‘Stephen King’s N.’review
By Brittney MacDonald, Staff Writer
5/5
Seeing as Halloween is coming up on us fast, I thought it would be appropriate to take a look at a few graphic novels from the horror genre. First up is Stephen King’s N. adapted by Marc Guggenheim.
Guggenheim is best known in the Vancouver area as being an executive producer on the locally filmed television show Arrow, and his translation of Stephen King’s revered short story into a graphic novel format is near perfect. Headlined with a ground-breaking artistic style, this novel will have you hiding under your blanket counting down the hours till sunrise.
Since the graphic novel is based on a short story that’s more of a psychological/suspense thriller, it’s hard to say anything about the plot without giving it away. The story centres on a mysterious Stonehenge-like monument in the middle of a field in rural Maine. It features a collection of eight stones—usually. People become obsessed with counting the stones and arrange their very lives to mimic the symmetry of the stone circle. But the real problems arise when one stone goes missing.
Suicide, possession, and insanity; N. is filled with all the great horrors you’d expect of a good Stephen King story.
As I mentioned before the art by Alex Maleev is amazing and refreshing. His style is so sketchy yet realistic. It reminded me a lot of the animated film A Scanner Darkly. It made the entire thing a page turner, and by the end I was practically salivating for more.
Horror’s not usually my thing, but N. certainly made me a convert. This is a definite recommendation for all the spooksters.
