Graphic Novel Review: Dark Tales: Beauty and the Beast

Dark Tales: Beauty and the Beast- A Modern Retelling by Jeanne-Marie Leprince and illustrated by Pete Katz, March 6, 2018. Published by Canterbury Classics. 128 pages. Source: Publisher.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

This modern retelling of the classic fairy tale of Beauty and the Beast is told here in a graphic novel format. More than 100 pages of illustrated action, adventure, and love teach a lesson to look beyond the surface and learn to love what’s underneath. A merchant takes shelter in a castle during a thunderstorm, and ends up striking a bargain with its beastly master. His youngest daughter, Beauty, returns to the castle to live in exchange for a restoration of the family’s previous wealth. Beauty befriends Beast, but longs to see her family again. He allows her to visit her former home, but when she doesn’t return at the designated time, consequences ensue.

First Sentence

My poor children!

As much as I enjoy Beauty and Beast, or at least the retellings that I've read, I have never read the original. With the exception of the version that the Grimm Brothers did. So, I had no idea what to expect which made it all the more interesting.

• This time, I want to start with Pete Katz illustrations. Typically, I save my thoughts on the illustrations until the end, but today I feel that it should be the first thing I discuss because it was so well done. Firstly, I loved the colors used throughout the book; I really enjoyed seeing how there were two color schemes used through the book-one that was more subtle and the other more vibrant- to depict different sides of the story. Secondly, well, I just really enjoyed the overall feel of Pete Katz's style. 

• Should you read the Dark Tales version of Beauty and Beast, I would highly recommend reading the introduction as it talks about the history of the story and the version that they chose. It really added to my enjoyment to see the thought and care they put into choosing how to tell the story. 

• When you compare the many different versions of Beauty and the Beast that are available for consumption, you can almost see which version they used to influence their retelling of the story. Yet, in all the retellings of this story that I have read, I haven't seen one that was this close to original (at least according to the introduction at the beginning of the graphic novel). That aside, it was fascinating to see an entirely different perspective to a story that many people know. Seriously though, read Dark Tales: Beauty and the Beast! It is a truly enjoyable addition to a "tale as old as time".

Final Verdict:

Dark Tales: Beauty and the Beast was one of my favorite graphic novels that I read last year. The artwork and story were really interesting...and different from other versions that I have read. But in a good way.

  

A copy of this book was received for review consideration. All thoughts are my own.