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Book Summary

Reviewed by Matt Berman

The Danish king, Hrothgar, builds a great feasting hall called Heorot. But soon it's attacked by Grendel, a monster from a nearby swamp, who kills anyone he finds within at night. Many heroes try to fight him, and give their lives in the struggle.

Over the sea comes Beowulf. Having heard of the monster, he's eager to test himself. After a great battle, Beowulf defeats Grendel, tearing the monster's arm off in the process. But Grendel's troll mother, more terrible even than Grendel, swears revenge. To fight her, Beowulf must follow her to an underwater cave.

Is It Any Good?

3

BEOWULF is a grim and gruesome story, and artist Gareth Hinds has produced a graphic novel to match. He does a fine job with the text, adapted from A. J. Church's translation, and his draftsmanship is exemplary. But while Hinds draws the gore with crystal clarity, he's less clear about the sequence of events. There are pages, usually fight scenes with no text, where it's difficult, if not impossible, for the reader to tell exactly what is happening, and in what order. The frames are not sequential, and the action is sometimes muddy.

It's a frustration in this otherwise spectacular graphic novel version of a classic story. A visceral yet accessible treatment, this is clearly meant to appeal to video game-loving teens and fans of the November 2007 Beowulf movie starring Angelina Jolie and Anthony Hopkins.

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