“Drogi pamiętniku. W piątek miałem pracę, narzeczoną, dom i sensowne życie, o ile w ogóle życie może mieć sens. Potem znalazłem na chodniku ranną, krwawiącą dziewczynę i próbowałem zostać dobrym Samarytaninem. Teraz nie mam narzeczonej, domu ani pracy i wędruję sto metrów pod ulicami Londynu z perspektywą życia krótszego niż jętka o skłonnościach samobójczych.”

I am glad I read the novel first. Although I loved this my love for this novel definitely comes from the bulk of novel. But damn, this adaptation is honestly killer. Fast paced, thriller and beautifully executed. I enjoyed it for sure.

I can’t deny that I am becoming a big fan, bigger than I already am, of Neil Gaiman’s work. This novel wasn’t written by him but I can definitely see the appreciation and respect for the worlds he created originally. That in itself made me enjoy the novel because you could tell it was done with the utmost respect for the original.

I find Gaiman to always execute a poignant narrative, and I was highly anticipating seeing that in this graphic novel. I wasn’t disappointed.

While I understand that certain things had to be changed, and the plot lightened quite extensively, I couldn’t help but miss those factors having read the novel first. I found this the most palpable in the structure of London Below. In the novel I felt much more isolated and alienated, while in the graphic novel I didn’t quite feel that. Perhaps it’s just because I couldn’t help but subconsciously contrast the two. Regardless this is a wicked graphic novel and if anyone who is a fan of the original is questioning picking this one up, please do. It’s great. Although that also comes with a high recommendation to read the novel as well.

Side note : Why did door have to have a giant chest though? Nah. I like the version in my head muuuch better.

Guys, pick this up. What a beautifully crafted story and the artwork is mind blowing. Truly. A lot of the time reading this was simply admiring the gorgeous art work.

Richard Mayhew is just your average person with an average job, who allows himself to be gently (and not so gently) pushed around by pretty much everyone and everything in his life. When he stops to help an injured young lady named Door, who comes from London Below, a sort of parallel city that exists beneath and connected to London, his life changes.

 

This is the graphic adaptation of Neil Gaiman's novel. I admit, after reading this I wish I had read the original novel first. I loved the story, and the settings were beautifully depicted, but I was left feeling like something was missing, and the story could have benefited from a slower pace.

 

Still, this is a lovely book and I recommend it, specially if you're read the original novel before.