To Kill A Mockingbird (Family Comic Friday)

As the school year begins to wind down, it's time to start thinking about summer reading. This week's Family Comic Friday looks at a classic novel that recently made it's graphic novel debut. It's also this Madman reviewer's favorite book of all-time: To Kill a Mockingbird.

To Kill a Mockingbird
Written by Harper Lee
Illustrated and Adapted by Fred Fordham
Published by Harper Collins
Pages: 288

Harper Lee's account of prejudice and racism in 1930s Alabama is both equally highly controversial and well regarded. To Kill a Mockingbird won many awards after it debuted in 1960, including the Pulitzer Prize in literature. Since then, as author Lee was awarded a numerous accolades for her work, including Congressional medals, Mockingbird has earned a reputation as one of the most challenged books in both schools and public libraries.

Harper Lee's fictionalized account of her childhood in the Depression era South has an unquestionable anti-racism tone. But Lee's choice to include the N-word has caused many to debate the age appropriateness of the book. A stunning courtroom scene in which black man, Tom Robinson is accused of rape and a peppering of ‘ damns’, 'hells’ and ungentlemanly tones towards women has also been reasons some have called for the book to be banned. I for one am glad that this book’s illustrator and adaptor, Fred Fordham decided not to edit any of these controversial aspects.

I've read To Kill a Mockingbird seven times previously. I'm also familiar with the rough draft, Go Set A Watchman. So I feel that I can legitimately proclaim this late 2018 adaptation to be extremely faithful to the original novel. It even does a superior job to that of the 1962 film version which won several Academy Awards.

Fred Fordham's graphic novel is 5 pages longer than Lee's prose. With Fordham's choice to include Scout Finch's first person narration, there's a tremendous amount of near verbatim passages from the original source material. Some parts, including one of my favorite sequences between Scout, her brother Jem and neighbor boy, Dill has been altered slightly. But for the majority, this book is almost exactly as Harper Lee wrote it.  And it's for this very reason that I am recommending this graphic novel!

In order to get students interested in reading the novels required over the summer by the school system, parents will show the reader a film version of the book. Why not get young adults reading by having them start off with a graphic novel adaptation? Reading  this version, the reader will personally have to draw conclusions about themes and styles, instead of being spoon-fed facts like with Cliff Notes.

Plus thanks to Fred Fordham's clean artwork, readers can better make mental connections with the host of assorted characters that makeup this book.

One thing for sure about this version of Mockingbird, it's going to provoke some very hard questions. So parents and guardians need to be ready to navigate issues of race, gender and even bullying. That doesn't mean that this book is nothing but serious drama. Scout and her friends are kids and they have typical child interactions like dares, play-acting adventures and fun and games. For book full of such serious tones, these light hearted interludes are required.

Get a jump on Summer reading with this adaptation. Or share a beloved classic with the next generation in a the easily accessible medium of sequential art! No matter what your reason, this is a book that any reader around the age of 12 or older should encounter today.

The To Kill a Mockingbird graphic novel debuted in print and digital formats on October 30, 2018.

Worth Consuming!

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.