This week’s spotlight goes to a book that can no longer be kept a secret. It should be known that “The Art” cannot be used to shatter the light nor be used to turn dreams into nightmares. More importantly, it shall not bring the destruction of our world. Instead, it will be the story we will all know when the ground opens up beneath our feet and the dark sea inside is no longer calm…
THE COMPLETE: THE GREAT AND SECRET SHOW – TRADE PAPERBACK
Adapted by Chris Ryall from the novel by Clive Barker Art by Gabriel Rodriguez
IDW Publishing
I always knew the mail would be the root of all evil. Whether it be the paper filled in your mailbox or the spam in your email junk folder, the “sent message” always has that ulterior motive. It’s no surprise that horror master, Clive Barker, would pick up on this concept, and turn it into an epic novel where the lines of good and evil are born from… dead mail.
IDW Publishing takes on the grand task of turning this Barker favorite into a graphic novel, allowing their heavyweight writer, Chris Ryall, to take on the reigns of master interpreter. Along with artist extraordinaire, Gabriel Rodriguez, Clive Barker’s The Great and Secret Show becomes one of the best translated novels to graphic novel around. Period.
While not many of these novel translations are around, I do compare this to other notable novels recently being translated. Fellow horror chum, Stephen King, recently had his Dark Tower series leap to the comic book page with great acclaim. It’s probably not fair for me to compare it to that though because I stopped reading it after issue #3, just like I originally did with The Great and Secret Show. Why? Two reasons. One, I’d rather read it as one story really. I can generally get a sense right away of the size the story is going to take when I’m familiar with the novel, and knew it would be best in the end for me to read this all at once. Two, I’d rather have one book than six or twelve because honestly, those longboxes of comics in my closet need to go, and I can’t add another in there. But I can say this beats the pants off Anita Blake’s Vampire Hunter series. By a million football fields.
The Great and Secret Show is not a new concept in its story structure. Good versus evil. Love versus hate. And William Shakespeare. It’s crafted so well though that you let good ole Willy and the Bard wink at you rather than frustrate. Howie Katz and Jo-Beth McGuire play our star-crossed lovers, trapped in a war between their fathers, Randolph Jaffe and Richard Fletcher. One masters the dark realm of magic called “The Art”, and the other becomes familiar with “The Light”, or as Fletcher liked to call it, “I want to be Sky.” What a hippie. Jaffe and Fletcher begin their war when they realize they’re enemies until they end up burying themselves beneath the small town of Palomo Grove. And that’s when they impregnate four hot chicks skinny dipping in a lake. Well, three anyway. One of them just develops nymphomania. That’s Clive for ya!
The good guy born from this is Howie Katz, Fletcher’s seed. The bad guys are Jaffe’s twins, Jo-Beth and Tommy-Ray. They’re destined to meet and continue the war between light and dark, but guess what? Jo-Beth and Howie end up getting “the hots” for each other. So much for war. Thankfully for Jaffe, the twin brother is a grade-A butthole and will kill any person around for dear old dad. Even Grandma. With the help of a chubby comedian trying to stay in shape (now that’s funny), Jaffe and Fletcher are released from their underground prison. With other characters like news reporters Tesla and Grillo coming into play (and eventually taking over as main characters), along with the crazy hut boy, Kissoon, the chess board is set. All hell is now ready to break loose. The cool part is now we get to see it in great artistic fashion.
Right away, I have to compliment Chris Ryall and IDW for giving the big thumbs up to artist Gabriel Rodriguez. He made this a very enjoyable experience, bringing adjectives to life and characters to realization. Clive has to be smiling pretty after seeing his baby become a respectable piece to look at. I don’t know how Gabriel did it, but the man dove into the project understanding… perfectly… what needed to be done. Tell the story in artistic fashion, but tell it clearly. Don’t let one panel lose the reader, and he definitely does not. In fact, a few hold the reader in place, especially his take on Quiddity and Trinity, oh and my perverted mind adds a naked Tesla as well. Gabriel makes sure to keep the novel representation in tact without it turning into a superhero, spandex soirée. A lot of time was put into this book, and you can tell from the art along with Ryall’s special section “The Great and Annoted Show” that Gabriel gave it his all to have the most important aspect of translation be held for the reader: clarity. If anything, Gabriel Rodriguez has created the very template for all aspiring artists (and writers) looking to translate novels into comic books.. And to top it off, Barker’s reoccurring character of Harry D’Amour shows up to make the reader blush. I almost did a “Quantum Leap” seeing him grin under Gabriel’s art. Hint-hint. Gabriel, you are indeed a lord of illusion.
Writer Chris Ryall deserves much credit here as well, taking a very thick novel and breaking it down without losing much of anything. Again, Clive is giggling somewhere when someone mentions they’ve read this format of the book and enjoyed it. Ryall knows what needs to be said, and he does so in dramatic fashion. Especially in the captions, his words sting like an icy drink on your tongue, and it feels good to digest page after page with Gabriel’s art and Jay Fotos colors. This book showcases hard work, and in return, deserves praise and respect. I give both to The Great and Secret Show. Now, if we can start getting those short stories I adored in Saturday school, the Books of Blood going over at IDW would I be then be a very happy camper. Just like Clive Barker.
GRADE: A SPECIAL EXTRAS: “The Great and Annoted Show” is awesome as Chris Ryall points out all the “easter eggs” throughout the series, as well as Gabriel Rodriguez character designs and covers, and not to be outdone, art from Clive Barker as well! This is what makes reading the hardcover trade paperback form great, folks!
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