While sword and sorcery and barbarian-themed comics remained fairly popular during the 1980s and 1990s, the next adaptation of Beowulf was not published in America until 1999. This is the Gareth Hinds adaptation, arguably the most critically acclaimed and reviewed version to date. In the original three issue comic version, Hinds uses the Francis Gummere translation to accompany his art, but notes at the end of the series that he also incorporated ideas from the Howell Chickering, Burton Raffel, Michael Alexander, and Constance Hieatt translations for the third issue. In later trade paperback version, such as that published by Candlewick Press in 2007, while the art remains the same the accompanying text is from A. J. Church’s translation.
In the original series of comics, Hinds does not go into the background history of Hrothgar or his lineage, but instead begins directly with the construction of Heorot and the invasions by Grendel. In the collected trade editions, this lineage is described, including Scyld's burial on board a ship, with all new art that gives an appropriate feeling of vagueness - unlike the rest of the art, the characters shown on the pages describing Scyld seem ghost-like, evoking a feeling that the scene shown is from well in the past. In the story, Hinds' depiction of the creature shows Grendel to be more than twice the size of Hrothgar’s men, and Beowulf, when he arrives, is depicted as being just about a head taller than the average warrior. In the original comic format, the majority of the first issue is taken up with the battle between Beowulf and Grendel, and the reader gets the sense of a fight that would shake an entire building, with the intensity of the battle being highlighted by the absence of any text except for sound effects for twenty pages (of a forty page comic).
In the second issue, Hinds again depicts Beowulf in battle without text (this time for fifteen of the thirty-two pages), and Grendel’s mother is depicted as larger than Beowulf but not quite as large as Grendel. The cover features Beowulf holding Hrunting, which is shown as having runes inscribed on its blade, and wearing a helmet with a pair of boar emblems. Without the use of text, Hinds is able to provide connections with the proto-Christian story elements, most notably on page 16 as Beowulf is thrown against a cave wall, his arms outstretched and his head slightly bowed, and again on page 23 as he emerges from the mere with the giant’s crucifix–like sword hilt uplifted and radiating light, which is followed on page 24 with a depiction of the hero being pulled from the water in a way that appears that he is being baptized.
For the third issue, less than one-third of the pages (thirteen of forty) contain text, and most of the text appears following the battle with the dragon. Throughout the entire series, the graphics drive the story, and it is difficult to say how much a person who does not have an understanding of the poem might miss as a result – those who have read the poem can easily fill in the details. Throughout the series, Hinds includes a glossary of some of the most difficult and antiquated terminology used, which is a great help and also helps to elevate his adaptation to the status of one of the best to date.
An excerpt of the adaptation, specifically 13 pages featuring the battle between Beowulf and Grendel, can be found in the first volume of The Graphic Canon, published in 2012 by Seven Stories Press and edited by Russ Kick.
You can find more material from Gareth Hinds here (all recommended): http://www.garethhinds.com/
In the original series of comics, Hinds does not go into the background history of Hrothgar or his lineage, but instead begins directly with the construction of Heorot and the invasions by Grendel. In the collected trade editions, this lineage is described, including Scyld's burial on board a ship, with all new art that gives an appropriate feeling of vagueness - unlike the rest of the art, the characters shown on the pages describing Scyld seem ghost-like, evoking a feeling that the scene shown is from well in the past. In the story, Hinds' depiction of the creature shows Grendel to be more than twice the size of Hrothgar’s men, and Beowulf, when he arrives, is depicted as being just about a head taller than the average warrior. In the original comic format, the majority of the first issue is taken up with the battle between Beowulf and Grendel, and the reader gets the sense of a fight that would shake an entire building, with the intensity of the battle being highlighted by the absence of any text except for sound effects for twenty pages (of a forty page comic).
In the second issue, Hinds again depicts Beowulf in battle without text (this time for fifteen of the thirty-two pages), and Grendel’s mother is depicted as larger than Beowulf but not quite as large as Grendel. The cover features Beowulf holding Hrunting, which is shown as having runes inscribed on its blade, and wearing a helmet with a pair of boar emblems. Without the use of text, Hinds is able to provide connections with the proto-Christian story elements, most notably on page 16 as Beowulf is thrown against a cave wall, his arms outstretched and his head slightly bowed, and again on page 23 as he emerges from the mere with the giant’s crucifix–like sword hilt uplifted and radiating light, which is followed on page 24 with a depiction of the hero being pulled from the water in a way that appears that he is being baptized.
For the third issue, less than one-third of the pages (thirteen of forty) contain text, and most of the text appears following the battle with the dragon. Throughout the entire series, the graphics drive the story, and it is difficult to say how much a person who does not have an understanding of the poem might miss as a result – those who have read the poem can easily fill in the details. Throughout the series, Hinds includes a glossary of some of the most difficult and antiquated terminology used, which is a great help and also helps to elevate his adaptation to the status of one of the best to date.
An excerpt of the adaptation, specifically 13 pages featuring the battle between Beowulf and Grendel, can be found in the first volume of The Graphic Canon, published in 2012 by Seven Stories Press and edited by Russ Kick.
You can find more material from Gareth Hinds here (all recommended): http://www.garethhinds.com/