The first
comic adaptation of Beowulf was not
in English but in Italian, and was published in 1941 and reprinted with Brazilian
Portuguese text in 1955. The Italian
version, written by Henry Basari and with art by C. Caesar, is
titled “Beowulf: Leggenda Cristiana dell’antica Danimarca” (Christian
Legend of Ancient Denmark) while the Brazilian reprint is part of a larger anthology series (Epopeia # 30) and is titled “O Monstro
de Caim” (The Monster of Cain). Note: the image on the far left is not the original print, but a later reprint. Please feel free to contact me if you have a copy of the first print, or at least the cover.
In the original, after a brief introduction that describes Grendel and his mother hiding in Denmark after God had destroyed the rest of the race of giants with fire, the Geatish King Eteow is slain by Danish King Rogar, much to the sorrow of Beowulf and of Rogar’s son, Gunnar, who stands as a symbol of the nation’s conscience. Beowulf is made to serve as a vassal for Rogar and to fight Grendel, and after his victory he and his men become prisoners and are tortured until Grendel’s mother arrives to take vengeance on Denmark. Beowulf wins, and his dying words include instructions to Rogar to build a Christian altar and to become a monk. The title tells straight off that this is an overtly Christian translation and there are numerous places where Beowulf is described very similarly to idealized early Roman martyrs, as well as referred to as an archangel, and the art contributes to the creation of the theme, especially at the end as the dead Beowulf is seen seated at a throne while surrounded by angels who are to transport him to heaven.
This version is also very nationalistic, as critics such as Francesco Giusti (in his work Il “Beowulf” nel Novecento: il fumetto e il romanzo) clearly point out. You can find his entire essay here: www.academia.edu/1813209/Il_Beowulf_nel_Novecento_il_fumetto_e_il_romanzo. As it was created in Fascist Italy, one might look at Grendel and his mother and see that they are quite likely meant to be seen as Jewish. Marijane Osborn, on her “Annotated List of Beowulf Translations: The List” site, gives additional details on the contents of this adaptation and explains that although the interior art of both this version and the Brazilian version is identical, the translations are different, with the latter translation missing “the original author's combination of wild fantasy with evidence of some learning. To offer just two intriguing examples, the illustrations in Basari's Italian text include readable runes, and the storyteller borrows from the story of Galahad the divinely assisted assumption to Heaven of the hero at his death.” Her full annotated list can be found here: www.acmrs.org/academic-programs/online-resources/beowulf-list
In the original, after a brief introduction that describes Grendel and his mother hiding in Denmark after God had destroyed the rest of the race of giants with fire, the Geatish King Eteow is slain by Danish King Rogar, much to the sorrow of Beowulf and of Rogar’s son, Gunnar, who stands as a symbol of the nation’s conscience. Beowulf is made to serve as a vassal for Rogar and to fight Grendel, and after his victory he and his men become prisoners and are tortured until Grendel’s mother arrives to take vengeance on Denmark. Beowulf wins, and his dying words include instructions to Rogar to build a Christian altar and to become a monk. The title tells straight off that this is an overtly Christian translation and there are numerous places where Beowulf is described very similarly to idealized early Roman martyrs, as well as referred to as an archangel, and the art contributes to the creation of the theme, especially at the end as the dead Beowulf is seen seated at a throne while surrounded by angels who are to transport him to heaven.
This version is also very nationalistic, as critics such as Francesco Giusti (in his work Il “Beowulf” nel Novecento: il fumetto e il romanzo) clearly point out. You can find his entire essay here: www.academia.edu/1813209/Il_Beowulf_nel_Novecento_il_fumetto_e_il_romanzo. As it was created in Fascist Italy, one might look at Grendel and his mother and see that they are quite likely meant to be seen as Jewish. Marijane Osborn, on her “Annotated List of Beowulf Translations: The List” site, gives additional details on the contents of this adaptation and explains that although the interior art of both this version and the Brazilian version is identical, the translations are different, with the latter translation missing “the original author's combination of wild fantasy with evidence of some learning. To offer just two intriguing examples, the illustrations in Basari's Italian text include readable runes, and the storyteller borrows from the story of Galahad the divinely assisted assumption to Heaven of the hero at his death.” Her full annotated list can be found here: www.acmrs.org/academic-programs/online-resources/beowulf-list