From French cartoonist Manu Larcenet and publisher Abrams ComicArts comes a stunning adaptation of one of the most brutal and unflinching novels ever written. Cormac McCarthy’s The Road: A Graphic Novel Adaptation takes the work of one of America’s greatest writers and applies the atmosphere, pacing, and thematic weight of arguably his darkest work beautifully. Larcenet’s careful restructuring of McCarthy’s prose mixes in with his gorgeously unsettling visuals to craft an excellent adaptation.
McCarthy’s Words to the Comic Panel
Cormac McCarthy’s prose in his post-apocalyptic novel The Road feels almost tailor-made for the comics medium. Manu Larcenet takes the original author’s vivid descriptions of a burned world and paints them to life with tremendous detail and careful consideration. McCarthy’s novel uses very little dialogue. Most of the original The Road is made up of lengthy descriptions of what the two main characters see and interact with in this burned-out world. What dialogue is there actually breaks the conventional rules of writing – McCarthy never uses quotes for character speech. Larcenet manages to take McCarthy’s approach to prose and repurpose it on every panel. What little dialogue there is sticks out and stays memorable due entirely to its context within a sequence, and Larcenet’s placement on the page. The actual dialogue is flat and standard, like the speech of a normal person – which is why it works so well in context. With his interpretation of the original work’s dialogue and writing style, Larcenet shows that he understands what makes The Road and McCarthy’s own writing style special.
The real star here is, of course, Manu Larcenet’s incredible visual work. The ash covered, dilapidated vistas and landscapes of rotting steel craft a nightmare vision interpretation of McCarthy’s The Road. While John Hillcoat’s 2009 film adaptation does a solid job of visually interpreting McCarthy’s work, it doesn’t come close to what Larcenet is able to do with his pencils and inks. There’s a dark beauty in the utter destruction and decay Larcenet presents McCarthy’s descriptions in, with everything from the great steel of construction cranes, to crumbling skyscrapers, and even old advertisements casting a constant, frightening reminder of the world that once was. A real treat here in Larcenet’s adaptation is his interpretation of the two main characters – the old man and his son. Both characters spend most of their time wrapped in layers of clothing, their faces hidden under hats and obscured by ash. When we are shown their faces, the facial detail and animation does incredible work in showing how tired and almost beaten they are – but how they also still retain their humanity. Small moments of joy still find their way into the story; going for a swim, finding an unexpected stockpile of supplies, or even just the discussion of a hopeful future, shows readers that humanity still exists in this shell of a world. Much of this adaptation, and of the original work as well, is a true horror story. The depictions of violence inhumanity in this story are chilling and genuinely vile. Larcenet captures the brutality of this future with grotesque, shocking artistry. There are panels I will likely never unsee, in keeping with one of The Road’s constant motifs. Manu Larcenet’s work here is astonishing, showing an understanding of McCarthy’s writing that allows for tiny glimmers of hope under the devastation and terror this story has to offer.
Verdict
Manu Larcenet’s adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is a beautiful work of post-apocalyptic desolation and terror. The French artist understands how and when to show the underlying humanity present in the original work, and carefully depicts every moment and dialogue choice according to McCarthy’s prose. While it’s no replacement for Mccarthy’s novel, Larcenet has crafted a phenomenal adaptation.
