Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Graphic Novel

by Tony Lee

Overview

THE NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER—NOW AN EYE-POPPING GRAPHIC NOVEL OF MANNERS, MORALS, AND BRAIN-EATING MAYHEM
 
It is known as “the strange plague,” and its unfortunate victims are referred to only as “unmentionables” or “dreadfuls.” All over England, the dead are rising again, and now even the daughters of Britain’s best families must devote their lives to mastering the deadly arts. Elizabeth Bennet is a fearsome warrior whose ability with a sword is matched only by her quick wit and even sharper tongue. But she faces her most formidable foe yet in the haughty, conceited, and somehow strangely attractive Mr. Darcy. As the two lovers meet in the ballroom and on the battlefield, they’ll soon learn that nothing—not even bands of ninjas, hordes of flesh-eating zombies, or disapproving aunts—can stop true love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780345520685
Publisher:	Random House Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/04/2010
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	10.30(w) x 6.72(h) x 0.44(d)
Age Range:	16 - 18 Years

About the Author

Tony Lee
 A writer for over twenty years in television, radio and magazines, for the last six Tony has worked extensively in comics, writing for such licenses as X-Men, Spider Man, Starship Troopers, Wallace & Gromit, Shrek and Doctor Who. His critically acclaimed graphic novel ‘Outlaw: The Legend Of Robin Hood’ has been announced as a Junior Library Guild Selection for 2009.

In addition, he has adapted books by a variety of bestselling authors including Anthony Horowitz and G.P Taylor and has continued both Oliver Twist and Dracula in graphic novel format. He lives in London.
 

Cliff Richards
Cliff Richards, a veteran artist best known for his five-year run on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics series, will illustrate the graphic novel. He has also worked on several projects for other comics publishers, including Birds of Prey, Huntress, and Wonder Woman for DC Comics, and Rogue, Excalibur, and New Thunderbolts for Marvel Comics. 
 
 

Editorial Reviews

You begged for it; you pleaded it. Here it is: The graphic novel that rips through the Regency cover story of Pride & Prejudice, revealing its tantalizing zombie underpinnings. A tingling 176-page graphic excursion into the real secrets of Elizabeth Bennet's relationship with Mr. Darcy.

What could be more zeitgeisty than the popular Jane Austen and zombie mashup written by Seth Grahame-Smith? A graphic novelization of Grahame-Smith’s creation, of course. Lee and Richards collaborate on a lively adaptation, which should appeal to edgier fans of 19th-century novels. The plot and language cleave closely to the basic outlines of Austen’s beloved tale, with the major exception that the English countryside is overrun by zombies, and the Bennett sisters are trained warriors. Elizabeth still disdains then pines for Mr. Darcy; Mr. Bennett is still as sage as his wife is daft; and Mr. Wickham is still a charming but duplicitous con man. Lovers of the novel will delight at the clever ways in which the zombie interludes tweak the well-known elements of the tale, although the story will make little sense to those not familiar with Austen. Artist Richards unfortunately makes all the Bennett sisters look like Barbies, with Elizabeth’s lips looking as if they were pumped full of silicone; there are also some unnecessary flashes of Elizabeth’s garters and thigh-high stockings. But the action sequences are dynamic, the English manors are lovely, and the zombies appropriately gory. (May)

Publishers Weekly

It is an increasingly popular supposition that a story acclaimed through best-sellerdom should do well as a graphic novel, especially one as action-rich as Grahame-Smith's Regency mashup. With zombies invading Austen's plot, numerous elements take on new relevance. Kitty and Lydia's beloved militia regiment has quartered in the Bennets' neighborhood to dispel attacks from the "unmentionables." Elizabeth must fight her way through the undead to visit the ailing Jane at Netherfield and so has serious justification for a muddy frock. And with many of the characters skilled at martial arts, their exchanges go way beyond verbal sparring. Indeed, the most satisfying sequences come when Lizzy responds to Darcy's original proposal with a well-aimed kick to his gut and later dispatches Lady Catherine's ninja guard before disarming the Lady herself, disdaining to kill her honorably. VERDICTBuffy veteran Richards does lovely, period-detailed line work, and his panel designs and action sequences work well. But the black-and-white drawings have an unfinished feel, and—like Marvel's Pride and Prejudice—many women characters look too much alike. No matter, however, since the bewitching Elizabeth and swoonworthy Darcy carry the narrative. For zombie fans, older teens and up.—M.C.

Library Journal