Novelist Daniel Abraham and illustrator Tommy Patterson are not merely turning George R. R. Martin’s epic fantasy A Game of Thrones into a graphic They are meticulously translating one art form into another, and capturing the intricate nuances of Martin’s novels just as HBO is doing with the blockbuster series. The Abraham/Patterson collaboration is more than just a faithful adaptation. It is a labor of love—and a thrilling masterwork in its own right.Now, in the second volume, the sweeping action moves from the icy north, where the bastard Jon Snow seeks to carve out a place for himself among bitter outcasts and hardened criminals sworn to service upon the Wall . . . to the decadent south and the capital city of King’s Landing, where Jon’s father, Lord Eddard Stark, serves as the Hand of King Robert Baratheon amid a nest of courtly vipers . . . to the barbarian lands across the Narrow Sea, where the young princess Daenerys Targaryen has found the unexpected in her forced marriage to the Dothraki warlord Khal love—and with it, for the first time in her life, power.Meanwhile, the dwarf Tyrion Lannister, accused by Lady Catelyn Stark of the attempted murder of her now-crippled youngest son, must call upon all his cunning and wit to survive when he is captured and imprisoned in the lofty dungeons of the Eyrie, where Lady Stark’s sister—a woman obsessed with vengeance against all Lannisters—rules. But Catelyn’s impulsive arrest of the Imp will set in motion a series of violent events whose outcome is fated to shake the world at the worst possible moment. For now is not the time for private feuds and bloodthirsty ambitions.Winter is coming . . . and with it, terrors beyond imagining.
Daniel James Abraham, pen names M.L.N. Hanover and James S.A. Corey, is an American novelist, comic book writer, screenwriter, and television producer. He is best known as the author of The Long Price Quartet and The Dagger and the Coin fantasy series, and with Ty Franck, as the co-author of The Expanse series of science fiction novels, written under the joint pseudonym James S.A. Corey.
Seemingly not sated enough by the books and the TV series, I'm now reading the graphic novel series, which actually really draws the TV show out and makes it very interesting especially when it's filling in gaps from the TV show; although overall I don't think it brings anything more to the table than the great original books provided. I read the actual comic books #1-12 online, which meritted a strong Three Star, 7 out of 12. 2013 read
I thought the story picked up the pace a bit from volume 1, but that may just be because I was finally starting to remember some of what had happened in the original book and that made it start to flow better. Not that the first one was draggy, but this seemed faster and I wasn't as willing to put it down.
I know a lot of people seem to hate the art (understandably), but it really didn't bother me. I just assume most everything published by Dynamite has sort of iffy art to start with, so I went into it with pretty low expectations and was pleasantly surprised that it didn't burn my eyes. But. Yes, a lot of the faces looks very similar, so you have to pay attention to names and such if you want to keep the characters straight.
Plot-wise, you're still in the 1st half of the story, so nobody's really been offed yet. But by the end, you'll start to see the beginnings of what makes these books so crazy and unpredictable when it comes to characters that Mr. Martin is willing to part with.
All in all, this is doing exactly what I had hoped and is standing in nicely as a substitute for that enormous book. I honestly think it's helping me get a grip on some of these characters and their motivations better, and I'm definitlely getting a better feel for the world Marin created.
Recommended for those of you who are looking for a shortcut through the books, or even (like me) a bit of help untangling some of the overwhelmingness of the plot.
¿Qué tanto sentido tiene que leer el segundo tomo de las novelas gráficas de Canción de Hielo y Fuego me esté dando unas ganas locas de 1) releer TODA la saga y 2) dejar todo de lado y leer Danza de Dragones?
Creo que definitivamente necesito una dosis de fantasía épica en vena.
I love seeing the book's interpretation and the time spent breaking it down into so many different sections. A complete set of these would be beautiful. It's so fun to see the graphic novel-style depiction of the characters, which brings them to fantastical life.
The colors are again superbly done, and I also noticed many of the sizing differences that also help to tell the story, which was brilliantly done with the Lysa Arryn section. So beautiful; I always want more.
Would you consider skimming through this as finishing the book???
Or......if you take it in another way.......would skimming through a book be 'dnf-ing" it??
Idk, this girl has had too many pages of useless words. Not to mention they're TINY AS SHIT!!! Who can read those pint sized letters at 1 am??!!
Honestly, I have no idea what even happened in this book. Basically me throughout this whole thing: Wow................okay.............um......................my eyes feel tired...............can something happen already??...........shoot, should I go to sleep now?.................ugh, this dudes boring...............omg, MORE SEX??!!.....................uh.....oh, and look at that......ANOTHER beheading..................*dies*
So yeah, haha, I only screwed up my eyes and tore out all my hair in the process of reading this. not to mention getting EXTREME eye bags
As a fan of A Game of Thrones, I am enjoying the graphic series. You can see that this is a labor of love. The colors and editing demonstrate how they stay true to George R. R. Martin’s books but realizing that the space and the format are limited. This book starts with Tyrion Lannister and Jon Snow at Castle Black; Lord Ned Stark as the Hand of King Robert Baratheon, who is with Sansa and Arya at King’s Landing, investigating the former Hand’s death as the Hand’s tourney begins; Lady Catelyn Stark journeying home; Rob, Theon, Bran, and Rickon Stark in Winterfell, and Danerys Targaryen expecting her child across the Narrow Sea. As a bonus, at the end is an insider’s look at the process to transition the book to a graphic novel.
Continúo con el siguiente volumen de las adaptaciones a cómic de la novela Juego de Tronos. Realmente me sorprende cómo al leerlo voy recordando detallas de las novelas que leí hace ya bastantes años. Totalmente recomendables.
I wasn't sure if I'd like this but it reminded me of what I loved about the original story without 10 pages detailing a belt buckle and before the story got so insane and they started killing everyone willy nilly. Plus, bonus, reigniting my secret love for Sandor Clegane, The Hound. It's okay though because he kind of looks like my husband minus the burns.
Honestly I have nothing new to say about these graphic novels.
The story is the same, so if you don’t like boobs and a thousand characters to remember, then I would say the graphic novels aren’t for you.
The art is pretty, but like too pretty in my opinion. Everyone looks like a model when most of the people are supposed to be having some weird look to them. Like Aria is supposed to be mistaken for a boy all the time. And the women are unrealistically skinny and perky. Idk, It just wasn’t for me. I’m glad other people enjoy them though.
This will be my review for volume 02 – 04. I don’t feel like trying to say the same thing but differently three times.
This was another great installment of the adapted novel. Even though I’m not a huge fan of the artwork (which seems a bit clumsy and rushed), the story itself is still good.
As I stated before, this is a great graphic novel for those who have already read this book.
Uhmm, well. It was interesting to experience the world of ASOIAF through a different medium. Having read the books and watched the series, I was curious to see how the graphic novel would approach the story.
I mean, the story itself is lovely, with all the plots, different characters and what have you. But the drawing style I didn't appreciate too much. Partly because I'm now so used to the actors looks and portrayal of the characters they play, but also because all the characters in the graphic novel were drawn so standard like and cartoon-pretty. I thought a few styles were interesting, like how Jon and Theon were drawn.
But yeah, like. Nice story, obviously, drawing style okayish but the series looks are better. But a nice afternoon read when the Swedish-Slovenian football game were so boring anyway.
*2º volumen de los 4 que componen la adaptación gráfica de “Juego de Tronos”, 1º libro de la saga "Canción de hielo y fuego"*
El primer cómic, Juego de tronos I, no es que me flipara, pero me pareció bastante más ameno que éste. Los sucesos relevantes de este segundo volumen se pueden contar con los dedos de una mano, y si el libro es igual, creo que es un acierto que nunca me haya animado a leerlo. Lamento decir que si no le doy la mínima puntuación es solo debido a que me siguen encantando las ilustraciones.
Para empezar, Daenerys solo tiene una aparición… SOLO UNA en casi 200 páginas. Teniendo en cuenta los momentos claves que está viviendo, me decepcionó que su presencia estuviera tan reducida. No es por nada, pero de otros personajes hay incontables páginas y muchas de ellas son puro relleno.
Lo mismo ocurre con Jon Nieve. Él sale un poco más, pero no vemos realmente su adaptación a la Guardia de la Noche.
Podría decirse que esta novela gráfica está especialmente centrada en el personaje de Catelyn Stark. Aunque no la odio, tampoco entiendo el protagonismo exagerado que tiene, ya que aquí simplemente vemos describir su trayecto hacia la casa de su hermana y la detención que decide hacer. Lo peor de ella es cómo se empecina en algo y se niega a escuchar otras versiones. Eso sí, aquí conocemos a su hermana y ésa sí que es una insoportable (y la escena con su hijo me dejó totalmente boquiabierta). En cuanto al resto de los Stark y los Lannister, pues han caído en cierta monotonía y no hay nada muy llamativo en ellos. Hacen lo esperado y solo Tyrion con su peculiar forma de ser le da un toque de gracia a algunas escenas que serían soporíferas si no fuera por sus frases.
Lo peor que le veo a esta historia es que se siguen nombrando incontables personajes, con el consiguiente lío que eso genera, y todavía no sé qué tantas cosas pueden pasar para que esta saga tenga tantos libros. Creo que falta ir fusionando mejor las diversas tramas para verle más interés a lo que se cuenta. Los personajes desconocen algunos secretos, pero los lectores sí que los sabemos, así que por eso no siento curiosidad.
Como dije, la parte artística es lo mejor. Me sigue gustando cómo se cuidan los detalles en cada imagen y la variedad de colores utilizados. Además, las expresiones de los personajes están muy bien trabajadas y no veo gestos irreales ni que se deshumanicen de forma ilógica los rasgos de ninguno.
A pesar de no estar muerta de curiosidad, me voy a lanzar con el tercer cómic, ya que quiero creer que esta parte ha sido de tránsito y que la siguiente será más trepidante.
The art is a little bit better than in the first book, but is still way too cartoonish for my tastes as an adaptation. You can tell that the artist is pouring alot of himself into the art, but it just comes out as seeming to be over-doing it. The characters, especially the women, pretty much all look the same and are pretty much all drawn at the same (20-ish) looking age. Good thing they have different lenght and color hair, or I could never tell them apart. And Dire Wolves should not look like big fluffy pupies in any way, shape, or form! The colors... they are way to bright and "clean" for such a setting. Even the exterior rainy days are shown as being "bright".
The story... if you haven`t read the books or seen the series, you may find yourself lost. There are big chunks missing. That wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't for the fact that these chunks are sometimes later refered to in the graphic novel and the reader is left wondering what the hell are they talking about?... like I said, read the book or Watch the series for those missing chunks.
Ah well, putting this on the shelf next to the first book where its spine'll look nice and it'll gather dust for the next 30 years or so.;
This second volume of Game of Thrones Graphic Novel series is just as awesome as the first one. I dug out my paperback of A Game of Thrones as I read this graphic novel and went through that again along with this one.
The verdict for this is the same as it was for Volume 1. Beautiful illustrations. Near perfect story, in-line with the original book. Exact same dialogues. Perfect as the original book.
I got this second volume as a Christmas gift and I love it. Well I don't love everything that happens but you know what I mean! The graphics are great and I'm looking forward to the rest of them.
Volume 1 was crisp, fast, and exciting. This is the literal incarnation of the messy middle. I don't see why you can't cut more out for a graphic novel. Meh.
Not as good as the first part, I deducted a point because of the art and bonus stuff. It doesn't mean that they were not good. I just feel that tommy had more impressive settings and events in book 1. this time he had less such opportunity but even in the panels where he had the opportunity he wasn't able to impress me as he did in Vol.1. The Hand’s tourney was one of the examples. He did great job in other scenes though. Coming to bonus stuff I really liked the preface by GRRM in last book, which obviously can't be in each volume. This time the additional content was about the process of adapting the novel in to a graphic novel and it was explained with the Hand’s tourney scene. It had the actual novel pages then the adapted graphic novel script, captions and panel details. Which was followed by all the corrections then the illustrations, coloring and calligraphy. It was all good but somehow I had this feeling that it was all finished in hurry and they did it because they had to not because they enjoyed it. They certainly wasted a lot many pages in my opinion, this wasn't the case with vol.1 bonus stuff. I really enjoyed every page of that.
Now coming to good parts, I really think they did a wonderful job with story adaptation. Adapting almost 200 pages of a novel in to a graphic novel with less than 200 pages of actual story is difficult. Sometimes you miss smaller but important subplots or interesting incidents, obviously it's impossible to cover every detail but as I said they did a commendable job. I like the part where Mya stone took Catelyn to Irri. They didn't show that in HBO TV series and I was not really expecting that in the graphic novel as well but was pleasantly surprised that they dedicated 3-4 pages to it. This is one of the best thing about these graphic novels, even with all the limitations of the medium they are closer to ASoIaF series than the TV series and this really encouraged me to read these graphic novel far more than anything else. Even the artwork for those pages was simply superb. The full page panel of Irri was the best panel in the entire book in my opinion. The volume ends with Jaime-Eddard skirmish. Looking forward to read the next part.
I'm enjoying the graphic novel adaptations of one of my favorite book series-they certainly have their work cut out for them. The artwork is striking and appealing-my favorite of this collection was the depiction of the Eyrie and Catelyn's long climb by moonlight.
It's a simple enough idea, but I thought it was clever of them to color-code the narration points of view, a neat adaptation of the POV chapters in the original novels.
In both volumes 1 and 2, the creators have closed with a behind the scenes look at adapting something as huge and complicated as the Song of Ice and Fire series into a graphic novel. It's fun to read about the process and get visuals of the different stages of creation.
I'm very impressed with both the art and the storytelling-I'm glad they're not even through the first book-all the more for me to devour.
I read most of my way through this one and finally had to give up. This series just isn't to my tastes.
Also, as many someone elses have pointed out in other reviews, the artist has one stock female and two stock males, one stock fat character, and one stock child, and then just changes the hair color and eye color and a few minor character adjustments here or there. I didn't notice when reading the first one, but reading this one makes it more and more apparent and it would be more than slightly difficult to keep everyone apart if it wasn't for context clues. I'm assuming the artist chose to do this because all the pages had to be in full color and detail--time has to be saved from somewhere.
If they continue to only pack 6 issues into one volume, 24 issues for one novel we are effectively looking at 28 of these volumes overall which would equate to 168 issues. Ambitious project, much?
Well, whether they end up doing all of them in this manner remains to be seen but in the meantime I'll enjoy them as they are released. The artwork is fantastic just like the first volume but special mention must go to the depiction of the Horse Gate in Vaes Dothrak and the Eyrie in the Vale. Simply beautiful.
Roll on March and Volume III. Simply can not wait for it!
Beautiful! Amazing! Gorgeous illustrations with great details and great script! It was so much fun to read!!! I also loved the "making-of" part at the end. Awesome graphic novel, well done to everyone involved!!!
The second book in this brilliant adaptation. Yeah, I'm probably biased because of my existing love for ASoIaF, but I'm seriously enjoying these books!