy it (or when i get more than the 1). I also borrowed an advance copy of the Graveyard Book from a friend that i'm about to tear into. If there is anyone out there who hasn't checked out his work for whatever silliness do yourself a favor, pick up American Gods and then pick any medium for a followup, he's done everything.
whew...ok mancrush over