Elvis: The Graphic Novel

by Chris Miskiewicz, Z2 Comics, Michael Shelfer (Artist)

Every generation has a soundtrack that defines their lives, but not everyone was there to hear the one that changed the world.
Witness the King of Rock 'n' Roll's humble beginnings in Memphis as a young artist struggling to define his voice and break into the music industry. From the history-making Sun Studio to television sets across the nation, the trials and tribulations of Elvis Aaron Presley are explored in graphic detail by authors Chris Miskiewicz (Grateful Origins) and Marvel Comics artist Michael Shelfer.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Biography, Nonfiction, Comics, Music

144 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Daniel Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very cool graphic novel! Perfect for any Elvis fan!

[Molly · Rating 3 out of 5]

It felt overly wordy for a graphic novel 🙃

[José Ángel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen recorrido por la primerísima época de Elvis (y la mejor), con una serie de items con su evolución. Los dibujos podrían mejorar y ser más fidedignos.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an Elvis fan, I might not be objective here, but I loved this graphic novel!
The art was stunning, the colours and design - all great, while the story was engaging enough and to the best of my knowledge, accurate.
It is very interesting to get insight into Elvis' road to success on its humble beginings and to do so in sucha an eye-pleasing manner!
Definitely would recommend to any Elvis fan, any music fan really!

[Rocio · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lo elegí como lectura ligera y no esperé que me gustará tanto. Es un resumen muy bueno de los comienzos de Elvis y las ilustraciones son increíbles. A quien le guste Elvis o leer sobre diferentes artistas es una buena opción.

(Leído en español por Norma Editorial. No me apareció la edición en la app)

[Tom Donaghey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Elvis: The Graphic Novel (2021) by Chris Miskiewicz, Michael Shelfer. This graphic biography of the beginnings of Elvis Presley’s career spans the time from May 31, 1953, when he was in high school through Sept 9, 1956, his first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show. We follow the young man as he appears to be something of an outcast in school to the performance that solidly broke his name across the nation.
The beautiful drawings show a teen who loves music and clothes that made him feel different, older, cooler. He appears to always be singing to himself, wrapped up more in songs that real life. We find that he is fortunate to catch the ear of Sam Phillips at the Memphis Recording Studio. Elvis makes a recording for his mother but Phillips hears a great voice that doesn’t seem to fit any known category. It is a little bit gospel, a little hillbilly, a little Black and a little something else. But he knows that voice is different enough to make Elvis something more than just a small time singer.
The next few years show the growing appeal of the singer as he gets promoted into various shows and events. He makes a record and public demand rockets for more. And more follows, as well as a surge in popularity, all the way to national television.
We know the story for the most part but this illustrated guide gives us details of his personal life and intimate viewings into his public life. In all it is a nice look into a young man’s life where it is often difficult to gain the confidence to do the thing you dream about. So many of us do not or can not make that journey, but thankfully for the world, Elvis, through the help and belief of many around him, managed to do it.
This look into the singer’s early career days is fun and informative and, in many ways heartbreaking. The things you have to sacrifice in the name of your dream, oh my!

[Christopher Renberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am 54 years old. The term "graphic novel" already had a certain kind of connotation to me. I am nothing if not adaptable and I do like me some Elvis, so this seemed a perfect jumping off point to discover what a "graphic novel" is now.
Easy to read. The artwork is well done. Young Elvis was a fan of comic books. It all came together wonderfully.
Some minor errors that perhaps should have been caught. A minor quibble though. This went from high school to the Ed Sullivan show. Hopefully more on the way from the author/artist.

[Jennifer Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Let me begin by saying, “I LOVE ELVIS!” With that being said, I was slightly disappointed in this book. While I realize the life of Elvis Aaron Presley would be difficult to encapsulate in a short graphic novel, I felt like it was very disjointed. The beginning of the story was fairly good, detailing the early beginnings of Elvis’s singing career, but as he became bigger and bigger, there was a disconnect with the fluidity of the story and it was more difficult to follow. I found myself dissatisfied and wanting more of a feel-good story for someone so talented and yet so tragic.

[Wendy Woerner · Rating 4 out of 5]

As an Elvis girly, this was a pretty damn fun little read. I love the art style (shocker from someone who is also a Marvel girly) and I found it quite fun to see a possible other side to Elvis' rise to fame.

That being said, it felt like this one was in a weird state of moving too fast and not moving fast at all. I chalk that up to it being written as a comic book more than a graphic novel but it still felt off and odd to me. Outside of that, I enjoyed it and would recommend it to other Elvis fans

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This comic book was stellar! Though not in your typical biography format, Elvis: The Graphic Novel is maintains historical accuracy while telling the story of Elvis Presley’s early years in a fun and informative way! The story focuses mostly on the first two years of Elvis’ career, making it a great introduction to the King for new fans, as well as a cool new look at this time period for hardcore fans.

[Regina Barata · Rating 3 out of 5]

Novela gráfica em castelhano que retrata o início de carreira de Elvis. Focando-se nos anos de 1954 a 1956 mostra o arranque fulgurante do artista, os seus sonhos e medos e também a forma como desde o início foi visto como um produto de sucesso sem grandes preocupações, por parte daqueles que o rodeavam, com a sua vontade.

[Ryan Laferney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Charts Elvis' rise to superstardom and his switch from Sun Records to RCA. Ends abruptly, with Elvis realizing he can't go steady with his hometown girlfriend and with his acceptance that superstardom is more than he may have bargained for.

[DylandDS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really beautiful graphic novel.
Compared with the other Presley comic that I read, I found this one better because it's more story driven. It is not a complete biography and it does feel like there will be a sequel, or at least I hope.
Beautiful art by Marvel artist Michael Shelfer.

[Kayla Zabcia · Rating 3 out of 5]

74%

learned a whole lot about Elvis through this read! A timeline somewhere would've been helpful, though, and it should've had "the early years" in the title somewhere, because it cuts off after his initial success.

[Amber Hadley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Kinda strange. Felt disjointed and I would be more lost if I didn’t already know so much about Elvis. But maybe it is a good way to introduce Elvis to the next generation.

[Matthew · Rating 2 out of 5]

Seems rather disjointed. A good portion of the panels are him standing with guitar and musical notes in the background, no text. Not much of an ending, certainly not his full life.

[Sammy McGregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously as a huge Elvis fan I was going to love this! It's fun seeing the story I know so well played out across the pages in such a unique way! I hope there are more volumes to come!!!

[Jonathan Pavan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice, light read

[kw204741 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Elvis: The Graphic Novel was aesthetically pleasing, I'll give it that. Michael Shelfer did a great job with the artwork. Although the Elvis being portrayed in this book isn't at all how he looked during 1953-54. That's about the only nice thing I can say. It's clear this wasn't made with Elvis fans in mind. It's written so poorly it's almost vomit inducing. I struggle to even give it 1 star, it was that bad.

[Hari89 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nada mal. Estaría bien que fuera más largo, se hace corto en comparación con documentales y películas.