That cover art is exceptional.
So I thought, yes, give this a read, if the book is half as beautiful as the cover, it'll be worth it. And it is worth that and more because I was awed by every page of this graphic novel.
I don't profess to be any kind of expert in art. I can't tell you what tools were used in the creation of this work, only the impressions that I got from the style. It seems to have been done in graphite, giving the impression of someone sketching this out in practice for themselves only they are a genius, so nothing more it needed to convey the scenes of the book. There are shadows and blurring, adding to the mystery of the Phantom at the center of the story. There is more grays and blacks than white used in the artwork, the idea being the shadows where the Phantom feels safest being everywhere in the art for this adaptation. Details can be seen on every page in the clothes and the surroundings. The design for Erik is particularly impressive, the choice to use a full mask paired with the hat and long hair giving Erik more of an aristocratic appearance as opposed to the usual impression given as the tragic outcast hiding in the depths under the theater. The impression also seems to be that of a plague mask, emphasizing the distance that Erik feels because of his appearance and his treatment by others. The half mask seemed to be for the sake of showing the two warring sides of the character, the angel of music and the phantom, so to switch to a full mask makes it intentional. Erik is no longer the tragically misunderstood figure of the past and he has cut himself off from everyone, including himself.
A lot of the emotion comes through in the eyes of the characters. Christine could run the gamut of emotions within a couple of pages, her pain and anguish coming through with a shift in her eyes and her brows. At the same time, the lack of eyes for the Phantom helped with showing how far his obsession with Christine went because when the art actually showed his eyes within the mask, one could tell that emotions were running higher for the Phantom.
I found it interesting that several of the men in this story handle the women with violence. There's the page where Madame Giry is thrown out of office by the new owners and the way it's drawn made me recoil a bit. There are a few instances where Erik throws Christine aside when she goes against him and I thought yes, this makes sense, she won't love him because he's violent, there's no middle ground with the way he treats her in person compared to when he tutored her for her singing. There's also the way Raoul comes across with his eyes, almost the other side of the same coin that Erik is, because as quickly as he looked concerned, he could switch to being judgemental and controlling and it was all seen in the eyes. Both men want to control Christine, they want more from her than they should, that's what I've always thought, and in this art, I can really see that coming through, at least for me.
I guess I need to finally pull my book off the shelf and give it a read again. This adaptation has inspired me to rediscover that classic and if anything, it will help me appreciate this work of art all the more for the way it brought this story to life.
My thanks to NetGalley, Abrams ComicArts, Paul Brizzi and Gaetan Brizzi for the eARC of this graphic novel in exchange for a review. All opinions are my own.
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