This is a graphic novel adaptation of Herman Melville's Moby Dick, adapted by Sophie Furse. It is a fictional book about whale hunters in a pre-technological age.

The story of this is the same as the original novel. The main character comes to a whale-fishing village seeking work and, along with an islander named Queeque (who is an ace shot with his harpoon), joins a ship led by Captain Ahab. During their whale-hunting expedition, they spot a large, white whale, which Captain Ahab becomes obsessed with. He endangers the crew in his hunt for this whale, and becomes a disturbing character.

This graphic novel adaptation seemed interesting at first, and may still prove useful in a future classroom. However, overall, it seems like it would be almost as boring as the novel to high school students. The illustrations are good, but it is all very orderly and regimented with its panels, making it a very stale graphic novel to look at. I feel as though this can be a very epic and emotionally powerful story if presented right, and that makes this graphic novel a missed opportunity.

This story can be used to teach a few things:
-The price of obsession
-Acceptance of differences, and the negativity of assuming

So, as far as the story goes, this graphic novel has a good one, mainly because it is based on a piece of classic literature, even though it does "dumb" it down a bit. I think the graphic novel could be used to introduce the actual novel in a classroom, since the illustrations, though stale, can still help the imagination of the less skilled readers. I hope to find better adaptations of classic novels in order to introduce them to the class and help make them more real and approachable to the students; visual literacy is a huge thing in our culture today, and should not be ignored. ( )

Melville's classic story is handled with respect and care in this graphic adaptation, but the retelling is almost too helpful to the reader and has a stiff feel. The smallish illustrations are mostly separated from the text, further reducing the impact that a graphic version might have had. Several additional articles are included. ( )