Cruelle diablesse - Le roman graphique

Villains Graphic Novels #1

by Serena Valentino, Alice Gallori (translator), Arielle Jovellanos (illustrator)

Cruella De Vil is the perfect villain: stylish, witty, relentless...and possibly cursed.

From her lonely childhood, to her iconic fashion choices, to that fateful car crash (you know the one), Cruella tells all in this marvelous memoir of a woman doomed. Even the cruelest villains have best friends, true loves, and daring dreams. Now it's Cruella’s turn to share hers.

Evil Thing: The Graphic Novel, the first adaptation of Serena Valentino's wildly popular and darkly fascinating Villains series for readers of comics, brings readers a tale told by the Evil Thing herself—a tale of the complicated bonds of female friendship, of mothers and daughters, and of burning, destructive desire.


After all, nothing is as simple as black and white.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Young Adult, Retellings, Fantasy, Comics, Fiction, Middle Grade

128 pages, Paperback

First published September 28, 2021

About the author

Serena Valentino is best known for weaving tales that combine mythos and guile with her work on the comic book series GloomCookie and Nightmares & Fairy Tales, and her best selling Disney Villain Novels which have earned her critical acclaim for her unique style of storytelling, bringing her readers into exquisitely frightening worlds filled with terror, beauty and extraordinary female protagonists.

Her Disney Villain novel series would be best enjoyed if read in this order: Fairest of All: The Story of the Wicked Queen, The Beast Within: The Story of Belle’s Prince, Poor Unfortunate Soul: A Tale of the Sea Witch, Mistress of All Evil: A Tale of the Dark Fairy. Mother Knows Best: A Tale of the Old Witch and The Odd Sisters: A Villains Book to be released in Summer 2019. Book 7 will be out Summer 2020, Book 8 summer of 2021, and Book 9 Summer of 2022.

Serena lives in New Orleans with her dog Gozer, and a very tiny kitty named Momma.



Contact: Serena@serenavalentino.com

Reviews

[jess.manora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die Vorgeschichte von Cruella De Vil in einem Comic mit Farbe und einer Menge Emotionen. Man erfährt in diesem Buch die Lebensgeschichte der heutigen „Hexe“, die versuchte aus Welpen einen Mantel zu machen.

Mein Herz hat für diese junge Frau geblutet und es hat mich schon bald nicht mehr gewundert, wie sie zu der Frau geworden ist, als die wir sie kennen. Einsamkeit, unzähliger traumatischer Erfahrungen und der Wunsch gut genug für die eigene Mutter zu sein ist da nur der Anfang. 🥺

Es war keine leichte Geschichte. Sowohl die Geschichte als auch der Zeichenstil hat mich überzeugt. Am meisten überrascht hat mich jedoch die Tiefe der Geschichte. Es wird nicht nur an der Oberfläche angekratzt, sondern tief gebohrt und vermutlich blutet mein Herz deshalb immer noch. 🥺

Ganz klare Leseempfehlung! ♥️

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A dreary and dull origin story for Cruella drags on and on in this graphic novel adaptation of a novel I have not read. Is she a victim of her cold and withholding mother's psychological manipulation, cursed, having a mental health crisis, or struggling with internalized homophobia due to a queerbaiting relationship that is teased? If the author had picked a direction and went with it, I might have been interested, but there is just endless yammering as everything stays firmly in the land of muddle.

I wasn't a fan of the recent Emma Stone movie, but it was better than this frustrating mess.

[Fernwehwelten · Rating 3 out of 5]

War eine ganz nette Graphic Novel für Zwischendurch. Wenn man das Buch ,,Cruella, die Teufelin" aus der Reihe Disney Villains kennt, erfährt man an sich nichts Neues, da die Geschichte genau dieselbe ist. Teilweise war es mir fast schon zu viel Text, weil das den Zeichnungen auch ein wenig die Möglichkeit nahm, sich zu entfalten, was meiner Meinung nach der Kern einer Graphic Novel sein sollte. Trotzdem eine gute Ablenkung und ein netter Read, wenn man Lust hat, die Geschichte von Cruella mit Bildern zu versehen.

[Yasaman · Rating 4 out of 5]

شرور ها
جلد اول
کروئلای شرور
یه گوشه از قلبم همیشه به یاد کروئلا ک بی مهری که از شمت مادرش تحمل کرده میمونه.

[Christina Close · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was interesting but there was not a lot of variation of color. I get there Cruella's main colors were red, black and white but it still could have used some more colors. I did like the style of the art which I guess gives it some plus points.

While this story of Cruella is interesting I just didn't really connect with it and I felt like it dragged on longer than it needed to. As we all know Cruella didn't have a good life that's why she becomes the villain. There was so much confusion on where this story was going with so many different questionable topics like child neglect, homophobic inner monologue, bullying and all sorts of other taboo topics.

[MissBecka Gee · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5⭐ Rounded up.
Lady Valentino has created this fabulous series showing the hearts (and sometime lack there of) in our most precious Disney villains.
This time I tried out the graphic novel version of her latest installment.
She still ties this into the series with some Tulip references, but this one has more sweet moments with a character, that really has no soft side in the movie.
I love the back stories she creates in this dimension and this one was no exception.
If you have not read anything in this series...
GET CAUGHT UP, because there is a Peter Pan and Hook one coming soon!

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have a confession: I love reading about villains! Particularly what made them take that initial turn for the worse. This GN adaptation of Evil Thing by Serena Valentino really is fantastic. I can still remember how horrible I thought Cruella De Vil was when I first saw 101 Dalmatians as a little boy; she really scared me! This is a great backstory to this iconic charater! Art by Arielle Jovellanos is wonderful!

[kate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the art style and the story itself was interesting enough but found my attention waning towards the end as it became a little dreary.

[Aylin Kuhls · Rating 1 out of 5]

Das war ein Griff ins Klo. Ich war sehr neugierig, was hinter dem Label "Disney Villains Graphic Novel" steht, aber abgesehen, von dem recht hübschen Zeichenstil, war dieser Comic eine riesen Enttäuschung.

Die Geschichte über Curulla der Vils Vergangenheit war von vorne bis hinten völliger Murks. Oberflächlich, einseitig mit fadenscheinigen Motiven, viel zu langen redundanten Dialogen und schlecht geskripteten Charakteren.

Immerhin habe ich jetzt wieder Lust bekommen, den Originalfilm zu sehen.

[Marsha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cruella De Vil’s descent into dog-fur obsession starts with a loving father and an emotionally and physically withdrawn mother. Lord De Vil loves his daughter and shows it with humor, smiles, attention, stories and affection. Lady De Vil, however, is a different kettle of fish. Exalting money, status and possession above all things, she has little time for an emotionally needy daughter or her husband.

Thus the stage is set. At a very young age, Cruella has absorbed her mother’s maxims about who matters in the world and who doesn’t. Servants are things not people. The poor are to be scorned and ignored and only expensive things matter.

Cruella strives again and again for her glamorous mother’s fleeting attentions but Lady De Vil is often absent, wounding her daughter’s heart repeatedly. Cruella’s already selfish personality becomes warped as Anita abandons her to gain a living, Cruella’s handsome but feckless husband perishes and Cruella is left with no one to fall back on to center her rapidly deteriorating mental faculties.

The plot makes it obvious how Cruella got her distinctive look: the two-toned hair, the ghastly paleness and scrawny body. We also come to understand how it is that she is friends with the sweet, gentle, poor Anita, a girl who is the polar opposite from Cruella in temperament, morals and societal values. The graphic leads us to the beginning of the animated Disney film, when Cruella shows up at the Radcliffe’s house, ready to claim Perdita’s new puppies.

It’s a very convincing story, filled with remarkable minor characters, believable plot points and a central figure both pathetic and terrifying. Cruella ends locked in her own madness, unknowing of how futile her plan is. She is bloody but unbowed, and ultimately more to be pitied than hated.

[Melissa ~ Missy (FrayedBooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is more intense than I expected - in a good way! Even when we all know how Cruella's story is going to end, I always have such high hopes at the beginning of such origin stories. She's just a young girl who is lonely and trying to make her mama proud of her. Maybe she'll make different choices and the outcome will be different!

But alas, it never is. This is such a heartbreaking story, but such a well told origin story of Cruella. This one was longer than expected and took me longer to read, but that just shows how in-depth this is.

I really enjoyed this one and the artwork is fantastic! Loved the art and the coloring.

[Carrie Adair · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was willing to go with that Cruella had a bad relationship with her mother, but it doesn't work for connecting her backstory to wanting to turn puppies into a coat. I don't buy it. The story makes the mistake of saying she loves puppies and then never shows why she hates dogs or a believable reason to be so fur obsessed. The book is fine until the puppy shows up, but it is another unbelievable villain back story.

Also, Cruella loses everything she has in the book. Then we never find out how she makes money to survive, so I can't fathom how she thinks she can afford all those puppies.

[Mrs_R_Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had Serena Valentino's Villains series on my To Read list for a long time. This graphic novel version of Evil Thing is the first one I have been able to read.
I LOVED this story and cannot wait to read all the Villains novels. The illustrations are fabulous and I loved the story.

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

She's still one of the worst Disney villains imo, but it was interesting to see this backstory created for her. Makes me want to go rewatch 101 Dalmatians and see how this new perspective changes the movie for me.

[Hadia · Rating 3 out of 5]

the story was a bit all over the place, which really annoyed me because it really did have great potential that unfortunately was not utilised to the fullest.

[Elizabeth Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ARC of this graphic novel was an absolute delight to read! It was great to see this series come alive and with illustrations to really blend in the story we know with the story behind the scenes. I also thought it worked well by itself if you haven’t read the others in the series. You won’t catch some Easter eggs but it was still just a great backstory.

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this graphic novel adaptation of the Villains novel Evil Thing by Serena Valentino. So many students love that series and Disney origin stories are such a hit with readers. I loved the red/black/white color scheme throughout the whole book. It was a bit text-heavy on certain pages that could intimidate some MG readers, but overall I loved it.

4 stars

[Dan Blackley · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting tale of Cruella's side of the story. Faced with a terrible mother, Cruella tells her side of things and how she is the way she is.

[i o r i · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated! Story was a bit dull and a felt a bit ”hurried” but I loved it still. Cruella is my forever fave.

[Ashley Love Sellers · Rating 2 out of 5]

Upon reflection, I’m lowering my review. I did not enjoy this book. I really, really wanted to, but it just felt so…weak. The illustrations were nice, though.

[Merissa Jones · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like the origin story for Cruella de Vil because it effectively illustrated her transformation into a villain.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Author Serena Valentino has taken the world by storm with her New York Times best-selling Disney Villains novels and it appears that the traditional novel format is just the beginning for these Villainous tales.

Valentino’s novels explore the backstories for Disney villains that readers know and love as well as introduce readers to new characters that operate behind the scenes of classic Disney plots. The novels seem to keep on coming with eight books having been released to date. The most recent novel is Cold Hearted (based on Lady Tremaine) which was released on July 6th.

Despite the continued fanfare and support for the novels, at least one of the Villainous tales is also taking on a stunning new format.

Evil Thing: A Villainous Graphic Novel
Evil Thing, which is novel number seven in the Villains series lineup, has been splendidly transformed into a graphic novel.

Evil Thing is Cruella De Vil’s story told by none other than Cruella herself. With a swish of her fur coat and an appropriate amount of ‘darling!’, Cruella dramatically enters our hearts and minds in a complex and clever origin story of her own making. Before the car crash, before the dognapping, before furs became her only true love, there were best friends, lovers and daring dreams. Cruella bears all and in doing so reveals that nothing is as simple as black and white.

Evil Thing brought about a new flavor to the series while employing the most effective storytelling tools from Valentino’s repertoire – even before it became a graphic novel.

The Evil Thing graphic novel adds a new dimension to Cruella’s story
Although the graphic novel is based on the same story told in the traditional novel, Arielle Jovellanos brings Valentino’s darkly captivating world to life with beautiful and haunting illustrations. Janet Sung adds appropriate depth to the chilling tale with a minimalist color palette.

There is less written scene-setting in the graphic novel (I happen to love Valentino’s rich and inviting descriptions), however the images themselves add a new dimension to the story. Jovellanos beautifully translates Valentino’s characters with simple yet sophisticated illustrations. The style is reminiscent of graphic novels and comic books that I grew up with, adding an enticing nostalgia element to the story experience while still appealing to a modern audience.

Valentino preserves the first-person writing style in the graphic novel which maintains its appeal as possessing a deeply character-driven approach to the tale. It profoundly thrusts the reader into Cruella’s childhood and early experiences. Coupled with the illustrations, Valentino returns to her graphic novel roots while Jovellanos dances onto the Villains series stage. It is sure to leave fans begging for more graphic novel adaptations of our favorite Disney Villains.

The graphics also communicate story themes visually and powerfully. Valentino juxtaposes superficial happiness – wealth and status – with meaningful relationships. Cruella’s denial and distorted measure of ‘love’ is cause for appropriate angst throughout the story and we not only read about it but see it materialize with Jovellanos’ crisp, sharp and moving illustrations. The character exploration conducted in Evil Thing is unlike any Villains novel before it and now we can experience it in a whole new aesthetically engaging way.

The Evil Thing graphic novel is a must-have for fans and provides a welcome introduction to the series for those who may be more inclined to pick up a graphic novel than a traditional novel. It is set to be released on September 28th, darlings.

[Sabrina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ho sempre amato i cattivi della Disney. A dire il vero ho un amore viscerale per gli antagonisti, si sa, quindi diciamo che con le opere della Valentino mi piace vincere facile 🤣 e non vedo l'ora di leggere anche i prossimi volumi che spero in Italia vengano portati presto perché in inglese sono usciti di tutto e di più.
Ma torniamo alla graphic novel sulla storia di Cruella, la prima ad essere stata fatta sulla collana dell'autrice.
A differenza del volume Parte del Tuo Mondo, questo è stato stampato benissimo e anche lo stile di disegno è adorabile e particolare seppur abbia preferito l'altro, ammetto, ma è solo una cosa personale.
La storia ci porta davanti un passato della De Vil che nel cartone de La Carica dei 101 non viene mai citato, e che nella rappresentazione live action è del tutto fuori personaggio, perché si sa che ultimamente la Disney fa guai con i live action ma vabbè.
Non dico di aver giustificato Cruella alla fine della lettura, no, ma un po' l'ho capita. Vivere in una casa dove cerchi costantemente amore, dove chi dovrebbe crescerti è solo la tua rovina, alla fine dopo un po' ti porta a perdere la testa.
Quindi sì, la capisco, non la approvo ma la capisco davvero.
I genitori dovrebbero essere una fortuna, ma a volte quando nasci nella famiglia sbagliata sono in assoluto la tua sfortuna più grande, la tua rovina, coloro che ti porteranno ad essere o una persona peggiore o una persona talmente debole da desiderare le cose peggiori.
E questo è quello che è accaduto a lei: ha solo avuto sfortuna di nascere dal grembo sbagliato, perché una madre non lo è per davvero solo perché ti ha dato alla luce... essere madre è tutt'altro, è avere rispetto per un figlio e crescerlo con amore, non vederlo solo come qualcosa di utile da usare.
Cruella è stata sfortunata e ahimè troppo debole da non riuscire ad essere chi poteva, senza permettere che la madre la rovinasse.
Ti capisco molto, Crudelia, più di quanto non immagini.
Consiglio quindi assolutamente questo volume e tutti quelli della serie a chi vuole avere un punto di vista diverso e vuole capire che il cattivo a volte non è solo un villain.
Grazie, Valentino, per aver scritto queste storie.

[Guylou (Two Dogs and a Book) · Rating 5 out of 5]

EVIL THING by Serena Valentino and illustrated by Arielle Jovellanos was an awesome read. I love to discover more about Cruella and how she became that horrendous villain. Who in their right mind would want to turn dalmatian puppies into fur coats. Only Cruella De Vil…. If she doesn't scare you, no evil thing will! This was entertaining and yet quite sad at times. This book is part of the Villains Graphic Novel series. I am going to get more to discover more villains and how they became so evil.

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[Tina · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 '✨✨✨

[Kimberly L. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ich mochte den Disney Cruella Film als Vorgeschichte sehr und hatte gehofft, dass diese Disney-Villains-Reihe mir ebenfalls gefällt hatte aber bisher gemischte Rezensionen zu den Romanen gelesen und dachte deshalb, dass die Graphic Novel Version der Cruella Geschichte ein guter Einstieg wäre, um in etwa ein Bild zu bekommen. Naja, gefallen hat es mir leider nicht besonders.
Für eine Graphic Novel fand ich die Zeichnungen zu passiv und die Illustrationen hatten alleine zu wenig aussagekraft, weshalb die Seiten mit umso mehr Text gefüllt waren.
Den Charakter von Cruella fand ich im ersten Zeitabschnitt noch interessant und nachvollziehbar, doch je älter Cruella wurde, desto mehr Widersprüche wurden deutlich.
Immer mehr hat mich Cruella genervt und ich habe sie immer weniger verstehen bzw. ihre Handlungen nachvollziehen können.
Das Einbinden von Anita hat mir gut gefallen, jedoch blieb ihr Charakter recht blass, ebenso wie Cruellas Ehemann, Vater und die Hausangestellten.
Das Ende fand ich leider auch etwas wirr und abrupt.
Da der Roman zu dieser Graphic Novel relativ dick ist, kann ich mir vorstellen, dass hier einfach zu viel gestrichen wurde. Schade, denn der Anfang war ganz vielversprechend und insgesamt hat es mich auch ganz gut unterhalten.

[Josh Sanders (found_my_wondla) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you Disney Publishing for an advanced copy of this graphic novel. I am so thankful for an opportunity to review this advanced copy as I am a huge fan of Cruella De Vil and of course Serena’s stories!

I have previously read Evil Thing by Serena so I knew the story going into this novel. However the illustrations are perfect. Everything I imagined reading the book was illustrated exactly how I imagined it. The story flowed very nicely in this format and it was a joy to read it!

I am so thankful I got an opportunity to read this I’m advance and am so excited for everyone to get their hands on this book! Very much looking forward to Serena’s next villain novel.

[Lucy I. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book excellently sums up how Cruella spiraled down into madness and villainy. Her personality is written perfectly, and from the beginning, you see her loyalty to her mother and love of all things expensive. I think that Jack(the love interest)'s presence in the book is too short. He's in for a page or two, then poof, he's gone. It would have been nice to see a bit more of his and Cruellas' relationship. Cruellas' perception of her mother is very......interesting. Their relationship is centered around money and presents, which played out over Cruellas' life and was very enjoyable to read. All in all, a beautiful book.

[Avary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this graphic novel. It tells the origin story of Cruella De Vil, but not like the movie at all. It fits in more with the original animated movie. The best way to describe it is a prequel to the 101 Dalmation movie with some overlap. It describes how Cruella became crazy and why she came up with the idea to steal the puppies.

The only content to cause concern is how she wants to murder puppies for their fur. Also, there is death and Cruella becoming mentally ill. That being said, I would recommend it.

[Ruth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was it me... or was that... kinda gay? Like as gay as Disney will ever let any of its Classic Villains be, but, uhhhh, yeah that was kinda gay.

I liked that, unlike the recent movie, this never attempted to soften the bad things she did. I gave some context and told you her reasoning, but at no point did they change the whole stole-puppies-in-order-to-kill-them-and-make-a-coat. She is clearly A Bad Guy, even in her own story, and they don't try and "fix" her. She is mentally disturbed and needs some serious therapy, but she did very much do those things.

I also really liked the art.