Graphic Classics Ambrose Bierce

Rating:
Summary: Tales of war, satire, the occult, and more
Review: Graphic Classics is a rousing and impressive anthology of the illustrated stories by Ambrose Bierce, tales of war, satire, the occult, and more. Bringing together contributions from a very wide variety of artists, Graphic Classics features sharp wit, biting insight, and a vast range of illustrative styles. Enhanced with an Introduction by S. T. Joshi, Graphic Classics is very highly recommended for graphic novel enthusiasts, and a "must read" for the legions of fans of the literary legacy of Ambrose Bierce.

Rating:
Summary: A Very Mixed Bag
Review: I'm a big fan of graphic storytelling and a big fan of Bierce, but not a particularly big fan of this volume. This is the first of the "Graphic Classics" series I've come across, and I like the concept of harnessing a wide range of underground cartooning talent in the service of great literature of the past. This showcase for Bierce begins promisingly enough, with a well-written biographical introduction by S.T. Joshi, supported by a cartoony four pages about Bierce's legendary disappearance. This is followed by John Coulhart's lovely ten page adaptation of "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", a story widely read in American high schools.

Alas, from here on, it's a much more mixed bag. A forgettably sketched five page adaptation of "The Race at Left Bower" is followed by six pages of entries from "The Devil's Dictionary" which are broken up with lame graphics from greeting card illustrator Leslie Murray. "An Imperfect Conflagration" is a great story, but Rich Geary's eleven pages of panels doesn't quite do it justice. Conversely, "The Stranger" is only a so-so story, but Mark Nelson's seven pages of stark, high-contrast art gives it some real atmosphere. Francesca Ghermandi brings a European sensibility to the grave robber story "One Summer Night", but it doesn't really work. "Moxon's Master" is the longest read, with some ten text-heavy pages with one or two inset illustrations per page. These are by Stanley Shaw, and while they're nice in a mid-'90s comic book style, there's not a whole lot in the text for him to work with.

Next are a bunch of Bierce's "Fables"--29 spread out over 36 pages of wildly varying style and quality. These encompass artists from the US, Canada, England, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Australia. The best of these are probably those by Skip Williamson, Simon Gane, William Brown, and Lesley Reppeteaux. Following these are four more stories, including "The Boarded Window" and "The Hypnotist", neither of which are illustrated in a style I found compelling. "Oil of Dog" is a dark, dark story, with suitably gloomy and evocative art by Annie Owens. "Curried Cow" ends things on a bad note, with goofy cartoony panels by Milton Knight.

On the whole, if you're interested in the work of Ambrose Bierce, you're better off thumbing through a copy of The Devil's Dictionary or picking up a volume of his complete short stories. Fan's of the graphic medium will find such a variety of art that something is bound to please, even if much else isn't.