Dobbs (3) (1972–)

I have been a fan of The War of the Worlds ever since I was a kid. Perhaps it was something about Leonard Nimoy's narration of the audiobook version that I listened to back then, but I have always been riveted by Wells's tale of alien invaders overwhelming the greatest empire on Earth only to fall victim to ordinary bacteria. Not only do I reread the original novel every couple of years, but I also pick up the various adaptations and sequels that I come across to see what other writers bring to the story, so when I saw Dobbs's adaptation on the shelf of my local library I snapped it up.

When I first saw it, I took it for a retelling of Wells's novel in graphic format. This wasn't wrong, but neither was it the best description of what I read. It would be more accurate to characterize Dobbs's work as an adaptation, one that largely follows the basic plot of the source but makes some subtle changes. Dobbs largely eschews the explanations provided by Well's first-person narrator, preferring to let the visuals relate developments. Yet while I enjoyed Vicente Cifuentes's artwork for the most part, there were two things that increasingly annoyed me over the course of the book. The first was the depiction of the Martians' machines. which are less the tripods of the original text than they are more akin to the Sentinels from the Wachowskis' Matrix movies. This I could reconcile; what proved more annoying was his depiction of the women in the book, all of whom had an annoying similarity that contrasted with Cifuentes's more varied portrayal of the men. It may seem a minor complaint, but as I read on it felt increasingly like a marginalization compared to the portrayal of the men. Perhaps that was intended as a commentary on the source material, but if so it came across more like an observation than a point.… (altro)

The last of the H.G. Wells graphic novel adaptations (for now, at least).

Moreau is one that I've read, but I don't have strong memories of the original like I do for War of the Worlds and The Time Machine. Maybe it's because I could never buy into the central premise as easily (go figure...Martians and time travel? Sure! Human-animal hybrids? Hell, nah!).

Anyway, this one seems to suffer from the same malady that the original story suffered from...what's the plot? Yes, Moreau's experiments are monstrous, and yes, he's trying to play god and evolve the lower beings, but overall, what's the plot? Prendick seems to just happen to stumble upon the island just as everything's about to fall to shit. He doesn't really play much of a part beyond observer.

So, once again, I think the graphic novel format may have helped in that it made the story a bit more economical, but again, this one just didn't resonate with me, despite the gorgeous art.… (altro)

The first Wells novel I ever read. I have to say, I was somewhat disappointed (as a child who had not yet quite hit his teens) to see the bulk of the novel was set in the year 802701.

But coming back to the story through this adaptation, I find that, with Moreau's visuals, I enjoyed it an awful lot more. My four-decade-old memory of the story was that it dragged some once we started digging into the Elois and the Morlocks, and this is one time where, I believe, the brisker pace of the graphic novel corrected that problem.

So, gotta say, I really enjoyed this one.

But, what a missed opportunity that this artist (Moreau) didn't get to do the [b:H. G. Wells: The Island of Dr. Moreau|43075003|H. G. Wells The Island of Dr. Moreau|Dobbs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1543715444l/43075003._SX50_.jpg|66872397] adaptation?… (altro)

H.G. Wells' work is eminently adaptable to the graphic novel medium, and this flawed, yet readable adaptation shows why.

Dobbs has a good eye for choosing his visual collaborators on these, and the art alone is worth the price of admission. However, that being said, there's still some niggling complaints. The main protagonist's wife seems to completely change facially from the beginning of the book until when we catch up with her near the end. I honestly thought she was a different character. Also, midway through, at the start of part two, we meet a second narrator who, though younger and without the facial hair of the first one, looks too similar, leading to confusion.

Like I said, niggling complaints, but it does subtract from my enjoyment of the book as a whole.

As for the writing, well, Dobbs isn't horrible at adapting the books, I think he just needs more space. As others have said, there's so much going on that there is no room left for us to learn to love the major players enough to care for them.

Once again, overall, the story is there, but I do think Dobbs relies on the reader already being familiar with the stories, and drops some of the bits that shouldn't necessarily be dropped.

Having said all that, overall, taking this for what it is, ignoring the source material, and just reliving the story, it's still very much a fun ride.… (altro)