The Tragedy of Macbeth: The Graphic Novel

Macbeth: The Graphic Novel has got to be the last thing I was expecting on Easter. It wasn't unwelcome -- I love Macbeth, definitely my favorite of Shakespeare's plays. I've encountered it in about as many ways as you can: I've read it and analyzed it more than once; I've performed it twice (once as the Doctor and the ill-fated Young Macduff; once as a soldier); I've seen a version that used extensive magic tricks. It's heralded as the most action-packed of Shakespeare's plays, which is why it's seen so many iterations. Which, one would think, would make this perfect for a comic book.

Not so much. Bear in mind that plays (especially Shakespeare's) are comprised primarily of dialogue scenes. Want to try turning six pages' worth of foreign policy talk into graphic novel form? Classic Comics did. It worked out okay -- there are some emotional conflicts in that scene (4.3), which lend themselves better to the comic format -- but not that great.

I love reading Macbeth just for the language, but Classic Comics destroys all subtlety in it. They try to make it easier to understand by bolding emphasized words. That means there's only one way to read the many, many speeches and soliloquies in this comic, whereas the beauty of the play is that it can be interpreted several different ways.

The other way this comic destroys the subtlety is in the blocking. Characters' movements emphasize basic story points that might be otherwise unobvious -- Macbeth sweeping aside plans as he cries "Bring me no more reports!" in 5.3 is one example. But other speeches are ruined. The Porter in 2.3 is a classic extended sexual metaphor of Shakespeare's plays, but it's thrown away in a couple of panels. Tragedy of Macbeth, indeed.

Character designs are occasionally interesting. Macbeth and Macduff are much more obviously brutes; Macbeth looks a bit like a feral wolf sometimes. Also, there are occasionally interesting things done with the blocking: Lady Macbeth's suicide is alluded to in the first panels of 5.5, before her actual death. A few panels show the devestation of the war in ways you couldn't in a play; see flashbacks to the pre-Act I battle, or the Act V battle.

And I saw one new thing this read-through: the witches proclaim Macbeth the Thane of Cawdor after King Duncan makes said proclamation somewhere else. Which makes me feel more like they're playing him. Also, having the full text here is the one plus this book has, since there are portions I usually miss or skip over. (See the witches' song in 4.1.)

But overall, this is the worst way yet I've encountered my favorite play. It's pretty and colorful and diverting, but I recommend you avert this one at all costs.