The Last Unicorn

by Peter S. Beagle, Mel Grant (Illustrator)

Overview

Whimsical. Lyrical. Poignant. Timeless. The first graphic novel adaptation of Peter S. Beagle's beloved fantasy classic. 

The Last Unicorn is a tale for any age about the wonders of magic, the power of love, and the tragedy of loss. The unicorn, alone in her enchanted wood, learns that she may be the last of her kind. Reluctant at first, she sets out on a journey to discover the fate of her fellow unicorns, even if it means facing the terrifying anger of the Red Bull and the malignant evil of the king who wields its power. Along the way, she'll encounter a cast of unforgettable characters, including Schmendrick the magician, the bandit Molly Grue, the noble Prince Lír, and the occasional talking butterfly.

Adapted by Peter B. Gillis and lushly illustrated by Renae De Liz and Ray Dillon, The Last Unicorn is simultaneously current and timeless in this new incarnation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780451450524
Publisher:	Penguin Publishing Group
Publication date:	11/28/2011
Edition description:	40th Anniversary Edition
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	310
Product dimensions:	8.02(w) x 5.36(h) x 0.65(d)
Age Range:	15 - 17 Years

About the Author

Peter S. Beagle is a novelist, screenwriter, and poet, and an icon of fantasy fiction. He was born in New York City in 1939 and raised in the Bronx, surrounded by education and the arts. He published his first novel, A Fine and Private Place, at the age of nineteen. Subsequent works include the perennially poplular travelogue I See By My Outfit, his second novel and fantasy classic The Last Unicorn, and "Two Hearts," a Last Unicorn sequel that won both the Hugo and Nebula awards in 2006. Peter has also written hundreds of additional works, among them the screenplays for the animated adaptations of The Last Unicorn and The Lord of the Rings, an episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a libretto, and numerous short stories, songs, and poems. He lives in Oakland, California, where he continues to write.

Peter B. Gillis is an American comic book writer best known for his work on Doctor Strange for Marvel Comics. His other works include Strikeforce: Morituri, also for Marvel; and Warp and Shatter, both for First Comics.

Renae De Liz is a comic book artist best known for her work on IDW titles like Rogue Angel: Teller of Tall Tales and Servant of the Bones, both with her husband, Ray Dillon. She's also contributed to the Sonic the Hedgehog books from Archie Comics and worked, along with Ray, on DC Entertainment's The Legend of Wonder Woman.

Editorial Reviews

Praise for Peter S. Beagle and The Last Unicorn

“Comes alive and stays alive on bright intensity of imagination.”—The New York Times Book Review

“Peter S. Beagle is (in no particular order) a wonderful writer, a fine human being, and a bandit prince out to steal readers’ hearts.”—Tad Williams
 
“Beagle illuminates with his own particular magic.”—Ursula K. LeGuin
 
“Almost as if it were the last fairy tale, come out of lonely hiding in the forests of childhood, The Last Unicorn is as full of enchantment as any of the favorite tales readers may choose to recall...A delicate, sensitive, yet powerful rendering of all the intangibles that make a fairy tale unforgettable.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

“Beagle...has been compared, not unreasonably, with Lewis Carroll and J.R.R. Tolkien, but he stands squarely and triumphantly on his own feet...The book is rich, not only in comic bits but also in passages of uncommon beauty. Beagle is a true magician with words, a master of prose and a deft practitioner in verse.”—The Saturday Review
 

From the Publisher

Gr 6 Up—A beloved story is now a graphic novel in this excellent adaptation. A unicorn leaves her forest home to find out if she is the last of her kind, befriending Schmendrick, a hapless magician, and Molly Grue, a bandit leader's runaway wife. These are vivid and lovable characters, and the story is filled with action, romance, and humor. Much of the original novel's lyrical language has been included, and readers will be eager to find out if the unicorn will give up her quest for love, or if any of Schmendrick's spells will ever turn out right. The legendary creature resembles the one in the film, but De Liz's artistic vision is original. This unicorn shimmers and glows, her mane framing her face with Art Nouveau-style tendrils. The illustrations are graceful and detailed, and inked in warm, glowing colors. This is a worthy successor to the classic novel and film.—Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

School Library Journal

Beagle's odd fable has collected millions of fans since its 1968 publication and is considered a fantasy classic. Fearing that she's the last of her kind, a unicorn—accompanied by an incompetent magician and the former girlfriend of a cowardly outlaw—journeys to free the other unicorns from evil King Haggard. It's a mashup of quest tales, heroic and otherwise, about seeking family (the Unicorn), love (Haggard's son, Prince Lir), power (Haggard), competence (Schmendrick the magician), and adventure (Molly). Yet beyond archetypes, the engaging characters carry the narrative, which becomes a quasi-Rorschach for readers to find in it what they will. Gillis and De Liz's adaptation succeeds with overall visual loveliness and striking design and coloring, although some details don't quite fit. The Unicorn, for example, seems too My Little Pony about the head, while her human persona, Amalthea, looks childishly dim-witted. But De Liz shines with the ornamentally grotesque Mommy Fortuna and her harpy. VERDICT Many fans of the story should enjoy this comics version, and new readers will find it an easygoing and beautiful read. Recommended for tweens and up.—M.C.

Library Journal