Frankenstein, Dracula and Baskervilles

When I was younger one of my all-time favorite comic book publishers was Classic Illustrated.  Unfortunately the company went out of business years ago, but the fond memories still linger.

Classics Illustrated translated classic works of fiction into a comic book format filled with drawings and easy to understand text.

The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. has brought back the classics in comic book form with its brand new Graphic Novel Classics through PowerKids Press.

The first three books in its collection are Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dracula written by Bram Stoker and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes The Hound Of The Baskervilles.  Author Claire Bampton does an outstanding job of editing, simplifying and modifying the text for younger readers.

I won’t take the time to go into each story, but all three are stellar adaptations provide easy to follow text and word balloons, large pages and art by Anthony Williams.

I gotta say, I love the art.  It’s not overly detailed or too simplified.  It offers a good balance of dynamic layouts and excellent character designs.  The art strikes a good balance with open panels, no clutter and with enough detail to carry each story along. 

The coloring by Rob Taylor fits the bill by augmenting the art and not detracting from it.  No easy task.

I especially love the depictions of the Frankenstein Monster, Dracula and Sherlock Holmes.

Each oversize, thin, hardbound book features excellent binding, a thick stock cover and gloss inside pages.  All three books will easily stand up to the rough and tumble shenanigans of young readers.

I got a kick out of the covers of each book with their text logos and indicia-both of which reminded me of comic books for the 1960s and 1970s.

Overall I give the Graphic Novel Classics an A+ in design, adaptation and reading enjoyment.  Well done!