about the book
This graphic adaptation is the first of three volumes that will retell the events of The Golden Compass, the initial book of the Philip Pullman’s His Dark Materials saga.
Lyra Belacqua is a wild and rebellious orphan raised by scholars at Jordon College. Along with her friends, her constant companion is Pan, her animal daemon, the physical manifestation of her soul. Every human has a daemon, and if that animal is hurt, the person suffers. The setting for this alternate steampunk world is a European universe ruled by the Magesterium, a complex church state whose conniving leaders plot to deprive their own people of free will!
When Lyra hears of the arrival of her uncle, Lord Asriel, she hides in a wardrobe to eavesdrop, hoping to learn what is going on. When she realizes that his drink has been poisoned by a Magesterium supporter, she is able to warn him in the nick in time!
At his lectures, Lyra learns of his controversial theory of a parallel universe that can only be seen though the Northern Lights and of the cosmic Dust particles that form when matter becomes consciousness. Supposedly, this Dust accumulates on adults but not on children. And strangely, many children have been disappearing, including Lyra’s friend Roger!
Since Lord Asriel is heading north to study the lights and Dust, Mrs. Coulter offers to care for Lyra. Before the child leaves, Lord Asriel gives his niece a truth diviner, an Alethiometer, which Lyra wisely keeps hidden.
At first she likes her new living circumstances, but she soon begins to distrust her guardian. When an attempt is made to steal her device, she runs away and ends up with the water-dwelling Gyptians, where Ayra learns that Lord Asriel is being held prisoner in an ice fortress. In hopes of gaining his freedom, she and Gyptian John Faa strike out for the frozen north.
What this young girl doesn’t know is that the fate of the world is tied to an epic struggle between good and evil…and she is destined to determine the outcome!
about the author
Stéphane Melchior was born in September 1965, in Rennes, France. He studied law at the University of Rennes and earned a master’s in political science at Assas. He then went on to study art history at the Ecole du Louvre and the Institute of Art and Archaeology at the Paris-Sorbonne.
After schooling, Stéphane’s career covered many interests. In 1994, he was a freelance editor for the department of fine books at Groupe Flammarion, the fourth largest publishing house in France, and worked as a writer on Abécédaires history of art. In 1998, he became an editor for Beaux Arts magazine. In 2003 he returned to freelance writing and explored making documentaries and short films, and in 2005 won an award for his work in that area. In 2007, he won awards for his Supermagic Girl comics followed in 2015 with awards for his work on The Golden Compass graphic novel adaptation.
Stéphane currently lives in Britain.
Sources:
Author biography: Wikipedia (Google Translate)
Author biography: BD Kids (Google Translate)
Also by Stephane Melchior:
The Golden Compass the Graphic Novel : 2 (His Dark Materials Graphic Novel, Book 2). Knopf Books for Young Readers. September 2016.
about the illustrator
Clément Oubrerie was born in Paris, France, in 1966. He studied art at the Penninghen Art School and, upon graduating, he travelled to the United States to further study illustrating. Two years later he began creating art for children’s books for several publishing houses. Since then he has gone on to illustrate more than forty children’s books.
Clement also worked as a 3D animator, working on the Les Moot-Moots series and his own film Anna Gavald. He is probably best known for his art work for Aya of Yop City, written by his wife Marguerite Abouet. This phenomenally successful comic series is a semi-autobiographical account of her life in 1970s Abidjan, the capitol of the Ivory Coast in Africa and was adapted into an animated film in 2012. Clément’s art work on the comic series about the life of Pablo Picasso written by Julie Birmant is also much lauded.
For The Golden Compass: The Graphic Novel, he chose a muted look for much of the book, which helps place the story in a world outside our own.
Sources:
Book profile: Amazon
Illustrator biography: Lambiek
“Aya of Yop City” entry: Wikipedia
Illustrator biography: Goodreads (Google Translate)
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