Coraline: The Graphic Novel

This review originally appeared on herestohappyendings.com.I really loved the original Coraline - I'll admit that I saw the movie before I read the book, but the movie prompted me to buy and read it, and I guess over the years I have read Coraline so many times it's got to be in the double digits by now.I also didn't realize that a graphic novel adaptation of Coraline existed. I'm not sure how I didn't know this, but I didn't. I managed to come across it on Goodreads one day when I was browsing graphic novels, and as soon as I saw it, I knew I had to have it. I purchased it the same day, and waited rather impatiently for my two day shipping from Amazon Prime. When it finally got here, I read it all in one sitting. And then I read it again."Spiderwebs only have to be big enough to catch flies."Coraline and her family buy part of a big house and move in - in the flat below live two elderly women who used to be actresses, and in the flat above lives an elderly man who is busy training a mouse circus. The flat next to theirs is still empty.Coraline feels bored often - there aren't any other children and school didn't start up yet, so she finds herself wandering the house and the ground, exploring and entertaining herself. When she comes across an old door in her flat, she wonders where it goes, only to find out that it is old and bricked up, going nowhere.Except one day, the door isn't bricked up, and Coraline ventures through - only to find the world quite like her own, but incredibly different. Her parents aren't there, but her Other Mother and Other Father are - and everyone has button eyes. Things seem better there at first, but then Coraline realizes that it's a true nightmare, and she tries to escape from the Other Mother's clutches, only to find that she has kidnapped Coraline's real parents in an effort to make Coraline stay with her forever.Coraline fights for her parents back, because she wants to leave this place with the Other Mother and go back home.The novel Coraline is incredibly different from the movie, and I honestly thought it was much creepier. The graphic novel? Even creepier. The way that the illustrator, P. Craig Russell, has depicted the Other Mother and Other Father, as well as the decaying "other world" that the Other Mother created, is, to be frank, downright terrifying. But I loved it (as did my daughters, who frequently borrow this book).The story is fully laid out, illustrated in a charming and colorful way - it's such a great graphic novel adaptation of one of my all time favorite reads. The illustrations depicting the Other Mother are hair-raising; the way the amount of detail is put into every character in the book is amazing. The story itself is not only gripping, but it's the original story, not just a random adaptation. I love that so much - my favorite quotes and parts of the book were all there.I bought the hardcover format of this book (it's also available in ebook and paperback), and it's so gorgeous. There is a dust jacket with the book, and the cover under the dust jacket features the same art. The inside is just as beautiful, the glossy pages really add to the reading experience.I can't get over how beautiful and detailed the artwork is and how it really complimented the story. I wasn't sure what it would be like, and if it would ruin the way I feel the characters look when I read the original Coraline, but if anything, I believe that it only enhanced the way I saw everything in the book when I read it. It was definitely a great companion to the novel.Here's a bonus: if you haven't read Coraline or saw the movie (which doesn't do the original book or this graphic novel justice, in my opinion, because it's so different), you will definitely be fine with picking this one up, because it follows the novel perfectly. It's essentially the Coraline novel, only fully illustrated.My older daughter, who is about to turn nine, is a bit of a reluctant reader, and I'm trying to get her to read new books. She loves anything with pictures, and she is obsessed with Coraline after seeing the movie, so she loves this book, as well. I have to recommend picking this up if you're a fan of Coraline, or even if you've never heard of the book before and want something that will add a bit of adventure to your bookshelf.

My child picked this book, she's into graphic novels and She's loves the film so the book was perfect for her next read.

"CORALINE", by NEIL GAIMON, is basically out in three different formats. This GRAPHIC NOVEL version, a novelized, (non-graphic) version -- and the movie version.The regular, novel, book version is definitely great for those whose attention spans are still intact, (unlike mine, which has been blasted to smithereens by a life-time of watching TV -- with commercials ruining my concentration every 10 -15 minutes! A sense of concentration I am TRYING to recover!) That leaves the movie version and the graphic novel version for most people over 21.....This is a story about a young girl who discovers an alternate universe in the strange old house she and her parents share with tenants in two other apartments.These tenants are strange enough -- but the "Other Mother" and "Other Father" that Coraline discovers are distinctly far more weird --and far more frightening --than the dwellers in the other two apartments in the normal, (real?) world. The "Other Mother", and "Other Father", LOOK (more or less) like Coraline's real-world mother and father -- but they have buttons for eyes, and -- especially in the "Other Mother's" case, are definitely up to NO GOOD.The movie version of this novel, sadly, is NOT populated by any live actors. IT IS ACTED ENTIRELY BY STOP MOTION-PUPPETS! While stop-motion puppet movies are amongst my favourites, (LOVED "Chicken Run"!), the heart of the story of "Coraline" is that a normal, real-world girl finds herself face-to-face with evil, "other-world" characters that look ALMOST like their real-world counterparts -- but not exactly enough. IN THE MOVIE, CORALINE, TOO, IS A STOP-MOTION PUPPET! The contrast between her, and her "Other" parents is thus totally lost -- and so is much of the impact of the movie!In this geaphic novel, however, very (VERY!) realistic drawings, (by artist P. CRAIG RUSSELL), show up the difference between real, and "Other" people. These differences are very subtle in the beginning....but are greater and greater as the story continues. By making Coraline look human, and the "Others" increasingly less so, the story gains impact and thrills. The movie -- where ALL the stop-motion puppet characters look far less than human, totally loses impact here.CORALINE is a mesmerizing story of one girl's horrific and scary adventure, and her fight to get back to the real world and her real parents. In the end, she actually rescues them. That kids CAN make a difference is one of the lessons in this by-now clasic book. And the reality-vs-unreality of the situations Coraline finds herself in is far more accurately done in this graphic novel, than in the movie version, which reduces ALL characters to stop-motion puppets!THIS is the version to buy!

I've seen the movie but never read the book, but I still plan to. I couldn't pass on the chance to read a graphic novel version of this classic story. I really enjoyed it. I like the illustrations and was glad that they didn't look like the film version, though I liked that style as well. Now that I've seen two different versions of the story, I feel confident I will be able to imagine the characters in any way I want whenever I get around to reading the original story.Overall, an enjoyable experience.Highly recommended to fans of the original book or movie, fans of the author, graphic novel readers, and those who like creepy tales featuring children.

I saw the movie first.

Coraline isn’t the blue haired claymation figure in this book. The images are realistic and engaging and I have to say the Other Mother is terrifying when she looks real.