Coraline Graphic Novel Review
http://phistars.blogspot.com/2012/06/coraline-graphic-novel-review.html
Coraline Graphic Novel Review
I never saw the movie Coraline. I heard it was good. While my youth wasted away in the labeling department, I took a half an hour break to browse through the latest graphic novels. Graphic Novels rarely circulate through the FIU University. They think they are so coy and refined. However, even Yale and Harvard have more graphic novels that FIU (I know cause I used to manage Inter Library Loans. Most of the graphic novels request that I processed for the FIU students came from those Ivy League Schools).
Anyhow, the author of the Coraline book is Neil Gaiman. This graphic novel adaptation was made by P. Craig Russell. Comparing the movie trailers to the graphic novel, I must say the graphic novel is superior. Russell did not alter too much the harmony of the book. The movie version made the ghost kid (I will explain him later) into an Other Kid fro the real world.
In the movie, they added a boy to help Coraline fight the Other Mother. Originally, she was forced to deal with the Other Mother alone. Anyhow, this graphic novel is more in tune with the original story. Basically, Coraline finds a door to the "Other World", while exploring her new home. In that world, she meets her Other Mother. She was much sweeter than Coraline's real mother. However, her Other Mother is not what she appears.
Coraline left after the first day. She was not too humored about having Buttons sewed into her eyes (this was the only way to stay in Other World forever). The mangaka artist took care to bring over the elements of the book. The narration style flows pretty well. It seems that the Other Mother has been creating world's for children. She lures them and then loves them to death...Literary!! Its a real bummer the Other Mother and her Other World.
Anyhow, the ghost kid is one of the children was lured by the Other Mother. He called her a Beldam. The word called my attention. Its nothing too far out there. Its just an old English word for hag. It was meant to show the time period of the dead kid. Its pretty interesting how the Other World deteriorated as the Other Mother got angrier.
Coraline really is quite the lonely kids story. The storyline is pretty easy to follow. You know, it did not feel like a lil kids graphic novel. I think it would be an enjoyable graphic novel for any age group. I like it. Its filed with family values. The moral lesson is that one's family is not as bad as they appear. There is always something much worse. Phi Stars recommends this graphic novel. Truly, it deserves 5 star rating.
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