New Famous Five Graphic Novel - Feb 2022

[Boodi 2]

While I detest changes to the original text in books I have no problem with graphic novels, which I consider an addition to the Blyton canon in the same way as films and TV series. Having said that, I am a 'fan of graphic novels so probably somewhat biased.

[db105]

Urgh . Am I the only one who absolutely cannot stand seeing things, particularly and especially Enid Blyton's wonderful books, being "redone", "reimagined" and "reinvented" by somebody other than the original inventor? The books should be left exactly the way they were written by Enid end of.

I agree that the books should be left as they were written but, as others have said, I don’t think of a graphic novel as a rewrite of the original books. It's an adaptation to a different medium, just like movies or TV shows...

Having said that, I think it's fair to dislike an adaptation if it modernizes too much the story so that it becomes too different from the source material. I have no idea if that's the case with this graphic novel, not having seen it...

[IceMaiden]

Sorry but Shakespeare's plays have been reinvented and reimagined literally hundreds of times over.

If that's true I don't agree with that either. I don't believe someone's work should be reinvented by other people. What's wrong with the original that another needs to reinvent it? If I'd written a book personally I'd be upset and feel quite insulted if some other person then came along and reinvented my story and characters!

I have no issue with simply making the books into a comic book style, just with retelling them. Which the website clearly states it does.

[Fiona1986]

Well, Shakespeare's dead, so I don't think he's really that bothered.

In writing nothing is sacred, and it shouldn't be. I mean, think of all the retellings of classic fairy tales. Greek mythology. Stories of Roman gods. Just about everything written today is inspired by something else on at least some level.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn't it?

As for this comic you simply couldn't take the book exactly as it is and make it a comic. There's far too much dialogue, for one.

[Chris_jr]

That's more like it, Pete

[Anita Bensoussane]

Popular stories have always been reinvented. The tales Fiona mentions were orignally passed down orally, so each retelling was different. Many of William Shakespeare's plays were themselves simply reworkings of older tales which had been related numerous times in numerous ways. Enid Blyton wrote her own versions of fairy tales and legends too, and she not only retold the stories of Brer Rabbit but made up new ones. The Land of Far-Beyond is based on John Bunyan's The Pilgrim's Progress, albeit loosely, and she also retold the Jean de Brunhoff tales about Babar the Elephant.

Adaptations and spin-offs don't bother me. I find it interesting to see different versions and it's natural for much-loved stories to inspire reworkings which look at things from a new angle or express them in another form. I've always liked the musical West Side Story and the TV show Little House on the Prairie, even though they stray far from Romeo and Juliet and Laura Ingalls Wilder's autobiographical books respectively.

I feel it's important that the author of the new material is genuinely inspired by a previous text though, rather than simply producing work to order (having been asked to do so by a publisher, for example) with no deep knowledge of or interest in the source material. Also, I think the original or definitive text should remain available. Picture-strip books and the like tend to be ephemeral anyway. What's worse is the constant updating which makes it look as though a particular book or series is still in print (e.g. the Famous Five series) but hides the fact that the text differs quite significantly from what the author wrote. In my opinion, the original or definitive texts should continue to be made available alongside any modernisations, adaptations and spin-offs.

[IceMaiden]

Well, Shakespeare's dead, so I don't think he's really that bothered.

In writing nothing is sacred, and it shouldn't be. I mean, think of all the retellings of classic fairy tales. Greek mythology. Stories of Roman gods. Just about everything written today is inspired by something else on at least some level.

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, isn't it?

As for this comic you simply couldn't take the book exactly as it is and make it a comic. There's far too much dialogue, for one.

I don't personally think being dead should give others a free pass to your work but that's just me.

My main issue with retelling EB books, apart from simply plain disagreeing with it, is that almost guaranteed the writing won't be what Enid actually wrote. That's the bit that grates. It's not really flattery if someone alters your work is it.

[pete9012S]

I understand your points IceMaiden. I agree with you too.

However, I don't know how you feel about the annuals.

I received the very first 1970's one in 1977.
I hadn't yet read Hike in book form and the 1970's tv show hadn't yet come out.

I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this annual.
I hadn't read the story. It was all fresh and new and exciting.


https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/boo ... e+Together


The 1977 annual (above) follows the story quite well and is miles closer to the book than this later 1985 magazine:


https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/bly ... perid=4330

[Tony Summerfield]

https://www.enidblytonsociety.co.uk/boo ... ure+Island

One done this morning, I will do the other one soon.

[pete9012S]

Marvelous work Tony - Many thanks.

[Anita Bensoussane]

Picture-strip books like these are just playful tributes and tend to be ephemeral but it's good to have everything in the Cave so thanks for doing that, Tony!

[Boodi 2]

Excellent Tony, many thanks! As a graphic novel 'fan I might even consider investing in a copy.

[dsr]

What bothers me about this new version is that the cover picture children are too old. They all look to be 16+ IMO.

[Wolfgang]

In German 6 books are available so far.

[Jomo]

What bothers me about this new version is that the cover picture children are too old. They all look to be 16+ IMO.

Agreed!

This would have been a great opportunity to let them age naturally - at the calculated rate of one Earth Age Year for every Blytonian Year of 4.2 Earth Years.
You do the maths. Clearly, Enid was a Time Lord.

• BTW, at that rate they would now be about 30 years old.
  10,11,12 years old in 1942
  2022 - 1962 = 80
  80 / 4.2 = 19
  29, 30, 31 years old in 2022

And I am 18.4 Blytonian years old now. Feels just about right