Agent Gates and the Secret Adventures of Devonton Abbey

by Camaren Subhiyah, Kyle Hilton (Illustrations)

The hit series Downton Abbey, upon which this parody graphic novel is based, has been nominated for 16 Emmy Awards in 2012, including an acting nomination for Brendan Coyle, who plays valet John Bates (a.k.a. Agent Gates). Our book will release in January 2013, in time for the premiere of season 3 in the U.S.While the Granville family dutifully entertain their guests at Devonton Abbey, an ace team of Secret Service agents camp out as unsuspecting household staff, protecting the Royal Crown and her citizens from impending world war.

 

Who is aware of the international intrigue concealed below stairs? Will Agent Gates save Britain from her enemies while ensuring Devonton Abbey’s reputation is upheld? Will Lady Margaret secure a proposal from Martin Crawhill, the heir to the estate? Will Thompson and O’Malley ever get lung cancer?

 

“Preposterous.”

 

--The Dowager Countess

 

 

“Wicked and daring. An uproarious adventure suited for anyone who must bear the tedium of reality.”

 

--Lady Margaret

 

 

“The pictures are awfully nice.”

 

--Lady Flora

 

 

“Slanderous…Utter rot.”

 

--Lord Granville

 

 

“A graphic expose that triumphs in its ability to question elitist society and esoteric class systems.”

 

--Lady Cynthia

 

 

“Can I be on the cover?”

 

--Lady Ethel

Genres: Graphic Novels, Humor, Fiction, Historical Fiction, British Literature, Adult Fiction, Historical

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Running Devonton Abbey is a Herculean task. Luckily, Jack Gates is up to the challenge. In addition to his normal duties of polishing the Earl of Granville's snuff boxes, washing the pond fish and ironing the telegrams, he's also a member of the SIS Elite Guard; his secret mission is to keep England safe from all enemies. And, as the residents and staff prepare for a visit from Archduke Ferdinand, the intrigue (and fun) grows...

- Which member of the staff will be the next SIS recruit?

- Will Lady Margaret forsake the Duke of Ipswich to marry dull lawyer Martin?

- Will a puppy become the legal heir of Devonton Abbey? (Provided it's male, of course...)

The best part of this book is seeing some familiar-looking faces poked fun at as they go through their daily routines and histrionics.

As in the popular television show, my favorite character is the Dowager Countess, though in the book you need to fear not only her acid tongue, but her withering, "stony" gaze as well.

If you're in the mood for some frivolity, do read this book.

[Kelsey Ketch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Downton Abbey! I’m a big, die-hard fan. I also love a good laugh, which is good, because Agent Gates and the Secret adventures of Devonton Abbey is a well done combination of the two.

Now, honestly, not all the humor in this parody was exactly my cup of tea. The things that occur and personalities reflected in the characters upstairs is a bit too slap stick for my taste. And in some cases I think they are a little unfair to the actual characters on the TV series. However, some of the reflections hidden in the humor were actually insightful. Things I never considered about the characters or their role in the family.

The events and humor of downstairs, though, were much more to my liking. It was more quick witted and subtle jokes. I also loved the concept of Mr. Bates’ character being Agent Gates in the parody. It was fun to read, though I’ll admit, the whole world of supernatural secret agents confused me – especially the supernatural part. But it was slowly explained along the way, and I liked how Thompson and O’Malley played their roles as the antagonists of the plot.

All in all, this graphic novel was refreshing, and definitely an intriguing twist to one of my favorite TV series. I’m not really sure if I could recommend it, considering each fan of Downton Abbey would probably have different reactions to the humor, but if there is a sequel, I would definitely be interested in continuing the adventure.

For more book reviews, you can also visit my website over at Ketch’s Book Nook. Thank you.

[Jeffrey West · Rating 4 out of 5]

I will never be able to see Downton Abbey and the characters the same way again.

[Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilarious! I've been a fan of the illustrator since the various paper dolls (especially the Downton ones, with dead Mr. Pamuk as an accessory) showed up on Vulture. So I knew I had to read this. And it was not only funny but a surprisingly fun story. All the parts with "Ethel" and "Cynthia" really killed me. And of course, poor Sweetsy. Every time "Richard" went off on a tangent about Devonton Abbey I could hear Robert Crawley talking about his "life's work".

The best part of this parody (besides the steampunk leg and the Dowager's literally withering stare) was how you could tell it was written and illustrated by fans of the show. Great parody, really funny and I hope there will be a continuation to the saga!

[Rebecca Huston · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very silly parody of Downton Abbey in graphic novel form. Think a mix of pulp comics and steampunk, with plenty of sly digs at the series. The upstairs are complete nitwits, a ridiculous inheritance clause, and only one of them has a working brain. (I won't reveal who it is, but it's pretty obvious) Downstairs it's all conspiracies. While the art is pretty standard and not very good, but the written bits do have a pretty good bit of humour. Just barely four stars.

For the longer review, please go here:
http://www.epinions.com/review/Camare...

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fills a rather odd niche. It's targeted at the Venn diagram of "people who read graphic novels", "people who watch Downton Abbey", and "people who enjoy satirical parody."

The story is great, and the writing and humor in general is perfect (though it does require knowledge of the show in part). What's keeping it from 5 stars is the art. The artist tried too hard to make the characters look like the actual actors, and as a result made a lot of them (especially the women) look more or less identical. Figuring out who is who is rather important with a graphic novel...

That aside, very funny and worth a read.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well, this is delightful. I honestly could have read another hundred pages of this and still want more. Undoubtedly, the best parts of this graphic novel parody are the panels that feature Lady Ethel Crawhill talking to her favorite llama, Aloysius.

It's just great. Give it a go if you're already a fan of Downton Abbey. I'm not sure some of the jokes would be as funny without the context of the show.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious. Many jokes will go over your head if you don't watch the show, but otherwise would be a great book for those who haven't. Silly, whimsical, and a great snide commentary on some of the show's more ridiculous story lines.

[Tina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a funny parody of Downton Abbey. It was so well illustrated and written that I could actually hear the actors voices in my head as I read their lines. This hysterical account took all of the minute details of Downton and played them up to make the most hilarious and ridiculous spy novel known to man! I loved every minute of it!

[Elise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very funny and clever. The plot itself wasn't my favorite part, but the absurdities of a few characters (the American mother, the Lord himself, and the daughters). They're absolutely ridiculous and it's funny. Easy little read.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Preposterous and hilarious. Not one of the upstairs cast escapes a roasting, so don't expect to see them acting logically.
Devonton Abbey: it is a silly place.
(It's only a model)

My straight-laced husband laughed even more than I did. I think I saw tears in his eyes at one point.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, not normally what I would read, but was recommended by a Book Nerd and fulfilled one of my
50 categories that I needed. It is a graphic novel, fast to read and a parody of Downton Abbey. I finished it in about an hour.

[Tollula · Rating 2 out of 5]

Quite an enjoyable parody of Downton Abbey.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a riot. I gave up on Downton in the middle of the third season because it became too soapy for my tastes. If it had gone down this narrative route, I might have been much more interested.

[Anne]

Hilarious

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

I had a fun time reading this Downton parody. Just could've done without the animal cruelty.

[Linnea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very fun Downton Abbey parody involving Thomas the anarchist! (Not named Thomas, but I forgot what they called him.) The fake Lady Sybil was my favorite.

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

From my review at PopMatters.com, which includes an interview with the author and artist: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/1...

What’s the logical next step for a hit British period drama after it gets picked up by a major US cultural outlet and rebroadcast to a whole new appreciative audience? Well, besides having printable paper dolls modelled after your characters, of course. Having your story embellished in graphic form is a pretty good indicator of the massive popularity of your show. Even better? A graphic novel parody!

ITV’s hit show Downton Abbey is slated to start shooting season four this month, and season three just finished airing in the US on PBS, following the program’s fall 2012 run in the UK. What’s a fan to do in the meantime? Soak up any available special holiday episodes and read Jessica Fellowes’ accounts of The World of Downton Abbey (2011) or The Chronicles of Downton Abbey (2012), of course. Lucky coincidence that Jessica is the niece of Downton’s creator, Julian Fellowes.

Part fan fiction, part spy story, and part supernatural tale, Agent Gates and the Secret Adventures of Devonton Abbey (A Parody), is all entertainment. Hot on the heels of one of the most popular current TV dramas on the planet, this graphic novel is a fun little side trip into some of the characters and plot points that define the aristocratic soap opera.

Read the rest, including the interviews: http://www.popmatters.com/pm/column/1...

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Agent Gates and The Secret Adventures of Devonton Abbey is a parody for the popular television series, Downton Abbey. Since I'm a huge fan of Downton Abbey, and I love a good parody, I thought I'd give this book a shot. The fact that I don't generally read graphic novels didn't deter me one bit from this book.
Camaren Subhiyah and Kyle Hilton have taken the characters of Downton and given them a twist. Of course this being a parody there are quite a few name changes: Mr. Bates is now Agent Gates, Anna is now Joanna, Lady Mary is Lady Margaret, and so forth. How ever their personalities have stayed the same.
I actually liked this book. It's very entertaining to read. I enjoyed how the writers turned some of the staff into secret agents. This book has it's moments of hilarity making fun of the characters of Downton Abbey, but it wasn't over the top. Although it was a bit silly at times, but isn't that what a parody is meant to be? The illustrator did a great job of capturing the characters of the show. I never had a doubt who a character was supposed to be. Everything looked great. I think fans of the show (who can take a joke) would enjoy this graphic novel. The ending leaves it open for another book, so who knows. This might be a good series. I know I'd read it.
Read more at http://www.2readornot2read.com/2013/0...

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reason for Reading: I love these upstairs/downstairs type of British dramas. However I have not ever watched Downton Abbey as I don't really watch TV these days. The general plot along with the time period and the tongue-in-cheek humour of this book made me think I would enjoy it even though I would miss out on the Downton Abbey links.

And enjoy it I did. I have no idea how the story connects up with Downton Abbey but I certainly enjoyed the insider jokes when it came to class behaviour and mores of the times. While the drama of the family is going on behind the scenes, the main plot here is Agent Gates, posing as a man's valet, along with a few other secret agents working for the SIS, must uncover any plot going on at Devonton that could potentially bring war to the surrounding countries. Gates is fun, with his titanium steampunk leg and the other agents also each have some 'magically' enhanced power. While I enjoyed the class tale, it was the spy story that engaged me the most and kept me reading the book pretty much straight through. Fans of the show will most likely get a big kick out of this but you needn't have watched the show to enjoy the spy or time period story. Lots of fun!

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just. No.

Yes, I get it. It's a parody of a blockbuster TV show that everyone and their tithed second cousins have either watched or at least heard of. Even TheHusband, who has tends to yawn when other similar shows are on, watches DA for the drama and the occasional backstabbing.

AGENT GATES's purpose, I suppose, is taking the best elements of Downton ABbey, a drawing room mystery, throws in a bit of James Bond action, and pulls the downstairs staff in as secret agents working for SIS.

But it fails. It fails on a lot of levels. The ability to capture the characters quirks from the TV show is in fits and starts. The art seems like it was rushed, some characters seem to to have more details attributed to them, others are given a few strokes of the pen to give their likeness. The dialogue is beyond over the top and doesn't even attempt to catch the character's personalities and attributes.

It felt like someone watched a few episodes of the first season, saw an opportunity to make a few bucks and had some spare time, and came up with this dribble.

There is a subtle art to parody and satire, and this graphic novel is miserable with attempt. Library loan? Sure. But to buy? Only if it is in the clearance bin.

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

With the names just slightly changed, and the cluelessness of most of the characters ramped up a few notches, and a Mission Impossible-esque plot thrown in, we get a funny twist on the usual goings on of Downton Abbey.

It’s actually not that much of a stretch to image the staff-as-spies, saving the empire from dastardly Hessian plots while their aristocratic “masters” remain blissfully oblivious. Think Jeeves as secret agent while saving Bertie Wooster yet again from an unwanted engagement and stopping an assassination.

The graphic novel roughly covers the events of Season1, with the implication that the series will continue to cover each season per book (if sales are high enough with this first one).

It’s a fun way to play with the original show, although lacking in any sort of nuance – it’s a straight copy, paste, re-label parody, like Scary Movie, rather than attempting to be the kind of parody that becomes its own thing, like Austin Powers.

A decent bit of fanfiction, although I think it could have pushed things a little further rather than relying on all the shtick.

[Sean Kottke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great mash-up of Downton Abbey and steampunk spy fiction that I hope continues into an ongoing series. I expected a lot of MAD style parody, and there are plenty such moments to give Downton Abbey fans a chuckle. However, it goes beyond that by weaving a nifty mythology - imagine a League of Extraordinary Downton X-Men - as a backdrop to the televised narrative, much like Thursday Next and Jurisfiction's exploits in the shadows of familiar classic and contemporary narratives. The line work is remarkably subtle, able to evoke familiar faces quite effectively with the barest of details. However, sometimes this subtlety isn't as well rendered, resulting in occasional character confusion. I'm not sure what readers unfamiliar with Downton Abbey would make of it, but I'd like to see this continue beyond a one-shot parody.

[Rachel Alpie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a hilarious take on Downton Abbey that considers what the storyline might be like if some of the characters were actually secret agents. It's also a parody of the show in that it exaggerates the snootiness of the upstairs family. While all of the names have been changed, the way the faces are drawn makes it easy for anyone familiar with the original show to identify familiar characters. Although I enjoyed this book, I had a hard time with the way Sybil and Matthew were mischaracterized to be as ridiculous as the other members of the family, even though they were two of the most compassionate (if sometimes misguided) upstairs characters. I also kept wondering Branson and Isobel would show up. Still, it's a quick, humorous read. I'm giving it to my dad for Christmas, and I think he'll have fun reading it.

[Lindsey Riley · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first ever comic book purchase, of course, HAD to be a parody graphic novel of the hit PBS period drama, "Downton Abbey."

In this comic book, secret service agents pose as staff on the Granville estate, thwarting plots against the crown from within the great country house. Each member of the family and staff from the television series make an appearance, and their character qualities, positions, and idiosyncrasies are exaggerated and poked fun at to hilarious effect.

Sometimes random but always ridiculous, this graphic novel had me literally laughing out loud on multiple occasions.

Plus, the illustration of the Dowager was EPIC! How can you NOT giggle at that face?!

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

What does it say about my literary tastes that I simply can't resist a spy-thriller parody retelling of Downton Abbey starring a steampunk-legged Bates? (Oh, sorry. Gates.) Nothing good, probably, but as I've already widely admitted to reading lots and lots of teen fiction I suppose my credit can't sink much lower. This Andrews McMeel knockoff is hardly brilliant, but it's good for a chuckle or three and was clearly done with a fair amount of love for the series and its characters. Worth a read while you're in the between-series dead zone.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

If this book had either chosen to be a true parody, or a true spy story, then it might have worked. But combining the two really didn't work well. Both stories have their hits and misses (Hit: Martin (Matthew) and his "lawyering" talk; Miss: Pretty much anything to do with O'Malley (O'Brien), who didn't fit in anywhere). It's a good thing it was a graphic novel - had it been any longer and I would have given up. With so much rich material to choose for a send-up, I was disappointed that little was utilized.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

AAAAHAHAAAAAA!!!!

Awesome. The only thing I was really missing was a parody counterpart to Isobel Crawley, but I'll get over it. Nevermind, I am already.

But clearly what we really need is a sequel, with more Larson and Kewes.

...because everyone knows Agents Terminus and Vestra run the house. Oh God, Terminus (specialization: explosives) and Vestra (specialization: cryptography). And true to form for Downton, er, Devonton, criminally underused. Well done, everyone. Well. Done.

[Kami · Rating 5 out of 5]

- OMG! This was HILARIOUS! I hope there is more.

- I loved how over dramatic all the characters were. All their personalities were magnified, and it cracked me up!

- I loved the supernatural twist on Downton. It was awesome!

- The illustrations really captured the characters and everything!

- The Dowager Countess's stare was so funny! I laughed every time.

- The play on names and situations were so great!

- I just can't say enough about this book!

- This is a MUST read for Downton Abbey fans!!

- I hope there will be more of these!

[Hilary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very funny for about one chapter. Unfortunately the second, third and fourth chapters manage to drag on (even though one could read them in an hour). The parody of Downton Abbey is a great idea and the author excels at humorously revising some of the big moments in Downton. Where it falls short is when it tries to develop its own sub-plot. Without it, this would likely be little more than a comic, but with it it becomes a pretty lame graphic novel. Snore.