about the book
Shakespeare plays were meant to be seen on stage. They are best viewed visually, not on a page. This makes Shakespeare writings perfect for adaptation into graphic novel form. and author/illustrator Gareth Hinds has proven very successful at doing this. He has already created several books that draw even the most reluctant readers into The Merchant of Venice, King Lear, and Romeo and Juliet.
Shakespeare’s language is used throughout, and close-up panels heighten the gore and violence. This time he adopts a story filled with supernatural elements and madness, bringing Shakespeare eeriest imaginings to life in Macbeth.
This tale opens with the three Witches-a crone, a pagan goddess, and an African witch—are perched like crows in the branches of a barren tree. Behind them is a gloomy sky and below, a bloody battlefield where a valiant general of the King’s army stands. This is Macbeth, and they prophesize that one day he will become King of Scotland.
Unwilling to wait for the prophecy to come to fruition on its own, the unscrupulous Lady Macbeth urges her ambitious husband to murder King Duncan in his sleep and seize the throne for his own. Thus begins their psychological journey into madness.
It is a dramatic and haunting tale, made all the more enthralling by the intense and brooding illustrations.
Be sure to check out the family tree identifying all the characters at the beginning of the graphic novel. The end notes explain how and why the author chose to edit the Bard’s original text.
about the author/illustrator
A nerdy kid who spent most of his time drawing, Vermont native Gareth Hinds did well in school, loved to read, and wanted to be a ninja when he grew up. He drew for his high school newspaper, co-edited and illustrated a literary magazine, and painted a mural on a wall of the school.
Even with all the time he spent holding pencils, paint brushes, and tubes of paint, Gareth planned on becoming an engineer. Fortunately for his fans, he had a change of heart! He attended the Parson School of Design and then went on to the Rochester Institute of Technology, where he studied experimental drawing, mixed media, and sculpture.
Upon graduation, Gareth lucked into a job creating computer games—a job he loves! In his spare time he writes and illustrates graphic novels. His goal is to make the literary classics more accessible to everyone, especially those who might be intimidated by the long length or archaic language of the original books.
In art school, he was told to pick just one style and stick to it, but Gareth never could. He likes to experiment and feels different stories need different artistic treatments. He decided that he would make each project uniquely his own and “do them obsessively well.” It usually takes him a whole year to do just one novel. Although his art teachers might not agree, this seems to be working very well for him!
Gareth currently lives in Washington, D.C.
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: Teach
Other graphic novels by Gareth Hinds:
Romeo & Juliet. Candlewick Press. 2013.
The Odyssey. Candlewick Press. 2010.
Merchant of Venice. Candlewick Press. 2008.
King Lear. Candlewick Press. 2007.
Beowulf. Candlewick Press. 2007.
read more!
Macbeth : The Graphic Novel (Classical Comics : Original Text) by William Shakespeare
Using Shakespeare’s original text, this graphic adaptation of the play “Macbeth” tells the story of an ambitious man whose unscrupulous wife urges him to murder in order to seize the throne of Scotland.
Romeo & Juliet by Gareth Hinds
Gareth Hinds uses Shakespeare’s language—though abridged—to tell the story of two young star-crossed lovers. In this version, however, he changed the ethnicity of the characters to make a more diverse offering; the Capulets are Indian and the Montagues are African.