Tom Sawyer

All-Action Classics #2

by Tim Mucci, Ben Caldwell (Producer), Rad Sechrist (Illustrator)

With its lively, fun narrative and irrepressible hero, Tom Sawyer is tailor-made for the graphic novel form. Just imagine such classic moments as Tom and Becky in the bat-filled cave or the hilarious fence-painting incident captured in bright and atmospheric images. Tim Mucci, one of the most talented up-and-coming comics' illustrators today, has endowed each character with personality and each scene with movement and energy. Every frame is filled with such detail—from the buildings to the carefully created backgrounds—that readers will feel as if they could step right into Twain’s wonderful world.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Comics, Fiction, Classics, Childrens, Realistic Fiction, Middle Grade

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2008

Reviews

[K.D. Absolutely · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have not read the unabridged prose, the real book. I've been meaning to but somehow there are other books that look like more interesting. Also, my brothers read both "Tom Sawyer" and "Huckleberry Finn" when we were young and I felt left out. So, I lost interest.

However, when I saw this "Tom Sawyer" in cool comics format being sold at P115 ($2.50), I bought it right away. I said, this could entice me to finally read the book. If not, it would surely give me an idea who Tom and Huck are so I would not be totally clueless when other authors make references to them.

After reading, I am still not sure. Based on this book, I love Huck more than Tom. I think Huck is more interesting because he is rambunctious, flighty and looks wilder than Tom. Typical all-fun American boy. However, my brother said to me that The Adventures of Tom Sawyer is a prerequisite of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Also, most of the best-novel lists have "Huckleberry" in them and no "Tom Sawyer."

This comic book is nice drawn. I guess the book was successful in depicting these Twain characters properly. This very abridged story revolves around Tom Sawyer who prefers to go fishing or swimming rather than attend school. His Aunt Polly is always nagging him for the that and all the dirt that he is bringing to the house. One day, he and Huckleberry Finn accidentally witness a crime and so they have to leave afloat their raft and sing songs while traversing the Mississippi River. I will not tell you the rest of the story because I don't want to spoil myself. Why myself? Kidding. I am sure most Americans know the rest of it.

What I liked about the story are the innocence of the boys - Tom, Huck and Jim - and also the time when life, even in America, was a lot simpler. When boys still dream of becoming robbers without moralists pushing an alarm and asking what is happening with our children and blaming the media, the church, the government or themselves.

Easy fun read. Recommended to people who love graphic novels.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

Revisit all of the classic and memorable moments of Mark Twain's enduring hero, Tom Sawyer! From whitewashing the fence, pretending to be pirates, first crush, to murder witness and town hero!...All of the intrigue, action, fun, wit and heart of Twain's classic are clearly and simplistically illustrated in this graphic novel version by Tim Mucci.

The characters are all very clearly defined and different and all fit beautifully into the colorful small-town that Mark Twain based on his own childhood experiences.

Great read for reluctant readers!

[Jenny E. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Den var lättläst. Men innehöll någon enstaka märklig översättning. Jag har inte läst originalet, men skulle gärna vilja.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Because this is a graphic novel, it is heavily abridged - and because I've never read Tom Sawyer, the book, I can't compare it. It reads as a very effective story in and of itself, though - funny, entertaining, exciting. Keeping the colloquial dialogue, the characters and the main situations, this graphic novel has lovely stylised drawings, very colourful, and with some subtle details. I'm sure it's left out a lot of details of the novel but it would be a fun read for kids to whom the book would be a chore.

[Cecilia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Blev överraskad av handlingen i Tom Sawyer. Trodde inte alls att jag skulle gilla den så mycket som jag gjorde!

[Ham · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was actually a decent retelling of Tom Sawyer. Although the art was a little blocky (the characters all looked like primates) and the dialogue was rather heavy, it felt like it was true to the original. Which I think was part of the problem. The whole plot is meandering and fraught with coincidence. How did Samuel Clemens get so big? Is he really the best America had to offer in the 1800’s? Compared to Dickens, this is See Spot Run garbage.

[Teolinda Stark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jag var tvungen att gå tillbaks och läsa Tom Sawyersväventyr i ett ickeserieformat innan jag gick vidare med denna. Allt eftersom den var svår att hänga med i om man inte har originalhistorien i färskt minne.
I de händelser denna tar upp håller den sig nära den ursprungliga versionen och bilderna är väldigt fina, om än något kantiga.

Betyg: 3 utflykter till grottan av 5.

[Robin Pelletier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have two kiddos who have challenged themselves with Tom Sawyer for their book clubs, so I am going to let them borrow this graphic novel version so that it will help with the main plot points. All the main plot point are here. and the illustrations are a pretty good mirror for the time/plot. I think this is a really good resource to help make the classic more accessible.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic re-telling of Tom Sawyer. Of course the story is amazing, it's Tom Sawyer! Good art and really good pacing. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

[Mary T · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good adaptation. I'm familiar with the Tom Sawyer story, but I don't know if I ever read the original. I don't really care for it, so I'd rather just read the graphic novel.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent rendition of a classic tale. I was laughing out loud at some parts; great humor!

[The_Mad_Swede · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jag gillar Rad Sechrists visuella stil, men liksom Actionklassiker #1 lider denna serieadaption av Mark Twains berömda roman av en erbarmeligt dålig översättning. Möjligtvis klarar sig serien på grund av sitt ofta väldigt visuella och ordlösa berättande bättre än vad Ben Caldwells Dracula gjorde, men som jag skrev i den recensionen kan Katarina Nordli omöjligen ha svenska som modersmål.

Hade jag läst serien i original hade den antagligen fått ett bättre betyg.

[edel · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of Tom Sawyer. I've read the book a couple of times and I've seen one or two movie adaptations. I don't know why I thought reading this would make me change my mind about Tom Sawyer. But it was a fun read and the art was simply amazing. Still don't care much for Tom Sawyer though...

[Ian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The adaptation cuts a lot of the filler, but in so doing, it emphasizes how incoherent Twain's plot is. The framing of the artwork captures the book's tone, shifting from humor to gravitas to the cruelest tragedies known to childkind with ease--which is no small feat--but the style is distractingly cartoony.

[Jeff · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a beautiful graphic novel adaptation of the original Tom Sawyer. I discovered Rad Sechrist through his work in the Flight anthologies and can't wait to see what else he comes out with.

[Justine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read any Tom Sawyer stories before but I have seen the movie with Jonathan Taylor Thomas for obvious reasons haha. I forgot all about injin Joe. This was a nice refresher. If you are interested in the story but don't actually want to read it this graphic novel is a great choice instead.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Super abbreviated, even for graphic novel standards, I think. But close enough that I'm okay with my almost 3rd grader taking a stab at it on his own. Hoping it is a good way to introduce him to a classic.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent way to summarize a long book, and with such great colors and pictures! The collaboration between writer and artists is impressive.