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The Last Count of Monte Cristo: The Bold Afrofuturist Graphic Novel
An Afrofuturist retelling of Alexandre Dumas’s classic 19th century novel The Count of Monte Cristo
The Last Count of Monte Cristo is a bold retelling of Alexandre Dumas’s classic tale of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption. This speculative update pushes the narrative into a future hundreds of years after the polar ice caps have melted and submerged our planet into a new era of technology and culture. In this futuristic reinterpretation, author Ayize Jama-Everett and illustrator Tristan Roach revisit the original inspiration of The Count of Monte Cristo—Alexandre Dumas’s own father. A greatly respected general during the French Revolution, Dumas was one of the highest-ranking officers of African descent in a Western army in history. Like the protagonist of his son’s story, General Dumas was betrayed and spent years in prison before getting a chance to return to his beloved France. The Last Count of Monte Cristo is a radical and powerful graphic novel update that reclaims the cultural heritage of Dumas’s tale and suggests the terrible future that could threaten the human race if we continue to destroy our planet.
The Last Count of Monte Cristo is a bold retelling of Alexandre Dumas’s classic tale of love, betrayal, revenge, and redemption. This speculative update pushes the narrative into a future hundreds of years after the polar ice caps have melted and submerged our planet into a new era of technology and culture. In this futuristic reinterpretation, author Ayize Jama-Everett and illustrator Tristan Roach revisit the original inspiration of The Count of Monte Cristo—Alexandre Dumas’s own father. A greatly respected general during the French Revolution, Dumas was one of the highest-ranking officers of African descent in a Western army in history. Like the protagonist of his son’s story, General Dumas was betrayed and spent years in prison before getting a chance to return to his beloved France. The Last Count of Monte Cristo is a radical and powerful graphic novel update that reclaims the cultural heritage of Dumas’s tale and suggests the terrible future that could threaten the human race if we continue to destroy our planet.
154 pages, Hardcover
First published April 25, 2023
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
May 24, 2023
I liked the idea of The Last Count of Monte Cristo, but this graphic novel reimagining of Dumas' classic just wasn't it.
My biggest issue with this book is that the dialogue and narrative voice does not match the characters and setting. I'm to the point in my life where I don't read classics anymore simply because I don't enjoy the stuffy, prim and proper language they used a couple hundred years ago when the classics were written. People were SO obsessed with public decency and social courtesy that it had this confining effect on their behavior and perspective, and I can't help but feel that emanating from the dialogue and tone of this story.
For some stupid reason, the authors here chose to keep Dumas' mid-1800's narrative voice and put it in a beautifully colorful afro-futuriatic setting. So black people in the future where there are giant lizards and luxury solor powered high tech sail boats are saying things like,
"Speak plainly, man. What of Morel? Is he not still a titan of industry?"
And
"Hence my need for the vantage. Did Kouros not tell you? For shame. Come, to the stables."
While I'm here scratching my head wondering why in the world would they keep the voices of this progressive story SO stuck in the past. Like, tf??
It just doesn't work.
Another thing that didn't work for me was that there is an overwhelming amount of text and exposition in this graphic novel. The Count of Monte Cristo is a very long and complex story that has no business being crammed into a one-off graphic novel. Maybe a series, but it's obvious to me that this story is far too big for its britches, and I'm disappointed that the authors didn't recognize that.
I prefer graphic novels that do a better job of balancing the visual information communicated with and text so that there's an equal measure of both. In The Last Count of Monte Cristo, the overwhelming majority of information here is text, leaving the visuals for aesthetic purposes only. What a waste!
Also, speaking of...the artwork, while impressively colorful, is inconsistent at best. I really liked the design of our main character who eventually looks very slick and suave and powerful. But then there are some side characters that have weird eyes and scritchy outlines. It's clear where effort was placed and where it wasnt.
So I'm rating this one 2.5 out of 5 stars. A good idea, but not a good graphic novel.
*I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. I feel bad for not liking it. Obviously, this is my honest opinion.
My biggest issue with this book is that the dialogue and narrative voice does not match the characters and setting. I'm to the point in my life where I don't read classics anymore simply because I don't enjoy the stuffy, prim and proper language they used a couple hundred years ago when the classics were written. People were SO obsessed with public decency and social courtesy that it had this confining effect on their behavior and perspective, and I can't help but feel that emanating from the dialogue and tone of this story.
For some stupid reason, the authors here chose to keep Dumas' mid-1800's narrative voice and put it in a beautifully colorful afro-futuriatic setting. So black people in the future where there are giant lizards and luxury solor powered high tech sail boats are saying things like,
"Speak plainly, man. What of Morel? Is he not still a titan of industry?"
And
"Hence my need for the vantage. Did Kouros not tell you? For shame. Come, to the stables."
While I'm here scratching my head wondering why in the world would they keep the voices of this progressive story SO stuck in the past. Like, tf??
It just doesn't work.
Another thing that didn't work for me was that there is an overwhelming amount of text and exposition in this graphic novel. The Count of Monte Cristo is a very long and complex story that has no business being crammed into a one-off graphic novel. Maybe a series, but it's obvious to me that this story is far too big for its britches, and I'm disappointed that the authors didn't recognize that.
I prefer graphic novels that do a better job of balancing the visual information communicated with and text so that there's an equal measure of both. In The Last Count of Monte Cristo, the overwhelming majority of information here is text, leaving the visuals for aesthetic purposes only. What a waste!
Also, speaking of...the artwork, while impressively colorful, is inconsistent at best. I really liked the design of our main character who eventually looks very slick and suave and powerful. But then there are some side characters that have weird eyes and scritchy outlines. It's clear where effort was placed and where it wasnt.
So I'm rating this one 2.5 out of 5 stars. A good idea, but not a good graphic novel.
*I won this in a Goodreads giveaway. I feel bad for not liking it. Obviously, this is my honest opinion.
July 14, 2025
The Count of Monte Cristo is one of my favorite books of all time, so when I saw this adaptation on display at the library I had to pick it up. I’m terribly sad to say that this adaptation turned out to be not only a waste of a great idea (an afrofuturist Count would be so cool! Especially since Dumas himself was black), but betrayed the very meaning of the original. I would not recommend this as an entry point to the book - better to read an abridged version instead if you really think you can’t stomach the full 800 pages (but you will! Oh, you will).
Unfortunately, I didn’t think about how suspiciously small it was, which should have been the first sign something was wrong. This book suffered from many problems, but its slender size was the root cause of most of them.
With such a short space, this expansive story of revenge, divine judgment, and mercy had to be rushed through. The pacing is terrible - the exposition is more than half of the book and the ultimate moments of revenge happen over the course of just the last few pages. Not only that, but the rush means that we spend very little time with any character other than our hero, Dantes, and as such they are generally quite flat and uncompelling. Worse still, the pace and character issues lead into difficulty following the story itself. Despite being stripped down to the bare minimum, the number of characters introduced and the speed at which they are folded into the story makes it near unintelligible, and I think I would have been quite confused had I not already known the original story.
The pictures should have helped - but generally they were dark and sometimes it was unclear what exactly was happening on a given panel. Even more shocking for a graphic novel published by a primarily graphic novel company, several panels and pages were pixelated, and at least twice it appeared that a speech bubble had been directed to the wrong person. Sometimes it was hard to tell which character was which, and overall there was such inconsistency in the polish and cleanness of the panels that I was shocked they had accepted them for publication. I think I have been very spoiled by the quality of the graphic novels I have read previously from Pantheon and First Second - I don’t think either would have accepted the quality of these graphics.
Of course it is a terrible shame, in the end, that the quality was so poor, as an Afrofuturist solar punk retelling is such a cool idea, and many of the changes in terms or worldbuilding were fascinating (using algae as collateral and lizards instead of horses, etc etc). But the issues with pacing and the pictures affected the worldbuilding as well, if not more so, because at least the story of the Count of Monte Cristo is generally well-known, whereas they needed space and good pictures to explain what they were trying to do. I longed for the impeccable storytelling of Shubeik Lubeik.
Unfortunately the book also committed the cardinal sin of an adaptation - not truly understanding the source material. Just like Netflix’s Persuasion, this version of the Count is shallow and vapid, cool in the ways the modern audience would consider cool and lacking self-awareness.
In the end, this was an inspired idea that lacked the follow through and vision to make it good. I hope to find a worthy adaptation someday - maybe one involving vampires?
Unfortunately, I didn’t think about how suspiciously small it was, which should have been the first sign something was wrong. This book suffered from many problems, but its slender size was the root cause of most of them.
With such a short space, this expansive story of revenge, divine judgment, and mercy had to be rushed through. The pacing is terrible - the exposition is more than half of the book and the ultimate moments of revenge happen over the course of just the last few pages. Not only that, but the rush means that we spend very little time with any character other than our hero, Dantes, and as such they are generally quite flat and uncompelling. Worse still, the pace and character issues lead into difficulty following the story itself. Despite being stripped down to the bare minimum, the number of characters introduced and the speed at which they are folded into the story makes it near unintelligible, and I think I would have been quite confused had I not already known the original story.
The pictures should have helped - but generally they were dark and sometimes it was unclear what exactly was happening on a given panel. Even more shocking for a graphic novel published by a primarily graphic novel company, several panels and pages were pixelated, and at least twice it appeared that a speech bubble had been directed to the wrong person. Sometimes it was hard to tell which character was which, and overall there was such inconsistency in the polish and cleanness of the panels that I was shocked they had accepted them for publication. I think I have been very spoiled by the quality of the graphic novels I have read previously from Pantheon and First Second - I don’t think either would have accepted the quality of these graphics.
Of course it is a terrible shame, in the end, that the quality was so poor, as an Afrofuturist solar punk retelling is such a cool idea, and many of the changes in terms or worldbuilding were fascinating (using algae as collateral and lizards instead of horses, etc etc). But the issues with pacing and the pictures affected the worldbuilding as well, if not more so, because at least the story of the Count of Monte Cristo is generally well-known, whereas they needed space and good pictures to explain what they were trying to do. I longed for the impeccable storytelling of Shubeik Lubeik.
Unfortunately the book also committed the cardinal sin of an adaptation - not truly understanding the source material. Just like Netflix’s Persuasion, this version of the Count is shallow and vapid, cool in the ways the modern audience would consider cool and lacking self-awareness.
In the end, this was an inspired idea that lacked the follow through and vision to make it good. I hope to find a worthy adaptation someday - maybe one involving vampires?
August 5, 2023
An interesting and unique take on the classic story of imprisonment and revenge set in the future in which climate change has transformed the world. The art style and colouring make the characters come alive. I especially liked the giant Gila monsters instead of horses pulling his carriage. With a planet experiencing the effects of climate change the lizards seem perfectly adapted this new normal.
November 12, 2024
This retelling of the Count of Monte Cristo was amazing. I never read original but it did seem as advertised. My main complaint was it was too rushed and cramped- would of loved it spread out between one or two more books and could of had another montage of the ten year building up period and fleshed out the world build a bit more- never saw the non land birthed folks and the revenge stories felt rushed. Also hard to pay attention to the future race issues and then the big reveal from that felt like a let down. It was breathtakingly beautiful and so colorful just mainly wanted More! Really liked the afterword as well and recommend not skipping that.
April 17, 2023
Two disclaimers:
1. I won this beautiful hardcover in a Goodreads Giveaway. I know! I had started to believe it was not possible.
2. The story of Le Compte de Monte Cristo is a favorite of mine in all its many forms: love, betrayal, tragedy, pain, grief, and then a slow grinding road to revenge -- but how far to go?
All of these elements leave room for adaptation, up to and including the ending. It is a lot to fit in one graphic novel. The author carried it off, but it helped that he retained many of the names from the French original and that I am familiar with the various plot points.
Except for the names of some characters, the story has been transformed into an Afrofuturist vision with Islam in the place of Christianity. It works amazingly well in no small measure because the art is INCREDIBLE.
This is a beautiful book and worth admiring for the art alone. In fact, there are a few places choices made to highlight the art meant I had to reread a few portions, but it is worth it.
1. I won this beautiful hardcover in a Goodreads Giveaway. I know! I had started to believe it was not possible.
2. The story of Le Compte de Monte Cristo is a favorite of mine in all its many forms: love, betrayal, tragedy, pain, grief, and then a slow grinding road to revenge -- but how far to go?
All of these elements leave room for adaptation, up to and including the ending. It is a lot to fit in one graphic novel. The author carried it off, but it helped that he retained many of the names from the French original and that I am familiar with the various plot points.
Except for the names of some characters, the story has been transformed into an Afrofuturist vision with Islam in the place of Christianity. It works amazingly well in no small measure because the art is INCREDIBLE.
This is a beautiful book and worth admiring for the art alone. In fact, there are a few places choices made to highlight the art meant I had to reread a few portions, but it is worth it.
March 26, 2024
This marks the second adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo I've read without reading the original. The plot certainly bears all the hallmarks of the classic revenge tale and beautifully stylized to build a new and masterfully imagined futuristic world free from Eurocentric domination.
As a team Jama-Everett and Roach work well balancing the tone and mood of the scenes, evoking a world that feels easy to fall into, even as it looks wildly different and foreign. That style carries the reader along when the language turns stale, or layouts becoming confusing.
The biggest problem is that for a revenge tale to really sing it needs a much deeper grounding in both the antagonists reasoning for cruelty, their profit since the cruelty and the protagonists pursuit of revenge. The graphic novel nails the final one, Quabbinah Dantes seems thoroughly driven by his imprisonment, his faith journey, his career, and his self-formed community. The other two? Far less clear. It's hard to track who the cruel character assassins are, let alone what they do, so their comeuppance feels more like a plot beat than righteous justification or satisfying catharsis. I'm sure part of that is the limited nature of a graphic novel, especially when you emphasize Dantes' internal journey in jail, but it did limit the book's effectiveness.
I plan on having a copy in my classroom because I hope kids can catch the itch of complex narratives from a gorgeous artistic flair
As a team Jama-Everett and Roach work well balancing the tone and mood of the scenes, evoking a world that feels easy to fall into, even as it looks wildly different and foreign. That style carries the reader along when the language turns stale, or layouts becoming confusing.
The biggest problem is that for a revenge tale to really sing it needs a much deeper grounding in both the antagonists reasoning for cruelty, their profit since the cruelty and the protagonists pursuit of revenge. The graphic novel nails the final one, Quabbinah Dantes seems thoroughly driven by his imprisonment, his faith journey, his career, and his self-formed community. The other two? Far less clear. It's hard to track who the cruel character assassins are, let alone what they do, so their comeuppance feels more like a plot beat than righteous justification or satisfying catharsis. I'm sure part of that is the limited nature of a graphic novel, especially when you emphasize Dantes' internal journey in jail, but it did limit the book's effectiveness.
I plan on having a copy in my classroom because I hope kids can catch the itch of complex narratives from a gorgeous artistic flair
February 13, 2024
Representation: Black and Asian characters
Trigger warnings: Slavery, contagion and colonisation mentioned, death of a person, physical assault and implied injury
Score: Four points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I saw The Last Count of Monte Cristo as a new arrival at a library I went to, and initially, it looked promising. That is until I checked the low ratings and reviews, so I lowered my expectations. Still, I immediately seized the opportunity to get this novel by picking it up. Afterwards, I read The Last Count of Monte Cristo, but it disappointed me when I finished the story.
It starts with the first character I see, Dantes, living in a version of Africa 200 years in the future where uncontested climate change destroyed the world as we know it, even splitting mainland Africa into two. However, the worldbuilding is vague since I don't get why the map is upside down. After a few pages, Dantes searches for the Count of Monte Cristo despite people saying the ship and person no longer exist. Nothing about The Last Count of Monte Cristo was enjoyable to read. There was so much text it felt like I was reading a prose novel with some extra pictures. The art was also unsatisfactory, and the dialogue was the worst. For an Afrofuturistic society, the people sure talk like they live in the 1800s. The ending was dramatic, but it wasn't enough to save The Last Count of Monte Cristo from becoming a dissatisfying reading experience. So underwhelming.
Trigger warnings: Slavery, contagion and colonisation mentioned, death of a person, physical assault and implied injury
Score: Four points out of ten.
Find this review on The StoryGraph.
I saw The Last Count of Monte Cristo as a new arrival at a library I went to, and initially, it looked promising. That is until I checked the low ratings and reviews, so I lowered my expectations. Still, I immediately seized the opportunity to get this novel by picking it up. Afterwards, I read The Last Count of Monte Cristo, but it disappointed me when I finished the story.
It starts with the first character I see, Dantes, living in a version of Africa 200 years in the future where uncontested climate change destroyed the world as we know it, even splitting mainland Africa into two. However, the worldbuilding is vague since I don't get why the map is upside down. After a few pages, Dantes searches for the Count of Monte Cristo despite people saying the ship and person no longer exist. Nothing about The Last Count of Monte Cristo was enjoyable to read. There was so much text it felt like I was reading a prose novel with some extra pictures. The art was also unsatisfactory, and the dialogue was the worst. For an Afrofuturistic society, the people sure talk like they live in the 1800s. The ending was dramatic, but it wasn't enough to save The Last Count of Monte Cristo from becoming a dissatisfying reading experience. So underwhelming.
September 16, 2025
Just like the titular Count of Monte Cristo, the old story you knew has come back but with FLAIR! It's truly remarkable to see the familiar story of revenge but transplanted in an apocalyptic future where man struggles against unbearable heat, garbage beyond measure, mutated critters out the wazoo, and each other since humanity is still being dicks to each other.
So it's fascinating to see how the story changes, but still stays fundamentally the same. The biggest change of course being the races of the characters as we have transplanted the setting from France to Africa. The characters & relationships are just slightly different, but overall the changes only enhance the story & world-building.
So it's fascinating to see how the story changes, but still stays fundamentally the same. The biggest change of course being the races of the characters as we have transplanted the setting from France to Africa. The characters & relationships are just slightly different, but overall the changes only enhance the story & world-building.
September 22, 2023
I don't think I can properly articulate how rare it is to find an adaptation of The Count that manages to capture the spirit of the original novel so precisely and with such beauty. Jama-Everett not only accomplished this feat, but did so while constructing an entirely new and fascinating world around it, picking up on discussions and plot threads that went under-addressed in the original novel (as well as introducing new ones!) and building a truly majestic and self-supporting story. I am so excited and thrilled (seriously, I was fighting a massive grin the whole time I was reading) to see a retelling as powerful as The Last Count of Monte Cristo out today. This is a masterpiece.
October 24, 2023
An interesting futuristic take on the classic. The writing is good despite having a lot of ground to cover. I like the premise to re-situate the drama along the East African coast in a post-apocalyptic future where there basically are no white people and all the characters are African or South Asian. But the art is just awful.
Roach's style is way too busy and too atmospheric to the point where I struggled to figure out what characters were in a scene, and I'd read the original book! Weird diagonal shots.
Also the depiction of women just sucked. Sure I could even maybe buy that the skimpy outfits for women with the boob windows in contrast to the men in sensible all-covering robes could be a sign of the way women were treated/regarded in those societies, even if it made no sense for them to be uncovered given the intense sun. But the repeated choices of how women were staged makes me think that it came from a place of objectification on the part of the author/artist. Women were always depicted as having large breasts, large hips, and large thighs. No one from the Itty Bitty Titty Committee in residence. This is in marked difference from the way Roach depicts men. The men get to be all sizes and body types. The women do not. And these women are always depicted in the most lascivious way, showing off their overflowing attributes in their skin-tight clothes. Even the random women on the street were seen squarely from behind with large, shrink-wrapped asses. And of course there was a boobs-and-butt pose. Of course there was.
Roach's style is especially jarring because I've seen the excellent work of Jamal Campbell. So I know it's possible to depict people with dark skin well and make them hot as hell too without objectifying them.
I don't know, maybe I'm the wrong target audience for this book? I'm not a big fan of most superhero comics and this is done in a similar style. Either way, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this book.
Roach's style is way too busy and too atmospheric to the point where I struggled to figure out what characters were in a scene, and I'd read the original book! Weird diagonal shots.
Also the depiction of women just sucked. Sure I could even maybe buy that the skimpy outfits for women with the boob windows in contrast to the men in sensible all-covering robes could be a sign of the way women were treated/regarded in those societies, even if it made no sense for them to be uncovered given the intense sun. But the repeated choices of how women were staged makes me think that it came from a place of objectification on the part of the author/artist. Women were always depicted as having large breasts, large hips, and large thighs. No one from the Itty Bitty Titty Committee in residence. This is in marked difference from the way Roach depicts men. The men get to be all sizes and body types. The women do not. And these women are always depicted in the most lascivious way, showing off their overflowing attributes in their skin-tight clothes. Even the random women on the street were seen squarely from behind with large, shrink-wrapped asses. And of course there was a boobs-and-butt pose. Of course there was.
Roach's style is especially jarring because I've seen the excellent work of Jamal Campbell. So I know it's possible to depict people with dark skin well and make them hot as hell too without objectifying them.
I don't know, maybe I'm the wrong target audience for this book? I'm not a big fan of most superhero comics and this is done in a similar style. Either way, I wouldn't go out of my way to recommend this book.
August 17, 2024
dnf @ 103 pages
This cover is stellar! It immediately caught my eye on the library display stand. The color direction remained varied and shiny throughout too. Truly, I thought it was one of the book's strengths.
At the basic heart of the story, Dantes has been done wrong, and he goes on a long, tortuous journey to get his lick back.
It is an afrofuturistic retelling (with some Asian side characters: the jailmate, the female love interest(s), and later companions of Dantes) with Arabic references to The Count of Monte Cristo. I've not read the classic, but it didn't impede my understanding of the story. There were some cool sci-fi sprinkles here, but I'd have liked to see more.
There may be a barrier to entry with the dialogue. I greatly disliked reading it. It’s not old-timey speech, but it’s purple prose-y with an awkward rhythm. I wish the language would have been more to the point. I found myself rereading speech bubbles over, trying to get to the doggone point.
Since I was a newcomer to this story, I had to do a quick Wikipedia run and Google search to fill in some missing pieces. It's a lofty goal for a graphic novel to be able to cover everything.
Like, with Haydee who felt like a lamppost with lipstick instead of a character.
Overall, I'd have liked to continue this, but the dialogue was just too tiresome for me.
This cover is stellar! It immediately caught my eye on the library display stand. The color direction remained varied and shiny throughout too. Truly, I thought it was one of the book's strengths.
At the basic heart of the story, Dantes has been done wrong, and he goes on a long, tortuous journey to get his lick back.
It is an afrofuturistic retelling (with some Asian side characters: the jailmate, the female love interest(s), and later companions of Dantes) with Arabic references to The Count of Monte Cristo. I've not read the classic, but it didn't impede my understanding of the story. There were some cool sci-fi sprinkles here, but I'd have liked to see more.
There may be a barrier to entry with the dialogue. I greatly disliked reading it. It’s not old-timey speech, but it’s purple prose-y with an awkward rhythm. I wish the language would have been more to the point. I found myself rereading speech bubbles over, trying to get to the doggone point.
Since I was a newcomer to this story, I had to do a quick Wikipedia run and Google search to fill in some missing pieces. It's a lofty goal for a graphic novel to be able to cover everything.
Like, with Haydee who felt like a lamppost with lipstick instead of a character.
Overall, I'd have liked to continue this, but the dialogue was just too tiresome for me.
September 14, 2025
One of those 'it would have been so good if it was good' books.
Everything about the setting was phenomenal. I loved the glimpses we got to the larger world the characters inhabited, the changes to character names and situations that felt true both to the afrofuturist take and the originals. I found myself really wanting to know more about the world.
However, it really felt like this outline could have used a couple more revisions before going into final production. I find I tend to judge comics more harshly than others do, but the visual pacing was all over the place and aspects of the narrative were rushed and confusing. Pages of lore dumps and then a major scifi component would be introduced by a single confusing panel. At times the speech bubbles seemed to be attributed to the wrong speaker, or else I just flat out couldn't tell who was saying what. Most of the female characters were just boobs and butts, a common comics style sure but a tired one. Good thing there were no young girls in this adaptation because I don't think the artist would have known what to do about them.
Ultimately, as others have said, I think this suffered from a low page count and probably a quick turnaround. Without changing any of the story, I think this would have worked way better with just double the page count and a few more years to work on it (and maybe an editor who could have ordered the needed revisions).
Everything about the setting was phenomenal. I loved the glimpses we got to the larger world the characters inhabited, the changes to character names and situations that felt true both to the afrofuturist take and the originals. I found myself really wanting to know more about the world.
However, it really felt like this outline could have used a couple more revisions before going into final production. I find I tend to judge comics more harshly than others do, but the visual pacing was all over the place and aspects of the narrative were rushed and confusing. Pages of lore dumps and then a major scifi component would be introduced by a single confusing panel. At times the speech bubbles seemed to be attributed to the wrong speaker, or else I just flat out couldn't tell who was saying what. Most of the female characters were just boobs and butts, a common comics style sure but a tired one. Good thing there were no young girls in this adaptation because I don't think the artist would have known what to do about them.
Ultimately, as others have said, I think this suffered from a low page count and probably a quick turnaround. Without changing any of the story, I think this would have worked way better with just double the page count and a few more years to work on it (and maybe an editor who could have ordered the needed revisions).
November 13, 2023
The overall plot follows the general plot points from the original source material. The setting was intriguing, but could have used some depth or explanation since several crucial plot points relied on things that were known by the characters, but were not familiar with the reader. One big plot point that came out of the blue was when Jayla (Dantes' betrothed who married one of the men that sent him to prison) declared that she suspected the Count of being the retuned Dantes upon their first introduction. I didn't remember this being indicated in any way from the first half of the GN, but I did have a week between starting and finishing the book, which could mean I just forgot.
One big quibble that I had was with the artwork. At times it was hard to tell who characters were as they sat/stood around with each other conversing. There was some disguising going on that might have been VR, but was hard to tell at times. Then there were some costumes that had me confused as to what was being worn or what could be seen of the person wearing it. A big part of this might have been the size of the page and the size of the panels used for some of those scenes.
Overall, a good adaptation that also hits on a future of global climate crisis.
One big quibble that I had was with the artwork. At times it was hard to tell who characters were as they sat/stood around with each other conversing. There was some disguising going on that might have been VR, but was hard to tell at times. Then there were some costumes that had me confused as to what was being worn or what could be seen of the person wearing it. A big part of this might have been the size of the page and the size of the panels used for some of those scenes.
Overall, a good adaptation that also hits on a future of global climate crisis.
January 20, 2024
The authors were able to successfully put the framework (and many details) of the original epic novel into a typical - even short- graphic novel. The swap for 19th century France with a futuristic African landed gentry class was a believable and stylish choice. The Count on the cover is representative of much of the novel, for good and bad.
Several of the fashions were great, the glaring exception being the few women (drawn even more curvaceous than Barbie and Lara Croft combined) wearing generic bikinis or small unitards with some straps and a cape - not believable in the political or fashion universe. A heartbreaking waste with so many strong African fashion centers as inspiration.
Most of the pages were as busy as the cover. In many instances this built the universe (which I loved) but could have been used to help drive the complex story without relying on text. Beyond the story some of the pages felt a bit rushed - lines were shakier, details indistinct. Noticeable only in comparison to cleaner pages.
I'd be interested to see independent works by the author and illustrator, in case some of the choices were tied to the original novel or its publication.
Several of the fashions were great, the glaring exception being the few women (drawn even more curvaceous than Barbie and Lara Croft combined) wearing generic bikinis or small unitards with some straps and a cape - not believable in the political or fashion universe. A heartbreaking waste with so many strong African fashion centers as inspiration.
Most of the pages were as busy as the cover. In many instances this built the universe (which I loved) but could have been used to help drive the complex story without relying on text. Beyond the story some of the pages felt a bit rushed - lines were shakier, details indistinct. Noticeable only in comparison to cleaner pages.
I'd be interested to see independent works by the author and illustrator, in case some of the choices were tied to the original novel or its publication.
January 14, 2024
A quite enjoyable tale of revenge with a really cool aesthetic behind it, but my enjoyment does come with a major caveat.
I can very much acknowledge that I am definitely missing elements of what makes this such a revelatory work. I can really appreciate the movement of the company behind this book, but having not read the original Count of Monte Cristo, I found it a difficult task to make meaning out of without the direct comparison the book almost requires the reader to have. Taking the story out of its context while retaining politics and verbiage of the past definitely sells a point about the circular nature of human self destruction, but it does little to help with accessibility to the text. This paired with some difficult to decipher art or even poorly placed word bubbles, leads to a further confusion.
I’m sure after a read of the original, I could come back and find even more meaning and enjoyment in what is definitely an impressive and commendable undertaking, with contemporary writers taking back the fiction and history of the past.
I can very much acknowledge that I am definitely missing elements of what makes this such a revelatory work. I can really appreciate the movement of the company behind this book, but having not read the original Count of Monte Cristo, I found it a difficult task to make meaning out of without the direct comparison the book almost requires the reader to have. Taking the story out of its context while retaining politics and verbiage of the past definitely sells a point about the circular nature of human self destruction, but it does little to help with accessibility to the text. This paired with some difficult to decipher art or even poorly placed word bubbles, leads to a further confusion.
I’m sure after a read of the original, I could come back and find even more meaning and enjoyment in what is definitely an impressive and commendable undertaking, with contemporary writers taking back the fiction and history of the past.
April 8, 2023
Won this from Goodreads giveaways. I'm a huge fan of the comic book medium (collector for over 50 years), so I often enter the GR giveaways for those. I'm only vaguely familiar with The Count of Monte Cristo (it's been years), and I'm not sure why someone would choose that for a retelling. The afrofuturist setting didn't really click with me, but the biggest problem I had was that none of the characters were very well-defined, and beyond the main character, I never knew who any of the others were. I'd read a chunk of the graphic novel, then come back the following day and have no idea what had happened before. And the art's a real mess - it definitely contributed to my not being able to identify or differentiate characters. The colors and printing are super vibrant, which only serves to distract from being able to follow the storyline. Sorry to say that this just didn't work for me at all.
October 1, 2023
The writing was good but the artwork was terrible.
Set in a future Africa where climate change has rendered the world so unlivable that the next generation may be the last, a young man is arrested on his wedding day for crimes he didn't commit. After a decade in jail with a philosophical companion, the man escapes and establishes himself as a pirate and businessman, all so he can get revenge on the people who set him up and took his life away.
The sci-fi elements are well thought out. Some of the dialogue sounds like it might have been taken from the original book.
You can guess by the cover that the colors are oversaturated, which is something I don't like. The figure drawing is fine, but so often everything drops into shadow with a few bright highlights, and it becomes unreadable. For some reason the characters' faces and other important elements are always in shadow. Someone needs to explain to the artist how to use light and shadow to draw the eye where he wants it to go.
Set in a future Africa where climate change has rendered the world so unlivable that the next generation may be the last, a young man is arrested on his wedding day for crimes he didn't commit. After a decade in jail with a philosophical companion, the man escapes and establishes himself as a pirate and businessman, all so he can get revenge on the people who set him up and took his life away.
The sci-fi elements are well thought out. Some of the dialogue sounds like it might have been taken from the original book.
You can guess by the cover that the colors are oversaturated, which is something I don't like. The figure drawing is fine, but so often everything drops into shadow with a few bright highlights, and it becomes unreadable. For some reason the characters' faces and other important elements are always in shadow. Someone needs to explain to the artist how to use light and shadow to draw the eye where he wants it to go.
December 3, 2023
The afterword talked about how The Count of Monte Cristo was inspired by the author's father, which I had read about in The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo. That he was Black makes this Afro-futurist retelling especially appropriate but it does remove the race factor that was surely a part of Dumas's life story.
I think this would have been better as a series because it felt rushed to squeeze it all into one book. The tech, the setting, the characters all needed (and deserved) more detail to have the needed emotional resonance of both the betrayal and the revenge. I loved the details provided - I just wanted more
I think this would have been better as a series because it felt rushed to squeeze it all into one book. The tech, the setting, the characters all needed (and deserved) more detail to have the needed emotional resonance of both the betrayal and the revenge. I loved the details provided - I just wanted more
January 20, 2024
"Let us hope that the sum of humanity is not revenge."
Definitely an interesting mix of afro-futurism and 19th (???) century lit. Keeping with the themes of freedom and the cost of revenge. I can't say that I'm upset that they let Dantes off Scott free due to the simple fact that the story revolves around POC and slavery. And the implications surrounding that would have been....yikes. conceptually this is really cool. The world building is great and thinking of new and innovative ways to live on a dying planet must have been a blast. Beautiful artwork and colors all though paneling and flow of the dialogue could get a bit messy at times. The pacing was a bit weird I almost put this graphic down but I'm glad I finished it.
Characters that weren't Dantes lacked development but there's only so much you can do lol.
Definitely an interesting mix of afro-futurism and 19th (???) century lit. Keeping with the themes of freedom and the cost of revenge. I can't say that I'm upset that they let Dantes off Scott free due to the simple fact that the story revolves around POC and slavery. And the implications surrounding that would have been....yikes. conceptually this is really cool. The world building is great and thinking of new and innovative ways to live on a dying planet must have been a blast. Beautiful artwork and colors all though paneling and flow of the dialogue could get a bit messy at times. The pacing was a bit weird I almost put this graphic down but I'm glad I finished it.
Characters that weren't Dantes lacked development but there's only so much you can do lol.
October 17, 2025
The Last Count of Monte Cristo is a bold, thought-provoking Afrofuturist reimagining of the classic tale.
This graphic novel brilliantly reinterprets Dumas’s story — trading 19th-century politics for a futuristic world shaped by climate change and environmental collapse. The result is a powerful mix of revenge, redemption, and resistance.
The storytelling is sharp and layered, while the art is stunning — vibrant, atmospheric, and full of emotion. It honors the spirit of The Count of Monte Cristo while offering something entirely new and deeply relevant to our time.
A must-read for fans of classic retellings, sci-fi, and socially conscious storytelling.
I loved the idea of this graphic novel. Completely unique approach to the classic. And the art is amazing.
Grab a copy! You will not be disappointed!
This graphic novel brilliantly reinterprets Dumas’s story — trading 19th-century politics for a futuristic world shaped by climate change and environmental collapse. The result is a powerful mix of revenge, redemption, and resistance.
The storytelling is sharp and layered, while the art is stunning — vibrant, atmospheric, and full of emotion. It honors the spirit of The Count of Monte Cristo while offering something entirely new and deeply relevant to our time.
A must-read for fans of classic retellings, sci-fi, and socially conscious storytelling.
I loved the idea of this graphic novel. Completely unique approach to the classic. And the art is amazing.
Grab a copy! You will not be disappointed!
June 9, 2023
An afrofuturism retelling of The Count of Monte Cristo in a graphic novel?! With cli-fi themes included? Yes please 😍
I really loved the artwork and the bright colours.
The first third of this was great! So detailed and an accurate retelling that changed just enough to make it unique and fit the adaptions to the setting and characters.
But the rest of it felt rushed and really condensed into fewer pages. So much so that big moments to the story lost impact, and I wouldn't have been able to follow the narrative if I hadn't read the original classic. Which isn't great because I think retellings should be able to stand alone from their source material.
I liked the climate change elements and world building.
I really loved the artwork and the bright colours.
The first third of this was great! So detailed and an accurate retelling that changed just enough to make it unique and fit the adaptions to the setting and characters.
But the rest of it felt rushed and really condensed into fewer pages. So much so that big moments to the story lost impact, and I wouldn't have been able to follow the narrative if I hadn't read the original classic. Which isn't great because I think retellings should be able to stand alone from their source material.
I liked the climate change elements and world building.
May 29, 2023
I've never read The Count of Monte Cristo and though this might be a fun way to follow the story. Unfortunately this is hard to follow and hard to know who's who. I believe there is just too much story to squeeze into 160 pages. The illustrations are vibrant and spectacular, but also hard to use to identify place, characters, and storyline. I found it to be worth reading, but definitely not a substitute for the original novel.
July 9, 2023
I was swayed by the beautiful cover, but this book is best suited to someone who has read and loved
The Count of Monte Cristo
instead of readers new to the story. As someone’s first foray into Dumas’s classic, there was just so much going on… copious amounts of info-dumping amid vivid and busy artwork made chunks of the story difficult to follow, and an Afro-futurist/solar punk aesthetic and stilted dialogue taken from the source only added to my confusion.
October 4, 2023
I received this book from a giveaway at Goodreads.com
The art work for this book is really beautiful but the dialog is really disjointed.
They kept the old English dialogue even though the setting changed to modern day/future.
I read the original story and loved it. This one didn't really do the original justice.
I think the format could bring younger readers to the story however.
Which is a good thing.
The art work for this book is really beautiful but the dialog is really disjointed.
They kept the old English dialogue even though the setting changed to modern day/future.
I read the original story and loved it. This one didn't really do the original justice.
I think the format could bring younger readers to the story however.
Which is a good thing.
February 9, 2024
I have never read the source material and that was okay. This was a great tale, and I love how Dantes is portrayed - he’s hot. Sometimes I felt the art was too busy and I did have to go back to look at clothes/accessories a few times to figure out who was talking, but overall I enjoyed the artwork. The colors especially on the pages at sea are gorgeous.
I don’t think this is going to have me going back to read the novel (sorry Dumas!) but I’m glad I picked this up.
I don’t think this is going to have me going back to read the novel (sorry Dumas!) but I’m glad I picked this up.
February 4, 2025
While this is a solid retelling of the classic and does hit upon all the major plot points of Dumas's classic work, the slim page count means that not all of the story elements have as powerful an impact. The art style succeeds in conveying mood and tone, helping to keep the story moving forward when some of the language feels stilted. I did find the setting to be interesting and wanted to know more about the world in which this story was taking place. Overall, a quick and enjoyable read.
March 26, 2023
I won this book in a Goodreads Giveaway!
The illustrations are brilliant - the book is an artistic treasure.
It is an interesting take on the original Count of Monte Cristo.
The print could be a little larger.
The book will be placed in our Little Free Library for visitors to select and enjoy.
The illustrations are brilliant - the book is an artistic treasure.
It is an interesting take on the original Count of Monte Cristo.
The print could be a little larger.
The book will be placed in our Little Free Library for visitors to select and enjoy.
April 16, 2023
interesting and pretty but hard to read, lots of visual clutter. the storybuilding felt a little shallow. would make for a cool novel but the formatting just doesn't work for me. the quality of the hardcover didn't help either the spine needs to be wider to be able to fully open to appreciate the graphic art.
August 4, 2023
I received a free copy of this via Goodreads Giveaways.
I absolutely loved what this was doing but I'm not sure it worked as a graphic novel. The back quarter was enjoyable, but the beginning three were too wordy and confusing. Wonderful colorwork & I'd like to see a different story in this universe.
4/10
I absolutely loved what this was doing but I'm not sure it worked as a graphic novel. The back quarter was enjoyable, but the beginning three were too wordy and confusing. Wonderful colorwork & I'd like to see a different story in this universe.
4/10
June 11, 2025
The authors made this adaptation of the Count of Monte Cristo there own but made sure to keep it as faithful to the original story as possible. I enjoy any adaptation which makes sure to feature Haydee, a character which has been cut from others. This book was very entertaining and filled with very captivating artwork.
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