Sunday, May 20, 2012

Graphic novel: Ender's Game - Ultimate Collection

Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game is one of my favorite YA books. It won the Hugo and Nebula Awards and is the reason Card won YALSA's Margaret Edwards Award. And it is about to get hot with a new movie due out in the Fall starring Asa Butterfield and Harrison Ford. In a nutshell the story is "Six-year-old Andrew "Ender" Wiggin may be humanity's only chance of defeating the Formics, a deadly alien race determined to destroy Earth, but before Ender can face his ultimate challenge, he must survive Battle School and Command School" (from the Follett Notes).

As an adult reader, I enjoyed this graphic adaptation  to begin with but got bored with it - something that never happened with the original book. However I think it would be very appealing to many teen readers.The color artwork on slick pages is full of action and the script is fast-paced and replete with smart ass kid talk. I would booktalk it with the related Ender books (Ender's Shadow, Ender in Exile, Shadow of the Giant, and Shadows in Flight) and use a movie trailer (right now there are only fan-produced YouTube ones).

Most of the graphic novels that I have read and enjoyed have been originally created as graphic novels rather than adaptations. In this case the storyline is true to the original but missing the details of what is happening in Ender's heart and mind. I think the graphic version will lead some teens to read the original, while other may just enjoy this one.

Ender's Game: Ultimate Collection was published by Marvel in 2011, the script is by Christopher Yost, art by Pasqual Ferry, and color art by Frank D'Armata. Marvel has a "Parent Advisory" label on the back of the book that means, according to Wikipedia, "15 years and older. Similar to Teen+ rating but featuring more mature themes and/or more graphic imagery." By the way, this is a $25 paperback.

5 comments:

Ash said...

I've always wanted to read Ender's Game, but couldn't get past the first couple of pages. I myself would read the graphic novel first to see if it catches my attention, especially in connection with the the pictures.

Susan Berg said...

You can try it Wednesday :-)

librarylady said...

I can see how this would appeal to teens. The cover looks very futuristic and gamey. It reminded me of a video game cover.

Ashley Fitzpatrick said...

I have noticed Ender's Game becoming more popular recently and it was also hot at Dunbar High School. I think a graphic novel adaptation of it, based on what little I know about Ender's Game, probably works well with teens.

Margaret_J said...

I think a lot of these books are aimed at getting teens reading. So I definitely agree with that point. That's neat that this book has been published so many different ways and now it will be a movie. Sounds like a Must Read.