Tom Sawyer (All-Action Classics #2) adapted by Tim Mucci, illustrated by Rad Sechrist

With simple, expressive art and judicious text, this graphic novel adaptation brings the mischief and imagination of Tom Sawyer’s world to vivid life.  Though the format necessitates abridgement, the author and artist manage to include plenty of Tom’s famous adventures - from tricking his friends into whitewashing Aunt Polly’s fence to clearing Muff Potter of murder charges.  This volume is an engaging and accessible introduction to the classic novel and has brought more than one comics-loving student into the library asking, “Do you have any more books like this?”  Backmatter includes a brief and informative biography of Mark Twain, as well as a selected bibliography of his works.  Recommended for avid readers of graphic novels, ready for a new challenge, and for classroom use, as an introduction to Tom Sawyer, or a comparative counterpoint. --Regan Schwartz

Mucci, Tim. All-Action Classics #2: Tom Sawyer. New York: Sterling Publishing, 2008. Print.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Eric Shanower

"Lions, and tigers, and bears, oh my!"  The yellow brick road that leads Dorothy Gale and her friends to the Emerald City of Oz is a beloved cultural icon for many.  Because the works of L. Frank Baum have been adapted countless times, in film, stage, television, book, and comic form, it is also a relatively accessible one.  This Eisner Award-winning graphic offering from Marvel is a whimsical and richly detailed work, designed to bring the land of Oz to a new audience.  

The action of the story follows the novel, with no reference to the famous MGM film, which may throw off some readers.  However, teachers of English may be interested in using this, along with the original and, possibly, the film, to address Common Core reading standards aimed at evaluating content presented in diverse media.  Since L. Frank Baum was also a playwright and stage adaptations of his work are available, it may be a good fit for Passages Academy’s drama unit. --Regan Schwartz

Shanower, Eric. The Wonderful Wizard of Oz: Adapted from the novel by L. Frank Baum. New York: Marvel, 2011. Print.

The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born by Stephen King, Adapted by Peter David and Robin Furth, Illustrated by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove

This comic book series is dark, gritty, and definitely written for a mature audience, which is fitting for an original work by Stephen King. Like the novels, the comic series follows the story of Roland, our hero, who is the last of his kind, a Gunslinger on a journey across the land of a fictional world that is dying. His quest is to find the cause, which is trapped in a Dark Tower. The first book introduces the origins of Roland and how he became a Gunslinger at a very young age. The Gunslinger Reborn explores themes such as death, adultery and magic. And although not everything is depicted in detail, there is a substantial amount of gore which goes hand in hand with revealing a world on the brink of death. The artists did a phenomenal job at portraying the decay and looming darkness that is overtaking the world. The reader, in every frame, will get the feeling that there is something lurking in every corner and the feeling that this world which Roland is trying to save does indeed needs saving. This reader appreciated that the comic series follows a more chronological order of events than the original books, where the origin of Roland isn’t even addressed until book four. The comics also give more background and depth to the story than the books, something which can often be lost in translation. --Claudio Leon