Emma (Marvel Illustrated Graphic Novels) Paperback – January 1, 2012

4.5 starsThis is Nancy Butler's third Marvel adaptation of a Jane Austen novel. It is very clear that Ms. Butler knows the author's work very well, as this is wonderfully true to plot and dialogue.In her introduction, Ms. Butler refers to Austen's statement that Emma is a character only her author could love - and that she disagrees with it and that "in fact, most readers love Emma." That's a tricky statement. The book is excellent, and there are scores of admirable characters. Emma is a work in progress - she's judgemental, a bit haughty, meddlesome, and momentarily cruel on a few occasions. If she wasn't rich and pretty (she's almost always played on stage and on screen by a beautiful woman), I think she'd be a little less regarded. And yet, this is looking at her critically in the 21st century (I did read it in the 20th century though).Back in my undergraduate days, I wrote a paper on 19th century female characters in literature. I showed how women were portrayed as silly things early on, but that over the century as more women became educated and their rights were urged on, the characters became deeper. Written in 1815, Austen's Emma is shallow (and doesn't read nearly as much as she has pledged to). That said, Austen created deeper female characters in Persuasion, Sense and Sensibility, and Pride and Prejudice.All of that is academic though (I just couldn't write the same drivel that everyone utters about "Emma" at this point). It's a great novel. This is a fantastic adaption. The artwork is good, though I had to work a little (just a little) at telling a few characters apart a couple of times. It's a steal right now on Amazon.

I decided a while ago that I needed to "well-round" myself by reading more than textbooks and other original sources for my classes. So, what was the solution -- the classics. In hindsight, and not to slight the distributor Amazon and others, but I am working my way through the classics by purchasing and reading the B&N classic versions of various original authors (e.g., in this case, Jane Austen): [...] Jane Austen is usually touted to as being one of the greatest authors and Emma is known as being her greatest novel in volume and complexity. I feel quite differently, in fact, I think that Mansfield Park was her best work that I've read thus far. Emma seemed to be a hybrid piece where Jane was interjecting her own character into Emma's persona. The biggest problem that I had with Emma is that I found Jane to be too predictable with her psychological development of a shallow Emma and the progression of the story. The characters in Emma seem to contradict the obviousness of almost every romantic situation except for Mr. Knightly. For this reason, I prize Mansfield Park, Pride and Prejudice, and even Sense and Sensibility over Emma. However, this is not to say that Emma is a bad book. One thing that Steve Marcus does point out in his introduction of the B&N classic version is how Jane describes the socioeconomic shift occurring in England during her lifetime. But, getting on to Marvel's version...Nancy Butler has illustrated many other Jane Austen novels that I have not yet read nor reviewed, but that aside I have read this one. The one caveat that Nancy comes out and presents is Jane Austen's expression of wealth through the various transportation methodologies of the horse drawn carriage/s. That said, Nancy does a great job of presenting the use of carriages and the landscape through which we might image Emma and the rest of her ensemble traveling. Also, another thing that Nancy does very well is to capture the Thomas Kincade method of depicting the "light." In Jane's time as well as Emma's, there was no electricity, so candlelight, especially tallow was the primary source of light. Depicting illustrated candle light is very difficult. Yet, without any seeming difficulty, Nancy depicts every night and ballroom scene in a warm, wonderful, lit nature. However, I think that Nancy's idea of Mr. Knightly was one of a younger man, which we know him to be in his thirties, yet she depicts him as being in his twenties. Regarding the story, I found it to be practical in length, as it is much shorter than the actual book without sacrificing the plot or any crucial scenes.If you just want a "Cliff Notes" version of the text with some illustrations, I would recommend this book as that it conveys the entire story without losing anything in its compression. I would also recommend this book to anyone who is a collector or a Jane Austen enthusiast because without it the collection would not be complete. Overall, Nancy Butler conveyed Jane Austen's Emma very effectively in both illustration and plotline, in fact, I do not think that anyone else could have done a better job at condensing such an emmense work such as Emma into a picture/comic book.

I finally got around to reading/visualizing this one to my delightful surprise. I have graphic novels of Jane Eyre, Sense and Sensibility, and, also, Pride and Prejudice(of, course!); however, I was put off reading this one because of the caricature-like drawings- mistake.Have you ever gone to a movie expecting it to be a stinker or even just so-so, and then totally amazed how good it was? Same here. Grumbling about the drawings for about the first page or two, I soon was immersed in total enjoyment of this fun adaptation of Jane Ausen's classic. There are an immense amout of frames here, full of the wonderful dialogue and cleverness we've all come to thrive on over the years; moreover, the art work flushes out with all the different angles and expressions, the emotional fun of this story. By George, it works!I recommend, unless you are simply a total, unflexible realist, to give this book a try. Go with the flow. Feel the interactions, teasings and playfulness between the characters, such as Knightley and Emma. If you've only seen the movies, you're, definitely, going to get a lot more details from this very accurate telling. Then, go read the real novel.Good stuff. Capital, capital!

I'm really glad to have it and the only reason I don't give five stars is that the pictures are just not as good as in the Pride and Prejudice marvel classic. There's no reason to give them the childish look. I much prefer the art in the Pride and Prejudice one. But it's still a lot better than not having it at all.

Great version of Emma - really entertaining & lovely to read if you are an Austen fan.

Good but sense and sensibility is in my opinion better. Prefer the art work in S&S but still a good read and new way to read a classic

Fun read

alles gut, danke.