Less than ink-credible
author: adapted by: Illustrators:
Publisher: AS much as I enjoyed Stieg Larsson’s novel The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2005), I had some definite problems with it. The biggest among them was that I never warmed up to the titular character, Lisbeth Salander. I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, to find myself enjoying her a lot more in this graphic novel adaptation – perhaps because there is a lot less exposition on just how cool and individual she is, and instead, the images of her are just allowed to speak for themselves.
There are some parts, in fact, where the visuals of this adaptation pack a powerful punch, such as the panels depicting Lisbeth’s rape and her subsequent revenge on her rapist. Rendered mostly in close-ups, in red and orange shades, these panels capture the horror of these scenes well while also transforming Lisbeth into a glorious avenging angel-type – all with minimal words employed.
Unfortunately, where such minimalism works for Lisbeth’s arc, it is woefully inadequate to capture the book’s main plot: that of the elderly and wealthy Henrik Vanger who hires journalist Mikael Blomkvist to solve the disappearance of his grandniece almost 40 years ago.
This mystery was, for me, the most gripping aspect of the original book, with decades-old secrets, a twisted family, and fascinating characters all coming together in one cracking tale. The graphic novel’s treatment of Mikael and Henrik, however, is thoroughly bland, from the unremarkable way in which they’ve been illustrated to their flat conversations.
Bits and pieces of the mystery are revealed without much build-up, and it feels like the illustrators are definitely more taken with Lisbeth’s world than they are with Mikael’s investigation. Meanwhile, the many characters that play a part in the Vanger mystery just pop up to say one or two important things, and then disappear.
This graphic novel would probably be appreciated by fans as a companion to Larsson’s original – I mean, look at that stunning cover by Lee Bermejo! Yet, if one simply wants a good story, and hasn’t yet read the actual book, this isn’t going to be up to the mark.