In 1987, an adaptation written by Astrid Anand and featuring illustrations by Bill Carroll was published by Tri-Color Printing in Canada. This adaptation is a bit unique both because it is the only one originating in Canada and because it is formatted much closer to an illustrated book than a traditional graphic narrative. Sized slightly larger than an average comic book but smaller than an average comic magazine of the era, the book is formatted with one full page of text followed by a full page illustration (i.e. 15 pages of text and 15 illustrated pages). The illustrations, while a bit cartoonish and often feeling that they are meant for a coloring book, are well-chosen and give a sense of the warrior culture, the construction of the ships and buildings of the time, and the overall mood of the story, though some may question why Grendel’s mother is depicted as a type of harpy, especially as she is portrayed as living under water.
As for the story, Anand focuses on the first two-thirds of the poem, especially the battles, skipping the background to Hrothgar’s family and omitting the digressions (commonly omitted in adaptations). He uses a variety of kennings and alliteration to maintain the feel of the original, but for some reason describes Beowulf gathering his men after the battle and finding Grendel dead in the fen. At this point, Anand describes Beowulf using his own sword and cutting off Grendel’s head, returning to Herot and displaying it with his arm. Later, in Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s mother, Anand describes the sword melting as Beowulf cuts off her head, maintaining the idea of the melting sword but omitting the idea of the story of the flood on the hilt (mentioning only that there are gems on the hilt). Anand has noted that his references for the adaptation largely came from the children’s section of the Ottawa Public Library, likely using previous works by John Green, Henrietta Elizabeth Marxhall, R.K. Gordon, or Rosemary Sutcliffe as a guide. This could account for some of the variation, and the overall limitations of the book (30 pages) likely created a demand to combine some scenes while still maintaining many of the main ideas and plot elements of the original.
As for the story, Anand focuses on the first two-thirds of the poem, especially the battles, skipping the background to Hrothgar’s family and omitting the digressions (commonly omitted in adaptations). He uses a variety of kennings and alliteration to maintain the feel of the original, but for some reason describes Beowulf gathering his men after the battle and finding Grendel dead in the fen. At this point, Anand describes Beowulf using his own sword and cutting off Grendel’s head, returning to Herot and displaying it with his arm. Later, in Beowulf’s battle with Grendel’s mother, Anand describes the sword melting as Beowulf cuts off her head, maintaining the idea of the melting sword but omitting the idea of the story of the flood on the hilt (mentioning only that there are gems on the hilt). Anand has noted that his references for the adaptation largely came from the children’s section of the Ottawa Public Library, likely using previous works by John Green, Henrietta Elizabeth Marxhall, R.K. Gordon, or Rosemary Sutcliffe as a guide. This could account for some of the variation, and the overall limitations of the book (30 pages) likely created a demand to combine some scenes while still maintaining many of the main ideas and plot elements of the original.