Beowulf in 2-d: Visualizing the Poem and Characters in Graphic Narrative Format
Considering the fact that Beowulf is best known for fighting supernatural monsters and having a stature that is larger than life, one might think that his epic tale would be a perfect fit for the heroic comic book page. However, while other similar characters such as Thor and Hercules have maintained a presence in comics for the better part of the past 50 years, portrayals of Beowulf and his story have had, at best, a spotty record in comic format. This does not mean that every comic version has been bad or that there have not been some very interesting adaptations but, sadly, none that have tried to expand on the characters and story has lasted more than a handful of issues, and those that have tried to merge the often confusing translations of the original text with graphics have been largely incomplete.
What follows is an attempt to provide a summary and some analysis of the various comic book versions of not just Beowulf, the poem, but of characters inspired by or based on those in the poem, starting in the 1940s and continuing to the present. The criteria used to determine what constitutes a comic book version and what is an illustrated text are debatable, so an earnest attempt was made to err on the side of caution and limit which texts to include here. In general, the majority of works being described are in traditional comic book format (multiple panels, word balloons, and text) either for the entire adaptation or for the majority of the work. I have not included web comics, such as the adaptation at talesoflegend.comicgenesis.com not because they lacked artistic or creative merit, but because the nature of web products means that they could one day be gone and, as such, a review of them here would be irrelevant. While the research on this project has been ongoing and extensive, adaptations may have been unintentionally overlooked, and this should not be taken as anything more than an oversight. All spellings of characters’ names reflect the spellings in the particular adaptation.
All contents, other than my own insights and any resources that are no longer copyrighted, are copyright (c) their respective publishers and/or their creators/creative teams. This site is meant to be both informative and entertaining, and I welcome feedback, especially from any of the creators of the works described. I have been fortunate to have had contact with a number of these creators, and this contact has helped me immensely.
Also, for anyone interested, I have created a site where I have provided a copy of "Leggenda Cristiana dell'antica Danimarca" in its original form, and have provided a translation to go along with the original. You may find the site here: http://beowulfleggendacristiana.weebly.com/
I would like to give a big "Thank You" to Britt Mize of Texas A&M University for his input and use of this site in his own work, and you can find his Beowulf database here: Beowulf's Afterlives (tamu.edu). I would like to give an additional one to Kathleen Forni of Loyola University Maryland, who referred to this site as "invaluable" in her work Beowulf's Popular Afterlife in Literature, Comic Books, and Film (Routledge 2018). This site was created to be useful for anyone researching the subject, and I am always glad to hear when it will be or has been referenced.
For those who have found yourselves here and wonder why some newer titles have not been reviewed, or at least reviewed yet, there are two main reasons. One main reason is that there have been a number of Beowulf-related items that are largely vanity publications - very low print runs and often funded through sites like Kickstarter. This is not a slight on them, as they are often very good, but sometimes tracking them down is tough and getting review copies is even tougher. The second main reason, and likely the biggest, is that in July of 2021 I was diagnosed with two large sarcomas in my abdominal area. Surgery went well and all things considered I am doing pretty ok, but I am very careful choosing my priorities these days.
NOTE: There are at least three adaptations that I have been unable to obtain, and each of these is described at least briefly on this site: Epopeia # 30 - “O Monstro de Caim;” the 1973 National Book Store, Inc. National Klasik Komiks: Beowulf ; and the 2006 Beowulf graphic novel by Tom Bixby and Jonathan Fetter-vorm. PLEASE contact me if you have access to any of these books or if you have contacts with people in either the Philippines or Brazil. Also, as this is a work in progress, please feel free to contact me about any titles I may have overlooked.
What follows is an attempt to provide a summary and some analysis of the various comic book versions of not just Beowulf, the poem, but of characters inspired by or based on those in the poem, starting in the 1940s and continuing to the present. The criteria used to determine what constitutes a comic book version and what is an illustrated text are debatable, so an earnest attempt was made to err on the side of caution and limit which texts to include here. In general, the majority of works being described are in traditional comic book format (multiple panels, word balloons, and text) either for the entire adaptation or for the majority of the work. I have not included web comics, such as the adaptation at talesoflegend.comicgenesis.com not because they lacked artistic or creative merit, but because the nature of web products means that they could one day be gone and, as such, a review of them here would be irrelevant. While the research on this project has been ongoing and extensive, adaptations may have been unintentionally overlooked, and this should not be taken as anything more than an oversight. All spellings of characters’ names reflect the spellings in the particular adaptation.
All contents, other than my own insights and any resources that are no longer copyrighted, are copyright (c) their respective publishers and/or their creators/creative teams. This site is meant to be both informative and entertaining, and I welcome feedback, especially from any of the creators of the works described. I have been fortunate to have had contact with a number of these creators, and this contact has helped me immensely.
Also, for anyone interested, I have created a site where I have provided a copy of "Leggenda Cristiana dell'antica Danimarca" in its original form, and have provided a translation to go along with the original. You may find the site here: http://beowulfleggendacristiana.weebly.com/
I would like to give a big "Thank You" to Britt Mize of Texas A&M University for his input and use of this site in his own work, and you can find his Beowulf database here: Beowulf's Afterlives (tamu.edu). I would like to give an additional one to Kathleen Forni of Loyola University Maryland, who referred to this site as "invaluable" in her work Beowulf's Popular Afterlife in Literature, Comic Books, and Film (Routledge 2018). This site was created to be useful for anyone researching the subject, and I am always glad to hear when it will be or has been referenced.
For those who have found yourselves here and wonder why some newer titles have not been reviewed, or at least reviewed yet, there are two main reasons. One main reason is that there have been a number of Beowulf-related items that are largely vanity publications - very low print runs and often funded through sites like Kickstarter. This is not a slight on them, as they are often very good, but sometimes tracking them down is tough and getting review copies is even tougher. The second main reason, and likely the biggest, is that in July of 2021 I was diagnosed with two large sarcomas in my abdominal area. Surgery went well and all things considered I am doing pretty ok, but I am very careful choosing my priorities these days.
NOTE: There are at least three adaptations that I have been unable to obtain, and each of these is described at least briefly on this site: Epopeia # 30 - “O Monstro de Caim;” the 1973 National Book Store, Inc. National Klasik Komiks: Beowulf ; and the 2006 Beowulf graphic novel by Tom Bixby and Jonathan Fetter-vorm. PLEASE contact me if you have access to any of these books or if you have contacts with people in either the Philippines or Brazil. Also, as this is a work in progress, please feel free to contact me about any titles I may have overlooked.