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Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy: A Graphic Novel #2
Stieg Larsson: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Verblendung, Band 2
A New York Times Bestseller
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. Years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. Mikael hits a dead end in the case, so to help, he brings in Lisbeth Salander, a fearless pierced and tattooed punk prodigy. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
Written by Denise Mina (John Constantine, Hellblazer) with art by Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti, Book 2 of Stieg Larsson's international publishing phenomenon The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo picks up the story following Lisbeth's final confrontation with her "guardian," Nils Bjurman.
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. Years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. Mikael hits a dead end in the case, so to help, he brings in Lisbeth Salander, a fearless pierced and tattooed punk prodigy. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.
Written by Denise Mina (John Constantine, Hellblazer) with art by Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti, Book 2 of Stieg Larsson's international publishing phenomenon The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo picks up the story following Lisbeth's final confrontation with her "guardian," Nils Bjurman.
164 pages, Paperback
First published May 7, 2013
About the author
Denise Mina
111 books2,617 followersDenise Mina was born in Glasgow in 1966. Because of her father's job as an Engineer, the family followed the north sea oil boom of the seventies around Europe
She left school at sixteen and did a number of poorly paid jobs, including working in a meat factory, as a bar maid, kitchen porter and cook.
Eventually she settled in auxiliary nursing for geriatric and terminal care patients.
At twenty one she passed exams, got into study Law at Glasgow University and went on to research a PhD thesis at Strathclyde University on the ascription of mental illness to female offenders, teaching criminology and criminal law in the mean time.
Misusing her grant she stayed at home and wrote a novel, 'Garnethill' when she was supposed to be studying instead.
She left school at sixteen and did a number of poorly paid jobs, including working in a meat factory, as a bar maid, kitchen porter and cook.
Eventually she settled in auxiliary nursing for geriatric and terminal care patients.
At twenty one she passed exams, got into study Law at Glasgow University and went on to research a PhD thesis at Strathclyde University on the ascription of mental illness to female offenders, teaching criminology and criminal law in the mean time.
Misusing her grant she stayed at home and wrote a novel, 'Garnethill' when she was supposed to be studying instead.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 105 reviews
August 9, 2016
Guys, I’m begging you. Don’t even bother with this series, whether or not you’ve read the original trilogy. If you’re a fan, it’s just going to piss you off. And if you’re a noob, you’re just going to wonder why everyone is obsessed with this piece of crap story. Denise Mina absolutely ruins her adaptation of Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy, and the worst part is, it seems to have been done on purpose.
I read Vol. 1 of this series last year, which adapted the first part of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo into graphic novel form. I was not impressed. In fact, I was slightly angry and one-starred that fucker. I didn’t think I was going to bother reading Vol. 2, but with my unfortunately OCD completionist nature, and the fact that it popped up on a ‘recently arrived’ shelf at my library, I made the impulse decision to give it a go.
MISTAKE.
First things first, I completely understand that when adapting a story for a different medium, it’s sometimes (oftentimes) necessary to change, move or truncate things to work in said new medium. I am not opposed to favorite stories of mine being adapted in such a way as long as the person doing the adapting is faithful to the themes, ideas, and characters that make up the original. To use a recent example, the Hunger Games books are favorites of mine, and despite changes and deletions in the first and especially second movies, I love the films as well as the books because they have different things to offer concerning the same story. To use an even more relevant example, David Fincher changed some things up in his film version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but I didn’t mind any of them because the overall feel of the story and characters was more important than individual details.
After my first experience with Mina’s adaptation skills, I had charitably decided that she was either shit at adapting things, or was just sort of dumb. I say this was charitable because my opinion of her now is that’s she’s a fecking idiot, and kind of an arrogant asshat to boot. Because it’s not that she’s shit at adapting (although I think that might also still be the case). She deliberately chose to change key aspects of the story and the characters because she didn’t like them. First of all, only a dick agrees to adapt a series that features characters she doesn’t like. Only a dick would see the opportunity to further their own career and “fix” the mistakes of the original text. A rational, less dickish sort of person would have said, hmmm, maybe since I don’t like this book series, I SHOULDN’T FUCKING ADAPT IT.
I came to this realization shortly after finishing Vol. 2, when Google informed me that Mina had done a panel at the Edinburgh International Book Festival where she was there, ostensibly to celebrate the release of this book. I say ostensibly, because at least the way that write-up makes it come across, she seems more intersted in elaborating on the flaws of the source material, how she made it better, and I QUOTE claiming that Stieg Larsson would have been “happy” with all the changes she made. Changes, I might add, that involve: Mikael being called ‘Mikey’ (relatively trivial); removing Lisbeth falling in love with Mikael completely, including a scene where she literally tells him, “I’m not going to fuck you anymore because I miss my girlfriend,” and other stuff I can’t even remember because it caused me to rage blackout. But most of it was complete character assassination.
CHARACTER ASSASSINATION.
That assertion deserved its own paragraph. Mina’s Mikael is a pathetic, uninteresting middle-aged sap who barely has any agency. Granted, his penchant for sleeping with anything that owns a vagina is a problem, but an acknowledged one by the text. But because Mina just doesn’t like him, she completely undercuts him as a serious character and he comes off not only like a womanizer, but a stupid and unkind one at that. Mina’s Lisbeth. UGH. I can’t even type it. Mina’s Lisbeth is a sappy hardcore rocker with hardly any issues at all. As detailed in my previous reviews, Mina softens the fuck out of her character, having her cry, not beating people up she full well kicked the shit out of in the books, and unlike the real Lisbeth, she is almost completely emotionally available. She isn’t Lisbeth Salander at all.
And Mina’s dialogue is fucking terrible. To the point where reading it, I was wondering if Mina had ever met an actual human being. The way her characters talk, she must associate only with robots, and not even the cool kind.
This is probably one of those reviews that shouldn’t have been written. It’s very unprofessional. It’s a full-on rant. If Denise Mina ever reads it, she will probably be insulted. I feel bad about that potential outcome, but at the same time, she showed so very little respect for the material she was adapting here that a respectful review didn’t feel like the way to go. Instead I went the way of the real Lisbeth. Like, fuck it. I wanna light this shit on fire.
I read Vol. 1 of this series last year, which adapted the first part of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo into graphic novel form. I was not impressed. In fact, I was slightly angry and one-starred that fucker. I didn’t think I was going to bother reading Vol. 2, but with my unfortunately OCD completionist nature, and the fact that it popped up on a ‘recently arrived’ shelf at my library, I made the impulse decision to give it a go.
MISTAKE.
First things first, I completely understand that when adapting a story for a different medium, it’s sometimes (oftentimes) necessary to change, move or truncate things to work in said new medium. I am not opposed to favorite stories of mine being adapted in such a way as long as the person doing the adapting is faithful to the themes, ideas, and characters that make up the original. To use a recent example, the Hunger Games books are favorites of mine, and despite changes and deletions in the first and especially second movies, I love the films as well as the books because they have different things to offer concerning the same story. To use an even more relevant example, David Fincher changed some things up in his film version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, but I didn’t mind any of them because the overall feel of the story and characters was more important than individual details.
After my first experience with Mina’s adaptation skills, I had charitably decided that she was either shit at adapting things, or was just sort of dumb. I say this was charitable because my opinion of her now is that’s she’s a fecking idiot, and kind of an arrogant asshat to boot. Because it’s not that she’s shit at adapting (although I think that might also still be the case). She deliberately chose to change key aspects of the story and the characters because she didn’t like them. First of all, only a dick agrees to adapt a series that features characters she doesn’t like. Only a dick would see the opportunity to further their own career and “fix” the mistakes of the original text. A rational, less dickish sort of person would have said, hmmm, maybe since I don’t like this book series, I SHOULDN’T FUCKING ADAPT IT.
I came to this realization shortly after finishing Vol. 2, when Google informed me that Mina had done a panel at the Edinburgh International Book Festival where she was there, ostensibly to celebrate the release of this book. I say ostensibly, because at least the way that write-up makes it come across, she seems more intersted in elaborating on the flaws of the source material, how she made it better, and I QUOTE claiming that Stieg Larsson would have been “happy” with all the changes she made. Changes, I might add, that involve: Mikael being called ‘Mikey’ (relatively trivial); removing Lisbeth falling in love with Mikael completely, including a scene where she literally tells him, “I’m not going to fuck you anymore because I miss my girlfriend,” and other stuff I can’t even remember because it caused me to rage blackout. But most of it was complete character assassination.
CHARACTER ASSASSINATION.
That assertion deserved its own paragraph. Mina’s Mikael is a pathetic, uninteresting middle-aged sap who barely has any agency. Granted, his penchant for sleeping with anything that owns a vagina is a problem, but an acknowledged one by the text. But because Mina just doesn’t like him, she completely undercuts him as a serious character and he comes off not only like a womanizer, but a stupid and unkind one at that. Mina’s Lisbeth. UGH. I can’t even type it. Mina’s Lisbeth is a sappy hardcore rocker with hardly any issues at all. As detailed in my previous reviews, Mina softens the fuck out of her character, having her cry, not beating people up she full well kicked the shit out of in the books, and unlike the real Lisbeth, she is almost completely emotionally available. She isn’t Lisbeth Salander at all.
And Mina’s dialogue is fucking terrible. To the point where reading it, I was wondering if Mina had ever met an actual human being. The way her characters talk, she must associate only with robots, and not even the cool kind.
This is probably one of those reviews that shouldn’t have been written. It’s very unprofessional. It’s a full-on rant. If Denise Mina ever reads it, she will probably be insulted. I feel bad about that potential outcome, but at the same time, she showed so very little respect for the material she was adapting here that a respectful review didn’t feel like the way to go. Instead I went the way of the real Lisbeth. Like, fuck it. I wanna light this shit on fire.
March 18, 2015
The story is good of having two killers but it is not well built. the way it was found out were weak
September 10, 2015
It was okie.
There was a lot of jumping that wouldn't make sense if you hadn't already read the original Stieg Larsson book.
There were times when I didn't even follow.... wait.. what happened..?
Don't read this book to replace the original. You'll just be confused, which is such a shame since book one was so amazeballs.
Full review to come... maybe..
There was a lot of jumping that wouldn't make sense if you hadn't already read the original Stieg Larsson book.
There were times when I didn't even follow.... wait.. what happened..?
Don't read this book to replace the original. You'll just be confused, which is such a shame since book one was so amazeballs.
Full review to come... maybe..
March 28, 2017
En malttanut lopettaa ennenkuin viimeinenkin sivu oli luettu
January 13, 2022
Ну таке, мало допомогти мені згадати події. В принципі допомогло, але сам графічний роман щось вибісив. Ще й мальовка дуже не дуже. Краще б уже перечитала оригінальну історію, ну але вже як є. Не раджу.
June 15, 2021
Such talent. Lisbeth is the heroine of this generation.
February 21, 2026
it does perfectly capture the book, although it is not the same.
May 12, 2013
Amazingly enough, Denise Mina manages to capture this story in so few pages.
This second volume of the adaptation is just as beautifully presented as the first.
I still haven't read the original book (boo! moi!), and I don't even know wether I'll ever get that much of a "need" to read it, but I am glad I have read this adaptation and seen the American Movie version... in fact, now I'm more curious to see the Swedish(?) movie than I am about reading the actual book.
Still, I am looking forward to reading Mina's adaptation of the sequel(s) as well.
This second volume of the adaptation is just as beautifully presented as the first.
I still haven't read the original book (boo! moi!), and I don't even know wether I'll ever get that much of a "need" to read it, but I am glad I have read this adaptation and seen the American Movie version... in fact, now I'm more curious to see the Swedish(?) movie than I am about reading the actual book.
Still, I am looking forward to reading Mina's adaptation of the sequel(s) as well.
December 11, 2014
Should only be read if the novel was read. It would be hard to compress so much of the story into a graphic novel format so I can overlook a lot of the flaws but for a brand new reader to this series, I would definitely start with the books. It's been a couple of years since I read this book, but I don't remember the novel ending the way it was portrayed in the graphic version. That should not have happened.
March 27, 2018
Well, it's nice to read this kind of cómic, they illustrated better than the book some scenes, but in the book you can imagine all. Still was an amazing art, no quite so well than other works, but I like it. Some scenes are for mature public, 18+. High-voltage scene, sex (mature) and violence (Lisbeth hit some bad ass guys). She is stronger as female character.
May 8, 2013
The art in this book is amazing and thank goodness they stuck to the ending in the book, unlike the American version of the movie. I can't wait for The Girl Who Played with Fire.
August 6, 2013
Really good read. I think I'm hooked on graphics now.
December 10, 2022
Not as engaging as Vol.1 I'm glad I read the book before the graphic novel.
December 18, 2013
A bit of a letdown for old fans.
(Trigger warning for discussions of rape.)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Book 2 is the second and final volume of the comic book adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I won't rehash the book's plot here, except to say that it's equal parts murder mystery, rape revenge, and social commentary. Wealthy industrialist Henrik Vanger hires disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist to solve a decades-old mystery: the disappearance of his niece Harriet from the family's isolated estate on Hedeby Island. Meanwhile, a young woman named Lisbeth Salander - the eponymous "girl with the dragon tattoo" - is struggling to deal with her new court-appointed guardian, Nils Bjurman, a "sadistic pig, a pervert, and a rapist." Lisbeth and Blomkvist's paths converge when Vanger hires Lisbeth's employer, Milton Security, to dig into Blomkvist's life.
The problems I had with the first volume carry over to the second one as well. In her attempt to boil a long and complicated story down to a more terse comic book format, the changes introduced by Mina often distort a character's personality and motivations - or alter specific scenes and plot lines - in fundamental ways. For example, Lisbeth doesn't join Blomkvist's investigation until after he and Pernilla decode the mysterious strings of numbers found in Harriet's notebook...thus uncovering a prolific serial killer (or team of them) that's been hunting down "sinful" women for decades. As a result, Lisbeth's contribution to cracking the case is diminished significantly; her awesome talents almost seem inconsequential here.
Exhibit B: When Blomkvist is attacked and kidnapped by the serial killer, he's trussed up and suspended from the ceiling with an elaborate rope and collar getup: arms stretched tight above him, wrists tied to the ceiling, with a rope securing his ankles behind his back "hog style." While there is a rope around his neck, it's more of a leash - not a noose, like in the book. While no doubt painfully uncomfortable, Blomkvist is in no immediate danger of expiring. Thus, when Lisbeth comes to the rescue, she's not presented with the Sophie's choice of saving Blomkvist from death by strangulation or pursuing the serial killer (though she unties him first anyway). This climactic scene lacks much of the tension and suspense present in the original.
If you haven't read the books, the comic book adaptation is an interesting enough story. But longtime fans like myself are likely to be disappointed by the many changes and inconsistencies. That said, I haven't cancelled my pre-order of The Girl Who Played With Fire, Book 1; I'm still holding out hope that Mina will have better luck with another book. Fingers, crossed.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2013/12/27/...
(Trigger warning for discussions of rape.)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Book 2 is the second and final volume of the comic book adaptation of Stieg Larsson's The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I won't rehash the book's plot here, except to say that it's equal parts murder mystery, rape revenge, and social commentary. Wealthy industrialist Henrik Vanger hires disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist to solve a decades-old mystery: the disappearance of his niece Harriet from the family's isolated estate on Hedeby Island. Meanwhile, a young woman named Lisbeth Salander - the eponymous "girl with the dragon tattoo" - is struggling to deal with her new court-appointed guardian, Nils Bjurman, a "sadistic pig, a pervert, and a rapist." Lisbeth and Blomkvist's paths converge when Vanger hires Lisbeth's employer, Milton Security, to dig into Blomkvist's life.
The problems I had with the first volume carry over to the second one as well. In her attempt to boil a long and complicated story down to a more terse comic book format, the changes introduced by Mina often distort a character's personality and motivations - or alter specific scenes and plot lines - in fundamental ways. For example, Lisbeth doesn't join Blomkvist's investigation until after he and Pernilla decode the mysterious strings of numbers found in Harriet's notebook...thus uncovering a prolific serial killer (or team of them) that's been hunting down "sinful" women for decades. As a result, Lisbeth's contribution to cracking the case is diminished significantly; her awesome talents almost seem inconsequential here.
Exhibit B: When Blomkvist is attacked and kidnapped by the serial killer, he's trussed up and suspended from the ceiling with an elaborate rope and collar getup: arms stretched tight above him, wrists tied to the ceiling, with a rope securing his ankles behind his back "hog style." While there is a rope around his neck, it's more of a leash - not a noose, like in the book. While no doubt painfully uncomfortable, Blomkvist is in no immediate danger of expiring. Thus, when Lisbeth comes to the rescue, she's not presented with the Sophie's choice of saving Blomkvist from death by strangulation or pursuing the serial killer (though she unties him first anyway). This climactic scene lacks much of the tension and suspense present in the original.
If you haven't read the books, the comic book adaptation is an interesting enough story. But longtime fans like myself are likely to be disappointed by the many changes and inconsistencies. That said, I haven't cancelled my pre-order of The Girl Who Played With Fire, Book 1; I'm still holding out hope that Mina will have better luck with another book. Fingers, crossed.
http://www.easyvegan.info/2013/12/27/...
June 17, 2013
The second volume of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is better than the first and to be honest it really had to be, after being completely unimpressed with volume one.
My review of volume one. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The artwork for one was a big issue for me, done by two artists Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti there was a severe lack of consistency regarding the two main characters Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, they actually looked different from one page to the next. This ruined the coherency and it did actually annoy me.
The plot was another bone of contention for me, obviously the writer cannot include everything from the book it would be just to much for a graphic novel but there were significant changes from the source material enough so that I recognised them instantly and you are then left thinking can't believe they've done that, why!.
There are some glaring omissions which I think would have bonded the story together better but I guess you can't have everything.
On a positive note the tension builds rapidly and it goes from the first break through to the reveal of the serial killer almost in the blink of an eye forcing me to complete the novel in one sitting.
If you are a diehard fan then this adaptation will annoy with its artistry and subtle plot differences, subtle like with a sledge hammer. If you are new to the franchise then chances are you will enjoy it, personally I've read alot of different reviews for this and alot of people love it but its one of those that you will either love or hate and I think I'm bending toward the latter.
My review of volume one. http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
The artwork for one was a big issue for me, done by two artists Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti there was a severe lack of consistency regarding the two main characters Lisbeth Salander and Mikael Blomkvist, they actually looked different from one page to the next. This ruined the coherency and it did actually annoy me.
The plot was another bone of contention for me, obviously the writer cannot include everything from the book it would be just to much for a graphic novel but there were significant changes from the source material enough so that I recognised them instantly and you are then left thinking can't believe they've done that, why!.
There are some glaring omissions which I think would have bonded the story together better but I guess you can't have everything.
On a positive note the tension builds rapidly and it goes from the first break through to the reveal of the serial killer almost in the blink of an eye forcing me to complete the novel in one sitting.
If you are a diehard fan then this adaptation will annoy with its artistry and subtle plot differences, subtle like with a sledge hammer. If you are new to the franchise then chances are you will enjoy it, personally I've read alot of different reviews for this and alot of people love it but its one of those that you will either love or hate and I think I'm bending toward the latter.
August 31, 2015
As much as I love the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo books... I simply did not like this. But, perhaps it is BECAUSE I liked the books that I had problems with this adaptation. I have only two real problems, but they are inherent flaws in the story and cannot be excused.
First off, I am aware that different artists contribute to the making of a graphic novel, and that there will be differences in character appearance occasionally, but these images are just confusing. The characters would change appearance from one scene to the next- so much so, that I had problems distinguishing who was who.
And secondly, there is the problem of the characters themselves. The characters are not portrayed accurately-particularly Lisbeth. There are several moments (such as the altering of her appearance to be more socially acceptable or her dismissive take on her relationship with Mikael) that seem wrong on so many levels, and very different from the original story.
Sure, the plot progresses more or less the same, but it is very different characters from the original ones that are leading it.
First off, I am aware that different artists contribute to the making of a graphic novel, and that there will be differences in character appearance occasionally, but these images are just confusing. The characters would change appearance from one scene to the next- so much so, that I had problems distinguishing who was who.
And secondly, there is the problem of the characters themselves. The characters are not portrayed accurately-particularly Lisbeth. There are several moments (such as the altering of her appearance to be more socially acceptable or her dismissive take on her relationship with Mikael) that seem wrong on so many levels, and very different from the original story.
Sure, the plot progresses more or less the same, but it is very different characters from the original ones that are leading it.
September 4, 2014
So I really enjoyed this volume. Of course, in the translation from book to graphic novel, some things are lost, and pacing is a bit off, but overall, I thought it was really well done. The art is fantastic and you get a sense of the novel from the graphic novel, even if it isn't a word for word adaptation. I really enjoyed that there were entire pages without dialogue, though it could be difficult to follow, especially in a medium where dialogue is the forefront of the story telling. But I think it was really well done.
December 22, 2015
Part 2 of the graphic novel representation of Stieg Larsson's book. I enjoyed the comparison between the original novel, graphic novel, and movies. Although the graphic novel is my least favourite representation, it still did justice to the book. I would only recommend it if you have previously read the original book, as parts are tougher to follow.
June 2, 2013
So glad I read the book (& saw the move - both of them) before reading this because I would have remained 100% lost and wondering how this was a best seller had I read this first! Poor transitions, weak plotting, WAY too much plot line left out. The art registers in at about a B-.
June 19, 2021
I have the same critique of this that I have of the book (that it’s trying to have it both ways, condemn sexual violence while also portray it for titillation), and that problem is only made worse when you add visuals.
July 11, 2013
These graphic novel adaptations just don't have the same punching power as the novels. Meh.
August 15, 2020
I really enjoyed it, now I want to read the book📖😊
September 11, 2018
My same issues with the first volume were here in the second volume. So I won't repeat here. One new thing I found annoying was how everyone called Mikael "Mikey" in this book. I think Erika did in the books maybe, but definitely not Lisbeth. I'm not sure if it was an attempt to Americanize "Mikke" but either way, it was hella annoying. Also I have to check my facts on this, but I noticed particularly in the end torture scene that took place that it was like shot for shot from David Fincher's movie adaptation. Though I can't say I mind the resemblance of Daniel Craig in comic book form, as he is a beautiful man both on screen and on paper. I'm also wondering if that will explain my issues with the dialogue as well. They called Mikael "Mikey" every 30 seconds, but no mention of Kalle Blomkvist?! I'll be watching the movie (and yes probably rereading the novel and watching the Swedish version to compare notes), because I suspect that this graphic novel was influenced heavily by David Fincher's film which came out in 2011, just a few years before this came out. An adaptation which I liked because of David Fincher's style and casting choices, but not necessarily because of loyalty to the book. I will say the one redeeming quality I liked is how it became about women's empowerment. I don't remember Mikael taking Harriet's picture to her in the book and burning it, so that was a nice touch of closure for her. Will come back to compare notes later!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 2, 2023
STORY 2/5
I feel like the story was very rushed in volume two. Lots of jumping around and if you hadn’t read the books (I didn’t) or watched the movies (I did), you wouldn’t know what’s really going on.
ART 4.5/5
Really like the art style here for the most part. It reminded me of Animal Man from the Jeff Lemire run. It fit very well.
ADAPTATION 1.5/5
How did this one get so much worse than the first one? Lots of things changed from the original story. Lisbeth just leaves and says she’s going back to her girlfriend? What was even the point of their entire relationship then?
OVERALL 2.5/5
Disappointed I even finished this series. If I hadn’t watched the movie, this second volume would have been an extremely poor read. At least I found another interesting artist.
I feel like the story was very rushed in volume two. Lots of jumping around and if you hadn’t read the books (I didn’t) or watched the movies (I did), you wouldn’t know what’s really going on.
ART 4.5/5
Really like the art style here for the most part. It reminded me of Animal Man from the Jeff Lemire run. It fit very well.
ADAPTATION 1.5/5
How did this one get so much worse than the first one? Lots of things changed from the original story. Lisbeth just leaves and says she’s going back to her girlfriend? What was even the point of their entire relationship then?
OVERALL 2.5/5
Disappointed I even finished this series. If I hadn’t watched the movie, this second volume would have been an extremely poor read. At least I found another interesting artist.
August 31, 2026
3.5 out of 5 stars. Given the full 4th star rating because I enjoyed the artwork.
It's unfortunate that the abridged format got out of hand for the Scottish writer and playwright, Denise Mina, since the first volume had started off strongly. The pacing felt rushed, and what should've been the ending became drawn out. Without having read the novel, I would've been confused with some of the situations and revelations that come about. The artwork by Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti remained consistent for the portrayal of the story.
The second printing combines the first and second volumes, which is more cost-effective for collectors. Readers be warned that the latter half falls flat, and without knowing the novel, you may be adrift.
It's unfortunate that the abridged format got out of hand for the Scottish writer and playwright, Denise Mina, since the first volume had started off strongly. The pacing felt rushed, and what should've been the ending became drawn out. Without having read the novel, I would've been confused with some of the situations and revelations that come about. The artwork by Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti remained consistent for the portrayal of the story.
The second printing combines the first and second volumes, which is more cost-effective for collectors. Readers be warned that the latter half falls flat, and without knowing the novel, you may be adrift.
January 16, 2019
This was the second part of book one and I'm even more impressed by it. I watched the movie awhile back but of course this book gives way more detail surrounding so many of the events as well as Mikael's and Lisbeth's life. What started off as just a mystery surround a missing person turned into so much more....corruption, murder, lies and family secrets. The movie really gave it no justice! I want to give a special shout out to the author for portraying Lisbeth's sexuality as just that..her sexuality. She's not fetishized and her relationship with her girlfriend is just that, a relationship. I can't wait to read the remaining books in the series.
January 14, 2026
The first part of this adaptation was rough but I was willing to give it the benefit of doubt because adapting to a different medium is never without flaws. But this second volume just further amplified that the writer will make changes that do not benefit the story overall and are unnecessary. The one element wherein the novel to graphic novel worked well was seeing the visual representation of Lisbeth dealing with her abuse. That’s probably the only highlight I can muster.
August 18, 2017
Skvelé skvelé skvelé!
Malo to len jednu jedinú chybu - vadilo mi, že to kreslili dvaja a bolo to vidno. Raz boli tie ilustrácie úplne dokonalé a potom také... meh. Ak ste videli švédske filmy a americkú verziu, tak presne takto vyzeral Mikael. Raz to bol Daniel Craig a raz to bol Michael Nyqvist :D
Malo to len jednu jedinú chybu - vadilo mi, že to kreslili dvaja a bolo to vidno. Raz boli tie ilustrácie úplne dokonalé a potom také... meh. Ak ste videli švédske filmy a americkú verziu, tak presne takto vyzeral Mikael. Raz to bol Daniel Craig a raz to bol Michael Nyqvist :D
December 28, 2023
I can't believe I read the first and third graphic novels but skipped the second one! As usual, this was a great companion to the book with the story. The graphics are good and I enjoy seeing Lisbeth in all her glory. If you don't know this part, this is where Henrietta disappears and Mikhael is investigating her disappearance. Is she dead or just vanished without a trace? Loved this series.
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December 29, 2020If book one set up the explosion, book two definitely blew everything up... After reading another review of this perhaps it isn’t the most truthful to the original book so I’ll be interested in comparing the differences.
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