A reimagining of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre set in present day, written by acclaimed screenwriter Aline Brosh McKenna and Eisner Award-winning illustrator Ramón K. Pérez.
Growing up in a broken home in a small fishing town, Jane dreamed of escaping to art school and following the allure of New York City. When that dream becomes a reality however, it’s not long before she feels out of place by the size of the city and the talent of her peers. She soon discovers her place as she begins to nanny a young girl named Adele, but that is upended when she falls for the girl’s father, Rochester, a sardonic man of power, wealth, and unexpected charm. Jane learns that in the world of New York’s elite, secrets are the greatest extravagance and she’ll have to decide if she should trust the man she loves or do what ever it takes to protect Adele from the consequences of his deception.
Aline Brosh McKenna is an award-winning filmmaker and one of the highest-grossing female screenwriters of all time. McKenna is best-known for the film adaptation of the popular novel, The Devil Wears Prada. The screenplay is considered a modern classic, filled with memorable and oft-quoted lines, and features one of Meryl Streep's signature roles as the imperious magazine editor, Miranda Priestly. In 2006, McKenna garnered Writers Guild, BAFTA, and Scripter award nominations for the worldwide box office hit.
In 2014, McKenna added television to her resume when she co-created the critically acclaimed Emmy Award-winning CW series, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend with its star, Rachel Bloom. She has been Showrunner, Head Writer, and Executive Producer since its inception. McKenna also directed the Season 1 finale, and directed and wrote the Season 2 finale of the show.
McKenna's feature film credits include the worldwide hit and perennial wedding favorite, 27 Dresses, starring Katherine Heigl; Morning Glory, starring Rachel MacAdams and Harrison Ford; the Cameron Crowe-directed, Matt Damon vehicle, We Bought A Zoo; and her adaptation of the musical Annie, which was acclaimed for its diverse cast and unique approach to updating the Broadway classic.
I say this as someone who loves fanfiction: this reads like a self-insert Jane Eyre modern AU written by a 16 year old infatuated with Rochester. Discovering that McKenna originally titled the book "Rochester" and reading several interviews where she never mentions the titular character at all makes it clear she was far more invested in writing a love story for him than actually staying true to the source material. Calling the book "Hitchcockian" is also misleading: McKenna does manage a bit of a twist around Rochester's wife and her brother, but the effect actually robs Rochester of all his motivation and the troubled nature of his behavior. His behavior towards Jane is still problematic and borderline abusive, but now he's cast as a victim instead of an almost villain. She's cut out everything that makes the book actually about Jane, and removed all the heft and character from the story in doing so. It's flat, boring, and misses the entire point of Bronte's work. Remove the title and their names, and it has nothing in common with Jane Eyre. There's no orphanage, no abuse, not illness, no loss, nothing but a pretty girl who comes to New York and has all of her dreams literally fall in her lap.
There is a lot of "tell, don't show", which is the opposite of what comics are supposed to be. We're told repeatedly that Jane is "plain" (she's stunning), that Rochester's house is creepy (it's modern and a bit sparse, but not creepy), and that Jane is under privileged (because...she has to work for a living? But gets everything she needs without trying?). But McKenna only wrote anything about the middle chunk of the story, completely cutting out the backstory that gives Jane the motivation to go find a job. She's not isolated, she's not particularly smart, and she has no agency or motivations of her own in McKenna's adaptation. The whole book was written at the same time as she was working on the script for the already-optioned film, and it shows. The pacing is off, there are massive plot holes, and side characters that serve no purpose except that they're all more interesting than Jane and Rochester.
I love Jane Eyre and have read it 2-3 times in the past year or two, so I know, I know, you might have warned me not to read a graphic adaptation by "one of the highest-grossing female screenwriters of all time." But I was curious, and I read and teach a lot of graphic novels so in some sense I feel obligated.
Maybe if I hadn't known it was based on Jane Eyre I might have thought it was a bit better--you know, just a romance--but it condensed the story and changed the ending. I wasn't a fan of the "mod" artwork to fit the NYC scene where Jane becomes a nanny for a rich billionaire (but surely you have seen those adult romances. . .). The original has been adapted countless times, and this is one, but that's about all I can say about it. Not recommended. But I expect McKenna still hopes someone will pick up the option for it to be made into a film. Not me, though, even if I were a billionaire.
The graphic novel Jane is based on Charlotte Bronte's 19th-century classic Jane Eyre, but I haven't read the original and my limited (i.e. non-existent) knowledge of it comes from a skit on SCTV, the classic Canadian sketch comedy series from the late 70's / early 80's, called 'Jane Eyrehead.' (pause) 'Airhead' - get it? This was comedy gold when I was a teenager. I really miss that show. Anyway . . .
Jane is set in modern-day New York City, featuring the plucky and likable college-age New Englander orphan title character. To earn rent money and art school tuition she takes a job - with the veiled threat / warning "the last one only made it a week" - as a nanny for the lonely but precocious daughter of a mysterious, reclusive millionaire widower. The little girl is adorable and could use a positive female influence (who better to bond with a mother-less child than one who experienced a similar loss?), and things work out at first. But what exactly is going on with and in this family?
Coming into this story with a clean-slate perspective was probably the reason I really liked the melodramatic Jane. That, and the starkly distinct artwork. While devouring it I was reminded of the style from Marvel's excellent All-New Hawkeye series and - whadda ya know? - artist Ramon K. Perez is responsible for the look in both books. Like in Hawkeye Perez often uses purple, along with his signature dark, sinister-seeming black / white / pale blue palette, although Jane has more warmth by strategically using orange and gold (Jane's tresses routinely light up the pages) in certain segments.
So, taking it solely on its own merits Jane was a very good graphic novel - nicely combining drama, suspense, romance and even action scenes - that could be appreciated by an adult-age audience.
Se eu achei o original mau, esta tentativa de fazer fan fiction à conta do nome de Jane Eyre/Brönte é ainda pior (nada contra se for bem conseguida - Vasto Mar de Sargaços é dos exemplos mais recuados deste género). Mas, realmente, e que me perdoe quem acha Jane Eyre uma obra-prima (o meu gosto é altamente duvidável em várias matérias - porque não em literatura?), que raio de mania é esta de romantizar sujeitos agressivos, possessivos, misóginos e a todos os títulos criminosos para com crianças e mulheres? Ou eu estou a fazer uma tempestade num copo de água - várias tempestades em vários copos de água porque esta situação é demasiado recorrente - ou temos mesmo de rever os nossos padrões enquanto sociedade "igualitária ". À parte o facto de Jane apenas recuperar, de forma muito lata, o original de Brönte, o que não me desagrada já que o que procura no clássico é inspiração para uma nova obra e não o ser encarado como uma adaptação, a forma como escolhe perpetuar e legitimar a figura de um Rochester é profundamente triste para o século XXI e sintomático de uma cultura que continua a colocar as mulheres num degrau inferior da hierarquia social e humana, e a cavar um fosso entre elas através da validação de carateres masculinos abusivos como se, de alguma forma, fossem um prémio a almejar por umas poucas escolhidas.
Absolutely stunning art and that's as far as it goes. Aline Brosh McKenna took away all the wonderful complexity of the classic and turned it into a bland, cheesy Lifetime movie. It is still entertaining, but if you loved Jane Eyre for her introspection, passionate and uniqueness, you will be very disappointed.
This is an adaptation or "reimagining" of Jane Eyre. All the characters' names are preserved, but the time and setting is updated to modern day New England and New York.
The art here is wonderful. I enjoyed the art more than the story, but then I already "knew" the story — or did I? What exactly does "reimagine" mean?
In broad strokes this graphic novel does follow the plot of Jane Eyre, but even the original was problematic in terms of Rochester (he attempted to marry Jane Eyre, the young tutor, even though he was already married. This scandal would have ruined Jane's reputation and prospects for the rest of her miserable life).
In modern times, we have much less patience for this sort of dishonesty. Don't we? I can't tell you what happens in this adaptation, but reviewers here are upset with the ending. It does raise the question — what is a dealbreaker in a relationship?
A very serviceable retelling of Jane Eyre where a young art student becomes the nanny for an adorable, super neglected daughter of some sort of super rich enigmatic guy that was almost excellent until it suddenly and violently became a V.C. Andrews novel in the last ten pages. Which now that I think about it kind of makes sense since that's essentially what Jane Eyre was.
At any rate its a far better attempt at a reboot than many of the others I've read.
I was so excited when I saw this book...but in retrospect it was probably a mistake to pick my favorite book as my first foray into graphic lit. I found the whole experience disappointing, because I feel that this "inspiration" omitted much that made the original so compelling. "Jane Eyre" is a complex narrative of a young woman's coming of age, and I felt that "Jane" skimped on too much character development, introspection, and plot in favor of the art work, art work which I felt in some cases detracted meaningfully from the story. Jane is supposed to be small, plain, and talentless (every teen's insecurities), but McKenna's Jane has lush flowing blonde hair, huge green eyes, beautiful bow lips, and HUGE talent. McKenna's Jane is never tested - everything goes right the first time for her. I'm holding myself back to not divulge a spoiler, so I'll just say that "unbelievable" is an understatement. Overall, I found this re-write too superficial for my liking and too condensed to adequately reflect the tension, romance, and drama of the original.
If it were possible to rate the art and the writing separately, the artwork would get a 3 and the writing would get a 1, so I'm settling on a 2 overall. I'm not sure why McKenna and Perez made the decision to present Jane as a typically pretty blonde. I'm not sure why McKenna chose to erase Bertha Mason from this story entirely. I'm not sure why the story descended into some sad, soap opera-ish climax but it did. With such incredible source material, I'm unsure how this adaptation went so horribly wrong. Disappointing.
Jane was just way too naive to be interesting. Rochester is a dick to her multiple times and she just forgives him instantly, for no real reason. The story with the brother Mason was just so soap opera-like that it was laughable.
La historia de este cómic está (más o menos) basada en la novela de Jane Eyre, aunque hacia la mitad empieza a cambiar bastante. El dibujo me ha gustado mucho, la evolución de los colores, y la trama en general también está bien aunque sí me ha fallado el final un tanto raro y precipitado, no acabo de comprender por qué Mason se comporta así (o sea, sí... pero no). Entretenido y ameno, tampoco me esperaba mucho más, que siempre voy con pies de plomo con los remakes y retellings, pero en general me ha gustado.
Seeing quite a few bad reviews on this I'm almost embarrassed to say I thought this was cute and liked it. Maybe I would have disliked it more if I had read the original, but because I haven't I can't compare it to other fan fiction of this book, I thought it was a fun story about a young girl finding herself and finding love.
2.5 pela arte. Não acredito que a roteirista de O diabo veste Prada e uma das criadoras de Crazy Ex girlfriend escreveu isso. Pra ser justa, Jane Eyre é um dos clássicos mais difíceis de se adaptar, mas não é desculpa também.
📚 Hello Book Friends! Last day of February already. I am finishing the month with JANE by Aline Brosh McKenna and illustrated by Ramón Pérez. This is a retelling of Charlotte Brontë’s classic novel Jane Eyre set in present day. I enjoyed the story and the characters. I think the retelling was fresh and well done. I was as annoyed at Mr. Rochester in this book as in the original. The illustrations are stunning and expressive. Great book.
Jane Eyre is one of my favorite all-time classics, and I felt like this graphic novel butchered the story and the characters and everything I ever loved about it. It was made into this Hollywood dramatic piece that I hated. Jane was annoying, her attachment and obsession with Rochestor and his daughter made no sense in this novel, whereas the way it gradually played out in the original was perfectly built to reach the point of catastrophe when she finally finds his "crazy" wife locked up. I was so disappointed. Not to mention that Jane was made into this beautiful, blonde version of her real self, she had no "real" problems as she was more than able to pay rent with a flatmate, and was going to university to get a degree, which angered me even more. She was leaving all this good stuff to go babysit a rich man's daughter, even though it was clearly affecting her studies. Priorities Jane, priorities! The original Jane Eyre knew her priorities, and that's the big difference.
Plus, he flirts with her like, once? Or compliments her a couple of times, and bang, they're naked in each other's arms! Next thing you know, he's disappeared and comes back with a woman on his arm. Really?
It made me really excited when I found this book, that I would be reading a modern-day retelling of the story, but sadly, it was poorly executed and did not live up to expectations.
So the elevator pitch on this one is Jane Eyre Set In the Present Day. I’ve actually never read Jane Eyre, though I've picked up bits and pieces of it through cultural osmosis. So I can't really comment on how faithful it is to the original or anything.
It is good though. Jane loses her parents at a young age, goes to live with her aunt, and, through hard work and determination, saves up enough to attend art school in New York City. While in her first year, she takes a job as a governess to a young girl, Adele, whose father is the dark and enigmatic Mr. Rochester. What secrets are hidden on the third floor of his lavish apartment? And could Rochester ever fall for a girl like Jane?
This was a fun book, if a bit predictable. Some of that predictability, though, may just be from a nodding familiarity with the source material. And also, some of these tropes possibly originated with Jane Eyre. The artwork is lovely, the story flows nicely … definitely worth reading!
Recensione su Chibiistheway La versione moderna a fumetti del classico Jane Eyre. La storia nel complesso non è male e intrattiene ma tutto si svolge molto velocemente. Lo stile di disegno non è fra i miei preferiti perché mi ha reso difficile capire le espressioni dei personaggi.
Jane was a quick read with beautiful artwork, the style and coloring were easily the highlight.
Unfortunately, the story itself fell flat. The pacing felt rushed, and the dialogue often came across as clichéd and unnatural.
Characters exchanged lines and emotions far too quickly, making their interactions feel unrealistic, even forced. The plot was predictable, and despite the strong visuals, it never managed to become engaging. To be fair, I haven’t read the original classic it’s based on, I know, blasphemy, but even so, this adaptation/retelling didn’t work for me.
I’m a huge fan of Crazy Ex Girlfriend, so I was super excited about this graphic novel. It was...a train wreck. Jane has no real depth or character complexity, no real growth (which is what Jane Eyre is predominately about), and the novel all but omits everything about Jane Eyre except the Rochester storyline, and it’s...well, a very “Mr Grey will meet you know” vibe with a slapdash of a seriously lackluster - yet somehow also weirdly disturbing - caper thrown in at the end. Also a lot of stuff about sea faring that isn’t as thematically resonant as the novel wants us to think it is. Somehow the book is less feminist than the 19th century novel it was based on. I really expected a lot more nuance and character focus from the creator of a show like Crazy Ex Girlfriend, especially combined with the book that’s all about inner character development and struggles with class and morality. I will say that the artwork is nicely done, although there could be a bit more clarity in some of the action-related panels, and the look of the main character was at times inconsistent. But the story. Oof. Just watch Crazy Ex Girlfriend instead.
I think I liked this one more than most because I have never read the original Jane Eyre. This retelling reads like a bit of an overblown teen thriller, and I'm down with that. Plus the art is quite captivating. The book is more than a little ridiculous, but who doesn't like a little soap opera in their lives? (I bet you anything this is getting a movie treatment)
I really loved this modern retelling of Jane Eyre in graphic novel form. It stayed true to the original story with a few modern twists and I liked the art.
(3.5 stars) I’ve gotten away from reading graphic novels lately, but finding this one - an update of Jane Eyre - has rekindled my interest. And, Hoopla’s suggestions for those liking this brought up many interesting options for the new year. (You can’t beat Hoopla’s selection of comics!) “Jane” isn’t perfect, but it’s well-done and its modern features are fun, like that Jane has a drag queen for a roommate. There are a couple of aspects of the story that are near ridiculous, but I can’t go into them because spoilers. It’s worth the read to make up your own mind on the plausibility of the plot.