Steve Cuzor: The red badge of courage : a graphic novel adaptation of Stephen Crane's classic

Alkuteos: Le combat d'Henry Fleming (2024)

Kääntäjä: Montana Kane

Ilmestymisaika: 2025 (ko.painos)

Kustantaja: Abrams ComicArts

Sivumäärä: 159

ISBN: 9781419779893

Muoto: Sid.

Peukku: q^^

*A powerful graphic novel adaptation of the classic and genre-defining war novel The Red Badge of Courage, which has been continuously in print since 1894, available simultaneously in hardcover and paperback

Steve Cuzor's stark yet detailed artwork perfectly capture the realistic prose of the original novel, presenting a lushly illustrated, unflinching depiction of war through the eyes of a young, inexperienced soldier.

By illustrating the story, Cuzor pulls readers into the midst of the action, making Henry Fleming’s experience feel all the more visceral.

Literary aficionados and students alike will find another layer of this classic story to appreciate in this new adaptation of Crane’s magnum opus.

Written by Stephen Crane when he was just 24, The Red Badge of Courage is a Civil War story that captured the imaginations of readers worldwide and made its author an overnight literary icon. A groundbreaking and realistic examination of the psychological effects of war, the novel draws from firsthand accounts and research.

Crane’s depiction of his main character, Henry Fleming, and his internal monologue, ring so true that many readers mistook Crane for a veteran himself.

The realistic prose and visceral descriptions of battle that Crane used marked the first shift away from uncritical patriotism in war literature. It would take until at least the 1920s and the wake of the horror of the First World War for the rest of the genre to catch up.

In the years following its publication, The Red Badge of Courage was hailed by Crane scholar Henry Wertheim as “unquestionably the most realistic novel about the American Civil War,” and Ernest Hemingway called the novel an “American classic.”*

Realistisen yksityiskohtaisesti kuvitettu sarjakuvasovitus klassikosta. Ihmiset, eläimet ja taistelut on kuvattu tarkasti ja elävästi. Taisteluissa pauhaavat tykit ja pöly peittää taakseen osa raakuuksista. Ei kuitenkaan kaikkea. Taisteluiden ja niiden verisyyden takia tämä ei ole herkille lukijoille. Mukaan mahtuu kuitenkin hyvin myös seesteisempiä kohtia, joissa milloin pohdiskellaan syviä, milloin tarkkaillaan ympäristöä. Nuoren sotilaan mielialat ovat hyvin esillä ja tapahtumat soljuvat hyvin eteenpäin.

Kuvitus on toteutettu hyvin. Yhden värin eri sävyillä leikitellään aina luku kerrallaan. Värin ja mustan suhde toimii ja tunnelma on jokseenkin unenomainen. Mutta onko se hyvä uni vai painajainen? Se riippunee tulkinnasta.