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Anyone who knows me knows that I am a big Stephen King fan. And, like many Stephen King fans, I think he does his best works in the biggest novels. It gives King room to do what he does best - character building. There is not one long novel of his that I don't love. The final Dark Tower novel would be one. It would be another. Insomnia, a novel that, when I purchased it, had been on the discount racks of several bookstores that I knew, and so I had expected it to be so-so. Instead, it was phenomenal - one of my favorites! More recently, Under the Dome was a phenomenal read. But the longest of his books is my very favorite - The Stand.
When I read Stephen King's "The Stand", it was the first doomsday kind of book that I had really read. Sure, there had been some movies with end of the world type scenarios, but that was all Hollywood.
In the Stand, I particularly was appreciative of the detailed account of how the world ends "not with a bang, but with a whimper". You read detailed accounts of how the world as we know it slowly ends, as 99.9% of the population dies off. What makes it scary - and fascinating - is that it truly feels like something that could happen. Not the Dark Man or Walkin' Dude, but something going wrong, even for a split second, in some chemical warfare lab by the military, and releasing some kind of a plague that infects that vast majority of the human population, and essentially kills them off. Then, the response, the beginning of the breakdown of law and order and stability, and the eventual emergence of a new kind of society, a micro version of what had previously existed. That takes up the first chunk of the novel, and it is the focus of this graphic novel. We see the Walkin' Dude, and we many of the characters that will effectively play out the events in the rest of the story. But this first part is about the plague, and how it begins to spread.
There was a movie version of The Stand that is currently in production, and there was another movie version, more like a miniseries, that came out in 1994. I can't speak to how the newer movie version will play out, but the 1994 made for television version had some holes in it. I actually kind of liked it, and have watched it numerous times. Still, I can understand how some people that I know did not like it so much. There are points when it is obviously cheaply done, although it boasts a pretty incredible cast, with stars such as Molly Ringwald, Gary Sinese, and Rob Lowe. I like this version, yet will admit it does not quite capture the dreary feel of the end of the world scenario that originally came out in the novel, The Stand. We will have to wait and see about the newer version of the movie.
But in the graphic novel version of The Stand, the dreariness really comes out. Some of the artwork is quite literally gross, thus perfectly illustrating the decadent aspects of the plague, and how harmful it is to human beings (not to mention, that it is the responsibility of human beings). We watch the world as we know it quite literally fall apart, deteriorate. The breakdown of the old order and way of doing things. The miniseries version felt different, and not true to the novel. It felt too sunny and cheery, somehow, with only token efforts to address the very real fears and sorrow that the survivors would inevitably feel. But this graphic novel comes closer to what likely would be the truth. It really focuses on the sadness, the gloom, the fears, and perhaps even the disgust that would be involved with a plague of this magnitude, if it ever actually were to happen. I think it is fair to say that this is closer to Stephen King's original vision.
Graphic novels and comics can utilize methods of communicating that sometimes are left out of novels and/or movies, and this is a perfect example of that. Somehow, graphic novels seem to compliment Stephen King's works very nicely. They go well together, and this version of The Stand is a triumph, I think. True, I only read the first part of it, when Captain Trips begins to ravage the world. But I very much look forward to the other parts of it, and if these are done as well as Captain Trips (the graphic novel that includes the first series of these comics), then this should be an incredible series of books indeed!
A bonus in this was in the back, when you get an inside look at just how such a graphic novel is made. I have long enjoyed the medium of comics, and my father is a cartoonist in his own right. So, it was a fascinating look at how a story begins to mesh with the illustrations, and vice versa. You begin to gain an understanding of and appreciation for just how much work and efforts towards perfection goes into making the finished product.
All in all, an excellent work that suits the spirit of Stephen King's writings perfectly! I would strongly recommend this to any fans of Stephen King, horror, or graphic novels in general, or even to those simply looking for a decent read, and are not turned off by the idea of comics.
Right after first publishing this, I ran into this review from a specialist in graphic novels, Joe Hartlaub of GraphicNovelReporter.com, and he really wrote an excellent review, one probably makes this effort by me pale by way of comparison. It is available on Amazon, and I thought I would add it here, as well as providing the link, should you, the Constant Reader (sorry, couldn't resist), be interested.
I don't want to be a pain in the arse here, but I get serious about great--classic--books, particularly those that you need to take down off of the shelf and read every year or two. The Stand by Stephen King is one of those. Marvel has begun a beautiful and respectful adaptation of The Stand, not breaking it up, but carefully sectioning the work into five issue arcs that, as you read them, draw you deeper and deeper into a dark world, our world, where an apocalyptic battle between the good and the very, very bad is about to take place. Marvel is not doing here what it's been doing with King's world of The Dark Tower--that is a broader, much different canvas, of which The Stand is actually a part. No; you don't fool with The Stand. If reading the adaptation of The Dark Tower is like going to hear a hot jazz combo on ten straight nights riffing differently and brilliantly on the same set, reading the Marvel adaptation of The Stand is like going to hear your favorite rock band perform on a night when they're on it in every conceivable way, playing all the songs you've come to know and love them by. They're not doing a slavish note-by-note imitation --- you could have stayed at home and listened to them on your iPod if that was what you wanted to hear --- but they're playing the songs with an energy and love that one associates with hearing them the first time through.
The collection of the first of these arcs, The Stand: Captain Trips, will send the blood rattling through your veins, as the boys in Spoon would say. The team of folks doing it--Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Sensational Spider-Man, Marvel Knights, and Big Love) on scripting, Mike Perkins (Captain America)on art, and Martin (Ultimates 2, Astonishing X-Men) on inks --- has been pitch and letter perfect from the beginning to end of each issue. Reading The Stand: Captain Trips is like a Classic Illustrated adaptation of a novel loving done by EC Comics (and there are those of you who know what a compliment that is). And indeed, it is a classic. When The Stand was first published in edited form in 1978, home computers were the stuff of science fiction. Cell phones were a decade away. The internet was in its infancy, its accessibility limited to a few. Cable television was new. The beta vs. VHS VCR wars were in full swing. And people knew AIDS only as a weight loss supplement, rather than as a disease which was beginning to attract uneasy attention from a handful of doctors in a very limited number of urban centers. So when I call The Stand a classic, I mean that it is as timeless and as timely today--right now--as if it was published yesterday, notwithstanding the thirty-odd years that have passed since the original novel first saw the light of day.
The story, for the uninitiated, begins when a very nasty designer viral strain, dubbed "Captain Trips" (a sideways tribute to Jerry Garcia) escapes from a secret government facility and spreads. When Charlie Campion and his family escape from the facility--or think that they escape--they are doing nothing more than postponing the inevitable and spreading death in their wake. From the moment that their automobile with its extremely ill passengers makes a final stop at Bill Hapscomb's gas station inTexas America
The Stand: Captain Trips adapts wonderfully to the sequential art media, primarily because the team in charge of this wild night's ride approaches the work the way a groom should approach his bride: with love, respect, and, most importantly, unbridled passion. There is plenty of opportunity for shock and awe here, and Perkins and Martin are not above presenting some of the more gruesome scenes in all of their graphic glory. Yet, they are more than capable of wringing terror from the most ordinary scenes. Have you ever had your hair stand on end as you witness...a handshake? You will here.. Aguirre-Sacasa, for his part, brings his considerable cinematic narrative talents to the proceedings, infusing even the most benign passages with an atmosphere that hints and whispers that all is not well, even as he moves the narrative along at a perfect pace. And Perkins and Martin are in perfect synch with him, pulling back when appropriate, and getting up close and personal when necessary. And one note, here: I haven't always been the biggest fan of Perkins' work, but I am on this effort, where his lines mesh flawlessly with the storyline and with Martin's dark, somber coloring.
The Stand: Captain Trips is an indispensable take on a much-loved work, a gutsy effort whose reach and grasp are as one. I cannot wait for more. This volume (as well as future ones, presumably) includes reproductions of the alternate covers of each issue, notes from creators, and other contributions to give the reader an over-the shoulder look at how the sequential art adaptation in their hands came into being. Such lagniappe notwithstanding, however, the meat of the book is the story itself, and what a rich, irresistible feast it is. Strongly recommended.
-- Joe Hartlaub
The collection of the first of these arcs, The Stand: Captain Trips, will send the blood rattling through your veins, as the boys in Spoon would say. The team of folks doing it--Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Sensational Spider-Man, Marvel Knights, and Big Love) on scripting, Mike Perkins (Captain America)on art, and Martin (Ultimates 2, Astonishing X-Men) on inks --- has been pitch and letter perfect from the beginning to end of each issue. Reading The Stand: Captain Trips is like a Classic Illustrated adaptation of a novel loving done by EC Comics (and there are those of you who know what a compliment that is). And indeed, it is a classic. When The Stand was first published in edited form in 1978, home computers were the stuff of science fiction. Cell phones were a decade away. The internet was in its infancy, its accessibility limited to a few. Cable television was new. The beta vs. VHS VCR wars were in full swing. And people knew AIDS only as a weight loss supplement, rather than as a disease which was beginning to attract uneasy attention from a handful of doctors in a very limited number of urban centers. So when I call The Stand a classic, I mean that it is as timeless and as timely today--right now--as if it was published yesterday, notwithstanding the thirty-odd years that have passed since the original novel first saw the light of day.
The story, for the uninitiated, begins when a very nasty designer viral strain, dubbed "Captain Trips" (a sideways tribute to Jerry Garcia) escapes from a secret government facility and spreads. When Charlie Campion and his family escape from the facility--or think that they escape--they are doing nothing more than postponing the inevitable and spreading death in their wake. From the moment that their automobile with its extremely ill passengers makes a final stop at Bill Hapscomb's gas station in
The Stand: Captain Trips adapts wonderfully to the sequential art media, primarily because the team in charge of this wild night's ride approaches the work the way a groom should approach his bride: with love, respect, and, most importantly, unbridled passion. There is plenty of opportunity for shock and awe here, and Perkins and Martin are not above presenting some of the more gruesome scenes in all of their graphic glory. Yet, they are more than capable of wringing terror from the most ordinary scenes. Have you ever had your hair stand on end as you witness...a handshake? You will here.. Aguirre-Sacasa, for his part, brings his considerable cinematic narrative talents to the proceedings, infusing even the most benign passages with an atmosphere that hints and whispers that all is not well, even as he moves the narrative along at a perfect pace. And Perkins and Martin are in perfect synch with him, pulling back when appropriate, and getting up close and personal when necessary. And one note, here: I haven't always been the biggest fan of Perkins' work, but I am on this effort, where his lines mesh flawlessly with the storyline and with Martin's dark, somber coloring.
The Stand: Captain Trips is an indispensable take on a much-loved work, a gutsy effort whose reach and grasp are as one. I cannot wait for more. This volume (as well as future ones, presumably) includes reproductions of the alternate covers of each issue, notes from creators, and other contributions to give the reader an over-the shoulder look at how the sequential art adaptation in their hands came into being. Such lagniappe notwithstanding, however, the meat of the book is the story itself, and what a rich, irresistible feast it is. Strongly recommended.
-- Joe Hartlaub
http://www.amazon.com/Stephen-Kings-The-Stand-Vol/dp/078514272X
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