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Artful #1-6
Artful
Award winning author and comics legend, Peter David, brings the adaptation of his novel, Artful, to Action Lab! Artful is the dark, funny, and action-packed story of one of the most fascinating characters in literary history, the Artful Dodger from the classic Oliver Twist, this time with a twist: Vampires.
Oliver Twist is one of the most well-known stories ever told, about a young orphan who has to survive the mean streets of London before ultimately being rescued by a kindly benefactor.
But it is his friend, the Artful Dodger, who has the far more intriguing tale, filled with more adventure and excitement than anything boring Oliver could possibly get up to. Throw in some vampires and a plot to overthrow the British monarchy, and what you have is the thrilling account that Charles Dickens was too scared to share with the world.
From the brilliant mind of novelist and comic book veteran Peter David, Artful is the dark, funny, and action-packed story of one of the most fascinating characters in literary history.
With vampires.
Oliver Twist is one of the most well-known stories ever told, about a young orphan who has to survive the mean streets of London before ultimately being rescued by a kindly benefactor.
But it is his friend, the Artful Dodger, who has the far more intriguing tale, filled with more adventure and excitement than anything boring Oliver could possibly get up to. Throw in some vampires and a plot to overthrow the British monarchy, and what you have is the thrilling account that Charles Dickens was too scared to share with the world.
From the brilliant mind of novelist and comic book veteran Peter David, Artful is the dark, funny, and action-packed story of one of the most fascinating characters in literary history.
With vampires.
192 pages, Paperback
First published July 11, 2017
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 20 reviews
June 14, 2017
It is a good read. Artful Dodger is cunning, witty and a good-hearted person. He has the gift of gab that he uses well to get out of trouble.
He met a young lady. She got kidnapped by vampires. Artful rescued her with the help of his friends.
The story is fast-paced. The comic is well-drawn but not outstanding. The facial expressions of the characters were either too loud or too bland.
Overall I enjoyed this comic. Those who like reading vampire stories would definitely like it.
He met a young lady. She got kidnapped by vampires. Artful rescued her with the help of his friends.
The story is fast-paced. The comic is well-drawn but not outstanding. The facial expressions of the characters were either too loud or too bland.
Overall I enjoyed this comic. Those who like reading vampire stories would definitely like it.
July 26, 2017
An awful adaptation of Peter David's book. The art and coloring are so amatuerish. The team decided not to use an inker but then didn't really use the coloring process to provide shading and lighting either. The book looks like a coloring book someone tried to color using Microsoft Paint.
The only bright spot is that I learned enough about the book to know I want to read Peter David's actual book, not this pale imitation.
Received an advance copy from Action Lab and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The only bright spot is that I learned enough about the book to know I want to read Peter David's actual book, not this pale imitation.
Received an advance copy from Action Lab and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
July 13, 2017
'Artful' is a graphic novel adaptation of the novel by Peter David. The adaptation is by Nicole D'Andria with art by Laura Neubert. It seems like an interesting story, but I wasn't that impressed with the art.
Combining characters from Oliver Twist and Dracula with real life characters like Spring Heel Jack, this is an adventure story starring the Artful Dodger. The story takes place after Oliver Twist and England is being taken over by vampires. Artful befriends a young woman. When she is taken by the vampires, he teams up with a relative of Abraham Van Helsing to find her.
There is a lot of action and the Artful Dodger comes across as a kindly but resourceful resident of the streets. There are cameos by other Oliver Twist characters and a few from other books.
The art just didn't impress me. The coloring feels dense and heavy, even in scenes that are in full daylight. The characters seemed skewed and the perspective feels off sometimes. The garish caricaturing of features works okay for the vampires, but on other characters it makes the characters expressions hard to make out.
This includes all 6 volumes of the series. I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
Combining characters from Oliver Twist and Dracula with real life characters like Spring Heel Jack, this is an adventure story starring the Artful Dodger. The story takes place after Oliver Twist and England is being taken over by vampires. Artful befriends a young woman. When she is taken by the vampires, he teams up with a relative of Abraham Van Helsing to find her.
There is a lot of action and the Artful Dodger comes across as a kindly but resourceful resident of the streets. There are cameos by other Oliver Twist characters and a few from other books.
The art just didn't impress me. The coloring feels dense and heavy, even in scenes that are in full daylight. The characters seemed skewed and the perspective feels off sometimes. The garish caricaturing of features works okay for the vampires, but on other characters it makes the characters expressions hard to make out.
This includes all 6 volumes of the series. I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Diamond Book Distributors and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.
July 1, 2017
So entertaining I want to read the novel.
June 14, 2017
This is an interesting story about what happens to the Artful Dodger after the events in Oliver Twist. It is an entertaining adventure with a range of other characters including the Baker Street Irregulars, Van Helsing the vampire hunter and certain members of the royalty.
The Artful Dodger is busy on the streets of London with his usual ducking and diving, but when he rescues a young lady from an altercation on the back streets of London, he is thrust into a new adventure and finds that he is facing new enemies and an old ally who is not what he seems.
It is a really good adventure story with a creative spin on the famous classic. The art is ok. I thought it overused blue as background but it didn't spoil my enjoyment of the story. I enjoyed the twists and turns, and finding out what happened after. We also get a quick glimpse of Oliver but this story is definitely an Artful Dodger story and an excellent one.
This is the graphic novel version of the text story and I think that the text story would probably be worth reading too.
Copy provided by publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.
October 12, 2018
The title of this one made me very curious and so, here I am.
I am not a fan of vampires, but this one was not bad, actually, I found it quite entertaining.
We have the Artful Dodger as a main character and I really liked him. He's clever and mocking and nice, he's also the kind of person who knows everyone, and I mean it, everyone.
Which is a characteristic I always find amusing.
One day, he's out living life(aka pickpocketing) when he sees this girl being harrassed and he saves her. And after a couple of incidents, he ends up in a series of funny yet unfortunate events, with a big-mouthed sidekick, being chased by vampires and in a mission to save the English Crown.
Even though the plot was a little of a cliché on its own, I liked Dodger pretty much. The story was... not exactly funny but quite entertaining.
The art was alright, though I must admit that it was nothing remarkable, I even had a hard time recognizing who was who, but it was alright despite it all. I liked the background design a lot, though.
I am not a fan of vampires, but this one was not bad, actually, I found it quite entertaining.
We have the Artful Dodger as a main character and I really liked him. He's clever and mocking and nice, he's also the kind of person who knows everyone, and I mean it, everyone.
Which is a characteristic I always find amusing.
One day, he's out living life
Even though the plot was a little of a cliché on its own, I liked Dodger pretty much. The story was... not exactly funny but quite entertaining.
The art was alright, though I must admit that it was nothing remarkable, I even had a hard time recognizing who was who, but it was alright despite it all. I liked the background design a lot, though.
June 6, 2017
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Let me just start by saying that I've never read Oliver Twist. I think I saw the Wishbone episode like 15 years ago? So really I have no idea how in character everyone is, but this was a pretty enjoyable little story and I don't think you need to have more than like a working cultural knowledge of Oliver Twist to read it. The story was your standard take [classic novel] and insert [paranormal creature] thing, but it was fun and I liked how they included other things like Jack the Ripper and VanHelsing. The art and coloring was a little bit unpolished in my opinion, but it wasn't awful and except for a few panels where the characters were making REALLY weird faces I don't think it distracted me from the story. A fun story, but it definitely wasn't reinventing the wheel or anything.
Let me just start by saying that I've never read Oliver Twist. I think I saw the Wishbone episode like 15 years ago? So really I have no idea how in character everyone is, but this was a pretty enjoyable little story and I don't think you need to have more than like a working cultural knowledge of Oliver Twist to read it. The story was your standard take [classic novel] and insert [paranormal creature] thing, but it was fun and I liked how they included other things like Jack the Ripper and VanHelsing. The art and coloring was a little bit unpolished in my opinion, but it wasn't awful and except for a few panels where the characters were making REALLY weird faces I don't think it distracted me from the story. A fun story, but it definitely wasn't reinventing the wheel or anything.
July 22, 2017
Normally, I like anything Dickens, and anything Peter David, but this story of what happened to the artful dodger after the Oliver Twist story ended, with a hint of Vampires thrown in, just didn't sit well with me.
I got bored with it, and had to go back several times, to reread it, just so I could review it.
The art isn't bad, but I didn't find the story all that good, though I did like the idea of the Princess Victoria wandering around in Dicken's world.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
I got bored with it, and had to go back several times, to reread it, just so I could review it.
The art isn't bad, but I didn't find the story all that good, though I did like the idea of the Princess Victoria wandering around in Dicken's world.
Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.
July 14, 2017
ARC provided by NetGalley
As a huge fan of Peter David's humorous writing, I jumped at the opportunity to read this book. The plot looked like the fun kind of silly and the cover was beautiful. Sadly, the insides were disappointing.
The plot varied wildly in tone and couldn't seem to decide what they want to go for- it swerved wildly between dramatic and serious and juvenile humor and it didn’t work well as a whole. I don’t mind silly cross-over stories, but I still expect them to have at least some structure. Artful has kind of an idiot plot going- the kind that keeps happening because everyone in it is an idiot. Not to mention that the pacing was horribly rushed, things kept happening one after another without any breathing space. The book has 200 pages for a plot that could’ve taken just half of those and yet, despite it feeling bloated, it’s still rushed. Not to mention that the “love story” present was completely forced and out of nowhere. The only instance I’ve actually laughed at was the part with the carriage driver.
The art was all over the place too. Sometimes the lines looked beautiful, but most of the time they didn’t. The vampire designs looked like something from a nineties cartoon for small children, and the over-exaggerated faces in every dramatic scene absolutely killed any kind of seriousness the reader might feel. The coloring didn’t help much either- the dramatic and nice colors with the blue undertones would’ve worked very well if used sparingly for added effect, but they were overused. All in all, the art felt childish, and not in the good way.
I wish I could’ve liked this book more. The main trio were delightful characters, but even they couldn’t carry this book, and after some time it felt more like a chore to continue reading it.
As a huge fan of Peter David's humorous writing, I jumped at the opportunity to read this book. The plot looked like the fun kind of silly and the cover was beautiful. Sadly, the insides were disappointing.
The plot varied wildly in tone and couldn't seem to decide what they want to go for- it swerved wildly between dramatic and serious and juvenile humor and it didn’t work well as a whole. I don’t mind silly cross-over stories, but I still expect them to have at least some structure. Artful has kind of an idiot plot going- the kind that keeps happening because everyone in it is an idiot. Not to mention that the pacing was horribly rushed, things kept happening one after another without any breathing space. The book has 200 pages for a plot that could’ve taken just half of those and yet, despite it feeling bloated, it’s still rushed. Not to mention that the “love story” present was completely forced and out of nowhere. The only instance I’ve actually laughed at was the part with the carriage driver.
The art was all over the place too. Sometimes the lines looked beautiful, but most of the time they didn’t. The vampire designs looked like something from a nineties cartoon for small children, and the over-exaggerated faces in every dramatic scene absolutely killed any kind of seriousness the reader might feel. The coloring didn’t help much either- the dramatic and nice colors with the blue undertones would’ve worked very well if used sparingly for added effect, but they were overused. All in all, the art felt childish, and not in the good way.
I wish I could’ve liked this book more. The main trio were delightful characters, but even they couldn’t carry this book, and after some time it felt more like a chore to continue reading it.
June 20, 2017
The book that would nowadays be described as a spinoff of Oliver Twist gives pre-Victorian London a supernatural twist, as the one and only Dodger helps a woman he finds wandering the streets, which leads to much more than saving her from a territorial hooker.
For a non-streetwise lady who picked the wrong place to have a Roman Holiday, Trina sure figured out how to play him easily. Eventually she’s captured by vampires, led by Mr. Fang—really?—so the Artful one has to go save her again, for once sacrificing himself and his future prospects for the good of someone else.
So, turns out Fagin is a vampire. Okay. I suppose that explains a lot, as does what he eventually becomes. Van Helsing looks like he belongs on a ranch in Wyoming, not London. Besides, his son with the relevant name has a bigger part. Dracula wasn’t much of a villain here, used and then sunburned without much of a fight. But apparently vampires can use The Force.
“You’re the hero of this adventure.” Not much meta there.
As a sequel to Dickens, this falls far short. It’s an okay historical vampire story using characters mostly already created, but wouldn’t have been much different without them. It’s simply a literary shortcut. It’s too bad, for I’ve enjoyed this author’s Star Trek novels in the past.
2.5 pushed up to 3/5
For a non-streetwise lady who picked the wrong place to have a Roman Holiday, Trina sure figured out how to play him easily. Eventually she’s captured by vampires, led by Mr. Fang—really?—so the Artful one has to go save her again, for once sacrificing himself and his future prospects for the good of someone else.
So, turns out Fagin is a vampire. Okay. I suppose that explains a lot, as does what he eventually becomes. Van Helsing looks like he belongs on a ranch in Wyoming, not London. Besides, his son with the relevant name has a bigger part. Dracula wasn’t much of a villain here, used and then sunburned without much of a fight. But apparently vampires can use The Force.
“You’re the hero of this adventure.” Not much meta there.
As a sequel to Dickens, this falls far short. It’s an okay historical vampire story using characters mostly already created, but wouldn’t have been much different without them. It’s simply a literary shortcut. It’s too bad, for I’ve enjoyed this author’s Star Trek novels in the past.
2.5 pushed up to 3/5
June 24, 2017
I've always liked the Artful Dodger and with the vampire setting the whole thing sounded quite interesting. Our Artful needs to save princess Alexandria, soon to be Queen Victoria, from the vampires that actually turn her into one. The setting is quite simple, just saving the princess and trying to clarify who's the culprit behind it all. The plot is somewhat hard to follow even when it's simple. The structure is sporadic and the panels don't follow one another seamlessly. Mostly the comic is just running from one place to another and it gets boring. Considering the idea, I'm sad that the comic didn't handle the setting better, sinne the potential was there. Also, nothing made Artful really Artful either, which was a bummer.
The art is so and so. The line work is thick and the colors extremely dark and smudgy. It's obvious this was made with a computer and the art is lacking. It would've needed shading and livelier lines. The panels are mostly empty and look poor in a sense. Better art would've saved a lot, but not all. Artful feels incomplete as such, which is a shame with such an iconic character as the lead.
The art is so and so. The line work is thick and the colors extremely dark and smudgy. It's obvious this was made with a computer and the art is lacking. It would've needed shading and livelier lines. The panels are mostly empty and look poor in a sense. Better art would've saved a lot, but not all. Artful feels incomplete as such, which is a shame with such an iconic character as the lead.
July 7, 2017
Disclaimer: I received a free ecopy via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
All told, this book just didn't work for me. I like the idea of a spin-off story focusing on the Artful Dodger. Add vampires and you get a nice horror story. I was excited to get a chance to read this adaptation because I enjoyed the novel.
I feel like some of the Artful's personality is lost in this adaptation. It gives the superficial elements, i.e. he's a thief and wants to do good, but there isn't a lot of depth. This sort of carries into the plot in general because it is paced so quickly that it doesn't dig deeper into some of the issues. The setting is evoked really well though, especially with the inclusion of some familiar characters such as Fagin, Oliver, the Van Helsing family, and the Baker Street gang. They prop the book up at times and kept me interested enough to finish it.
I didn't care for the art style. It is geared towards a younger audience for sure. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it dips too much into the cartoony style for my tastes. There aren't any illustrations that stood out to me either, so it becomes forgettable in a format where the pictures should excite me or at least leave some sort of impression. Younger readers should get a kick out of this story.
All told, this book just didn't work for me. I like the idea of a spin-off story focusing on the Artful Dodger. Add vampires and you get a nice horror story. I was excited to get a chance to read this adaptation because I enjoyed the novel.
I feel like some of the Artful's personality is lost in this adaptation. It gives the superficial elements, i.e. he's a thief and wants to do good, but there isn't a lot of depth. This sort of carries into the plot in general because it is paced so quickly that it doesn't dig deeper into some of the issues. The setting is evoked really well though, especially with the inclusion of some familiar characters such as Fagin, Oliver, the Van Helsing family, and the Baker Street gang. They prop the book up at times and kept me interested enough to finish it.
I didn't care for the art style. It is geared towards a younger audience for sure. That isn't necessarily a bad thing, but it dips too much into the cartoony style for my tastes. There aren't any illustrations that stood out to me either, so it becomes forgettable in a format where the pictures should excite me or at least leave some sort of impression. Younger readers should get a kick out of this story.
March 28, 2023
This a wonderful graphic novel of Artful by Peter David. The pictures are beautifully drawn and look like you would have imagined the characters. It is faithful to the novel. Originally done in 6 smaller books, this is the complete novel with the same forward written in type, 10" by 6 3/4".
I have reviewed the novel of the same name, so you can look up the actual novel. I was interested in getting this graphic novel for the artwork. It is on glossy paper with bright, yet slightly subdued to match the times, colors. The characters are sharp and well-done. The novel, itself, is drawn by one person and and colored by two others. There are, also, first draft sketches and how Artful would look during Oliver Twist and how he looks now a few years later. Also, a page of pre-Victorian dresses. So, besides being a full novel, there are some tutorials to go with it.
I bought this specifically for my book collection, so I own it.
I have reviewed the novel of the same name, so you can look up the actual novel. I was interested in getting this graphic novel for the artwork. It is on glossy paper with bright, yet slightly subdued to match the times, colors. The characters are sharp and well-done. The novel, itself, is drawn by one person and and colored by two others. There are, also, first draft sketches and how Artful would look during Oliver Twist and how he looks now a few years later. Also, a page of pre-Victorian dresses. So, besides being a full novel, there are some tutorials to go with it.
I bought this specifically for my book collection, so I own it.
June 23, 2017
*book provided by NetGalley in exchange for a honest review*
I found this graphic novel good. Nothing special but I think that this is the type of GN that you fully appreciate only if you have also read the book.
I think that Artful was the only character I like when I watch "Oliver Twist" the movie more than 10y ago.
I don't remember much about that movie so if you know the basic about OT you can read this.
The story was funny, I like the characters but honestly I didn't care much about them and I found the relationship between Artful and Drina strange and born from nothing, maybe in the book is better, who know..
I like the style of drawing but not the way they was colored, like old comics and I believe that would be much better in black and white or with "more gothic" colours.
A fun story but nothing special.
I found this graphic novel good. Nothing special but I think that this is the type of GN that you fully appreciate only if you have also read the book.
I think that Artful was the only character I like when I watch "Oliver Twist" the movie more than 10y ago.
I don't remember much about that movie so if you know the basic about OT you can read this.
The story was funny, I like the characters but honestly I didn't care much about them and I found the relationship between Artful and Drina strange and born from nothing, maybe in the book is better, who know..
I like the style of drawing but not the way they was colored, like old comics and I believe that would be much better in black and white or with "more gothic" colours.
A fun story but nothing special.
August 8, 2017
FULL REVIEW TO BE PUBLISHED.
Vampires are such interesting and atractive creatures. We don’t seem to get tired of them anytime soon because of how versatile they are and how easy is to work with them, and even more interesting how they can change a tale such as Oliver Twist’s.
There was also some Anime influence in the look of “Artful.” I cannot put my finger on it, as there is no certain scene to say such thing, but if you’ve seen anime, read manga, manhwa, or any other variant, you may get the same feeling, which got me a very good vibe. It was great to have both Western and Asian style combined.
However, I still have a very good time with this book and would like to see more material like this on the market, as the Pros were more than the Cons. Very grateful to the publisher for sending me this copy, I tried to be as honest as I could.
Vampires are such interesting and atractive creatures. We don’t seem to get tired of them anytime soon because of how versatile they are and how easy is to work with them, and even more interesting how they can change a tale such as Oliver Twist’s.
There was also some Anime influence in the look of “Artful.” I cannot put my finger on it, as there is no certain scene to say such thing, but if you’ve seen anime, read manga, manhwa, or any other variant, you may get the same feeling, which got me a very good vibe. It was great to have both Western and Asian style combined.
However, I still have a very good time with this book and would like to see more material like this on the market, as the Pros were more than the Cons. Very grateful to the publisher for sending me this copy, I tried to be as honest as I could.
July 17, 2017
Hmmm... I suppose this latest riff on Victorian melodrama, shoving the Baker Street lads into a vampire story alongside Dickensian types and so much else, is OK, but please - no more. These mash-ups have really been done to death in recent years. And this is about the least visually attractive, for it has some quite awful face work, and silly ideas about multi-layering characters on the same background as if animated. The plot here was OK, and the use of the mythology reasonable - it just needed to be redrawn and coloured with more class to make me really interested.
July 2, 2017
Taking one of the most interesting and memorable characters from Oliver Twist and using him as a jumping off point for a new story is a clever idea, and one that works well. While we see some familiar faces, such as Fagin, we are also introduced to characters from other worlds such as the VanHelsing family, and real life historical figures such as the future Queen Victoria.
Narrowly escaping transportation, Dodger flees to the London streets where he comes to the aid of a beautiful young girl Drina, and learns a shocking secret about his former mentor Fagin. Finding out vampires are real, and attempting to take over the city results in a dramatic adventure that sees our young heroes escaping Bedlam and infiltrating Buckingham Palace.
The story is well crafted, and uses its characters cleverly. The pacing is good, with a nice gradual reveal of what is happening before an action packed conclusion. The blending of characters such as the Artful Dodger with the VanHelsings and Princess Victoria was seamlessly done, making the story feel smooth and not at all forced. I was not such a big fan of the artwork, it felt quite cartoonish in style and lacked detail, especially in the background. The colour palette was well chosen though, and looked appropriate for the setting of the book, so while it was good, it did not blow me away.
While the book reads well as a stand alone, I also liked the set up for a potential sequel, in the final reveal that Fagin would become known as another infamous criminal in later years.
I received a review copy from Netgalley
Narrowly escaping transportation, Dodger flees to the London streets where he comes to the aid of a beautiful young girl Drina, and learns a shocking secret about his former mentor Fagin. Finding out vampires are real, and attempting to take over the city results in a dramatic adventure that sees our young heroes escaping Bedlam and infiltrating Buckingham Palace.
The story is well crafted, and uses its characters cleverly. The pacing is good, with a nice gradual reveal of what is happening before an action packed conclusion. The blending of characters such as the Artful Dodger with the VanHelsings and Princess Victoria was seamlessly done, making the story feel smooth and not at all forced. I was not such a big fan of the artwork, it felt quite cartoonish in style and lacked detail, especially in the background. The colour palette was well chosen though, and looked appropriate for the setting of the book, so while it was good, it did not blow me away.
While the book reads well as a stand alone, I also liked the set up for a potential sequel, in the final reveal that Fagin would become known as another infamous criminal in later years.
I received a review copy from Netgalley
July 9, 2017
More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/
Artful was a well received book when it was published in 2014 by Peter David; capitalizing on the horror/classic literature mashup, the book gave us vampires in the world of Dickens. Considering David's history in the comic industry, it wasn't surprising to see the book get a graphic novel treatment. And although the adaptation is faithful, it can feel 'cartoony' in a juvenile way and a lot of the scenes do feel over emoted.Synopsis: Oliver Twist's Artful Dodger, Jack Dawkins, escapes prison with his cunning and happens upon a lost young lady, Drina. She's obviously of quality and Jack instinctively seeks to protect her. But in doing so, he becomes embroiled in a plot that reaches all the way up to the English royal family. Will he be able to save Drina from the supernatural elements targeting her on the mean streets of Dickensian London?
Since this is a mashup, it is important to not take the anchronisms too seriously and just enjoy the dumbness of the plot. It means that a pampered Victorian era royal figure will kick butt in a modern fashion, the Artful Dodger will never lose his hat or cloak in any fight (supernatural or otherwise), and everyone sounds like they just stepped off an attraction in Disneyland. So no, not too different from Pride and Prejudice and Zombies or Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Slayer. It's a novel to have fun with as a delightful Summer read and then promptly forgotten.
The illustrative work is colorful and has almost a Disney quality to it. But admittedly so many of the scenes felt like the characters' expressions were too dramatic than warranted for the situations. If a scene can be overwitten then so too can panels be overdrawn. I was a bit frustrated by this throughout and felt that it heavily detracted from the story. But on the other hand, the illustrations did catch the bubbly joie de vivre of the story (quite a contrast from the Dickensian source material). Perhaps the best description of this is a very Americanized 'reimagining' of Victorian London literature, complete with random (and tenuous) connections to other historic or fabled British figures such as Jack the Ripper and Spring Heeled Jack.
As an adaptation, this serves the purpose. Those who have read the book will likely enjoy it and those who haven't read Artful won't get lost in this translation. But the simplicity of the story and illustrative work do feel a bit underwhelming. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.
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September 30, 2017Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
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