Julius Caesar

by Michael Ford (Adapter), Li Sidong (Illustrator), William Shakespeare

Shakespeare's immortal drama is retold here in a graphic novel format. Julius Caesar, emperor of Rome, is brutally assassinated, but soon the conspirators Brutus, Marc Antony, and Cassius turn against one another to spark a civil war. Barron's popular and growing series of " Graphic Classics " titles introduce many of the world's literary masterpieces to young readers. Elementary and secondary school teachers will value these books as a way to make great novels and plays accessible to their students--especially to those students who resist reading. Presented in graphic novel format, each title tells an absorbing, fast-paced story dramatized with high-quality color illustrations. After delving into any of these stimulating titles, many boys and girls will feel encouraged to discover the joy of reading the masterworks in their original form. Each " Graphic Classics " title includes a thumbnail biography of the author, a list of his or her important works, a timeline of historic events that helped inspire the story, general notes, and an index. " Graphic Classics " titles are available in both paperback and hardcover editions.

Genres: Classics, Graphic Novels

48 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2009

About the author

Michael Ford was born in 1980 in the north of England, and studied Classics and English at Oxford University.

He worked in a variety of publishing roles before becoming an editor of adult fiction. He has written several novels and non-fiction books for children, including the SPARTAN series for Bloomsbury UK.

He lives with his wife in London.


Librarian's Note: This author is Michael^^Ford. There are authors with similar names on Goodreads:
Michael Ford - general, catch-all profile
Michael Ford - Religion and Spirituality
Michael Thomas Ford - Gay & Lesbian, Humor, Young Adult
Michael Curtis Ford - Historical Fiction

Reviews

[Tandava Graham · Rating 1 out of 5]

The artwork is serviceable but uninspiring. The text is highly abridged, and the dialogue littered with footnotes explaining the archaic terms. On top of that, every single panel has a caption under it, basically giving the Cliff’s Notes version of what’s currently going on. It’s all just horribly clunky and I couldn’t bear to actually read it. It completely misses all the possibilities the graphic novel format offers for making an adaptation that is accessible and enjoyable.

[char · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was painful. Way too many good parts were cut out for the sake of simplifying it, and all of the footnotes over explained it and left no room for personal interpretation. Having the graphics is cool, but that is all that is needed. Unnecessary cuts and weird explanations are just washing out the awesomeness that is this play.

[Carolyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful graphic novel adaptation to keep track of what is going on while we simultaneously read the play.

[Coen Zuidervaart · Rating 1 out of 5]

Well, that was terrible. They try to tell the story through the pictures, but than add exactly what was told in a box underneath or above the pictures... The miss out on some of the better parts of the story and present and very, very, very simplified version. I only paid 3 euros for it, but still feel like that was too much

[Michael P. · Rating 1 out of 5]

I do not teach elementary school, so I do not review the effectiveness of this book as a teaching tool. It is a terrible and ineffective graphic novel.

The problems are many. Tiny panels make even close-ups unengaging. Too many characters look alike and dress alike, so it can be difficult to distinguish who is speaking. The colors are muddy. Most panels have dialogue balloons and captions paraphrasing the dialogue, which become boring. Many captions are misplaced, and should be at the top of a panel, while others should be on the bottom, so story details are frequently told out of order. The artist has no skill in pace or building tension, so there is none. Most panels are drawn from the same angle, the reader's perspective being at about the collar-bone. This makes for a visual sameness that defeats good storytelling.

On the plus side, most of the glosses are pretty good. I did not notice another plus side. Avoid this stinker.

[Andrew Lovell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Text = 4. Illustrations = 2

[StrictlySequential · Rating 3 out of 5]

Is Li Sidong Chinese?
->That was the only clue from extensive searching to see where the work is coming from.