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Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade
The first-ever graphic novel adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five, an American classic, is one of the world’s great anti-war books.
An American classic and one of the world’s seminal antiwar books, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five is faithfully presented in graphic novel form for the first time from Eisner Award-winning writer Ryan North (How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Albert Monteys (Universe!).
Listen: Billy Pilgrim has...
...read Kilgore Trout
...opened a successful optometry business
...built a loving family
...witnessed the firebombing of Dresden
...traveled to the planet Tralfamadore
...met Kurt Vonnegut
...come unstuck in time.
Billy Pilgrim’s journey is at once a farcical look at the horror and tragedy of war where children are placed on the frontlines and die (so it goes), and a moving examination of what it means to be fallibly human.
An American classic and one of the world’s seminal antiwar books, Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five is faithfully presented in graphic novel form for the first time from Eisner Award-winning writer Ryan North (How to Invent Everything: A Survival Guide for the Stranded Time Traveler) and Eisner Award-nominated artist Albert Monteys (Universe!).
Listen: Billy Pilgrim has...
...read Kilgore Trout
...opened a successful optometry business
...built a loving family
...witnessed the firebombing of Dresden
...traveled to the planet Tralfamadore
...met Kurt Vonnegut
...come unstuck in time.
Billy Pilgrim’s journey is at once a farcical look at the horror and tragedy of war where children are placed on the frontlines and die (so it goes), and a moving examination of what it means to be fallibly human.
192 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2020
About the author
Ryan North
435 books1,438 followersHi, I'm Ryan! I was born in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada in 1980 and since then have written several books. You can read my Wikipedia page for more, or check out my author site at RyanNorth.ca!
I'm the author of the webcomic Dinosaur Comics (that's the comic where the pictures don't change but the words do, it's better than it sounds and I've also done crazy things like turn Shakespeare into a choose-your-own-path adventure, write a comic for Marvel about a girl with all the powers of a squirrel, or mess up walking my dog so badly it made the news.
I'm working on more stuff as we speak, hopefully it's good
I'm the author of the webcomic Dinosaur Comics (that's the comic where the pictures don't change but the words do, it's better than it sounds and I've also done crazy things like turn Shakespeare into a choose-your-own-path adventure, write a comic for Marvel about a girl with all the powers of a squirrel, or mess up walking my dog so badly it made the news.
I'm working on more stuff as we speak, hopefully it's good
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,103 reviews
September 14, 2020
I wrote this book, but I think it's really good! And I can say that because comics is a collaborative medium, and my script was only a small part of it: Albert's beautiful art and graphic storytelling sensibility took what was there in my script and turned it into something incredible. And of course Vonnegut's original prose novel is timeless and one of my favourite books of all time. The book itself is the result of all theses talents and more, and I can say without ego that it's something really special.
If you're curious about this version of Slaughterhouse-Five, let me tell you that our goal with it was to make it feel like it was written as a comic first, to make it feel at home in the medium. This isn't the prose novel crammed into boxes with some pictures added, but rather a version of the same story that lives within comics, that does everything it can to tell the same story - and make you feel the same sense of sorrow and loss and hope and love - in this new medium. If you've read Slaughterhouse-Five before you'll feel at home with this graphic novel and hopefully discover something new and wonderful about the book you love... and if you've never read it, or Vonnegut, I can promise you that you'll find in him a unique, powerful and above all sympathetic and humanist voice that you can carry with you for the rest of your life.
I'm really proud of this book, and I hope you like it!!
If you're curious about this version of Slaughterhouse-Five, let me tell you that our goal with it was to make it feel like it was written as a comic first, to make it feel at home in the medium. This isn't the prose novel crammed into boxes with some pictures added, but rather a version of the same story that lives within comics, that does everything it can to tell the same story - and make you feel the same sense of sorrow and loss and hope and love - in this new medium. If you've read Slaughterhouse-Five before you'll feel at home with this graphic novel and hopefully discover something new and wonderful about the book you love... and if you've never read it, or Vonnegut, I can promise you that you'll find in him a unique, powerful and above all sympathetic and humanist voice that you can carry with you for the rest of your life.
I'm really proud of this book, and I hope you like it!!
October 27, 2023
I was skeptical about the mere possibility of there being a decent adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse-Five. It would be perilously easy to strike a wrong note in that delicate balance of absurdist humor and bleak fatalistic reality of war. So it goes, right?
But this adaptation gets it pitch-perfect.
I love Kurt Vonnegut’s story. It’s perfect. And clearly Ryan North loves it, too — and really gets it, as this adaptation shows.
It’s bleakly funny and yet soberly serious; comedy and tragedy, intertwined. Apparently the weird time-jumps nature of Vonnegut’s story is very well-suited to comic book pacing, and the adaptation cleverly includes timelines and three-panel pithy summaries of characters, and even comic-within-comics pages.
The art by Albert Monteys is perfect, fitting the narrative style so well. It’s cartoonishly expressive, a bit goofy, and with a retro-appearing color palette that conveys the mood of war and PTSD without a hitch as well as amazing color changes between the time jumps. Not to mention that awesome paper doll cut-out panel that was so simple and so perfect. And everyone so is very human. So it goes.
It’s a treat for those familiar with the story, but would be great even for those who haven’t been to Kurt’s vision of annihilated Dresden. Although I’d still recommend starting with the novel first, even though this adaptation is very faithful to the novel.
It’s wonderfully weird and a great tribute to Vonnegut.
5 stars.
Poo-tee-weet?
—————
Buddy read with Dennis (his review).
—————
My review of Vonnegut’s masterpiece: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
——————
Also posted on my blog.
——————
Recommended by: Dennis
But this adaptation gets it pitch-perfect.
I love Kurt Vonnegut’s story. It’s perfect. And clearly Ryan North loves it, too — and really gets it, as this adaptation shows.
It’s bleakly funny and yet soberly serious; comedy and tragedy, intertwined. Apparently the weird time-jumps nature of Vonnegut’s story is very well-suited to comic book pacing, and the adaptation cleverly includes timelines and three-panel pithy summaries of characters, and even comic-within-comics pages.
The art by Albert Monteys is perfect, fitting the narrative style so well. It’s cartoonishly expressive, a bit goofy, and with a retro-appearing color palette that conveys the mood of war and PTSD without a hitch as well as amazing color changes between the time jumps. Not to mention that awesome paper doll cut-out panel that was so simple and so perfect. And everyone so is very human. So it goes.
It’s a treat for those familiar with the story, but would be great even for those who haven’t been to Kurt’s vision of annihilated Dresden. Although I’d still recommend starting with the novel first, even though this adaptation is very faithful to the novel.
It’s wonderfully weird and a great tribute to Vonnegut.
5 stars.
Poo-tee-weet?
—————
Buddy read with Dennis (his review).
—————
My review of Vonnegut’s masterpiece: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
——————
Also posted on my blog.
——————
Recommended by: Dennis
January 19, 2021
Slaughterhouse-Five is a weird book. In prepping to review this adaptation I saw several mentions of it being practically unadaptable to any other format. However, I think this graphic novel version does a pretty darn good job.
Both the original and this version are weird. They are hard to follow. But they are oh so beautiful in their melancholy cynicism that is tainted with a little bit of hope. The story is a non-linear reflection on life that varies from the gut-wrenchingly real to the outlandishly absurd. It really is a story worthy of classic status and it was expertly handled and adapted by Ryan North and Albert Monteys.
The art is perfect and wonderful to look at. It goes from light to dark and realistic to far fetched with perfect fluidity around our tragic hero, Billy Pilgrim. It is detailed where it needs to be, simple in other perfectly placed areas. I think it was the art that really helped make the unadaptable adaptable. I would love to read more works illustrated by this artist.
I always say you should read the source material first – and I agree with that statement here. However, this is an adaptation worthy of the original and should be checked out by fans of Vonnegut’s work.
Both the original and this version are weird. They are hard to follow. But they are oh so beautiful in their melancholy cynicism that is tainted with a little bit of hope. The story is a non-linear reflection on life that varies from the gut-wrenchingly real to the outlandishly absurd. It really is a story worthy of classic status and it was expertly handled and adapted by Ryan North and Albert Monteys.
The art is perfect and wonderful to look at. It goes from light to dark and realistic to far fetched with perfect fluidity around our tragic hero, Billy Pilgrim. It is detailed where it needs to be, simple in other perfectly placed areas. I think it was the art that really helped make the unadaptable adaptable. I would love to read more works illustrated by this artist.
I always say you should read the source material first – and I agree with that statement here. However, this is an adaptation worthy of the original and should be checked out by fans of Vonnegut’s work.
November 5, 2020
Well it turns out a comic book is the perfect way to adapt an unadaptable novel. The time jumps work perfectly and are easy to follow. The horrors of war come through delicately. Even an alien abduction doesn't seem too absurd for the story of a man so horrified by war he becomes unstuck in time.
Received a review copy from Boom! and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
Received a review copy from Boom! and NetGalley. All thoughts are my own and in no way influenced by the aforementioned.
June 13, 2020
How do you adapt a notoriously unadaptable novel to another medium? You choose to make it a graphic novel, so you can skillfully portray the time jumps inherent to the story, while having the complete freedom to comment on the characters, what is happening to them, has already happened and will happen in the future. So it goes.
The first time I read Slaughterhouse-Five was only last year, and I loved it. This book is about as good an adaptation as I could imagine. It fully transfers the humour, the horror and the insanity of the novel to the illustrated page. I already was a fan of Albert Monteys' work on Universe! over at Panel Syndicate, and his style fits the tone of Slaughterhouse-Five perfectly. Monteys' has a knack for portraying the insane bordering on the silly.
Thoroughly recommended.
(Kindly received an ARC from Boom! Studios through NetGalley)
The first time I read Slaughterhouse-Five was only last year, and I loved it. This book is about as good an adaptation as I could imagine. It fully transfers the humour, the horror and the insanity of the novel to the illustrated page. I already was a fan of Albert Monteys' work on Universe! over at Panel Syndicate, and his style fits the tone of Slaughterhouse-Five perfectly. Monteys' has a knack for portraying the insane bordering on the silly.
Thoroughly recommended.
(Kindly received an ARC from Boom! Studios through NetGalley)
May 1, 2022
I had some difficulty picturing how someone might be able to adapt Vonnegut’s brilliant but challenging and unusually structured anti-war novel. But Ryan North, Albert Monteys and Scott Newman did a fabulous job.
Vonnegut’s straightforward yet deep prose is something to behold, and it must have been incredibly hard to choose what to use for the graphic novel adaptation and what to leave out. Inevitably, not all my favorite passages made it into the book, but I also wasn’t getting the wall of text I had been expecting. The creators were able to capture the essence of Vonnegut’s classic. And they show huge respect for the man. It’s been wonderful to experience.
And painful, of course, because this is a painful story. Has anyone ever done a better job capturing the inhumanity and absurdity of war? I’m not sure. Vonnegut’s book is a classic for a reason and this here is one of the best comics I have read in my life. It owes a lot to his prose, of course. He is sadly missed. But it’s wonderful to see how a work like this is able to transfer his brilliance to another medium and maybe introduce new readers to it.
The artwork is outstanding by the way. Billy, who has witnessed the bombing of Dresden, came unstuck in time and maybe or maybe not was abducted by aliens, often times doesn’t have to say anything. His face says more than a thousand words. It might actually be the greatest achievement of this book.
Buddy read with Cathy and Nataliya. I’m glad we decided to give this a try.
March 6, 2021
So it goes.
Kurt Vonnegut was in Dresden, as the greatest massacre of WWII took place, and he was traumatized by it for his whole life, though you might not have guessed the ptsd from his characteristic mix of light-hearted spoofing of American culture and custom and dark satire. I have reviewed this novel elsewhere, one of my favorite books ever, so was skeptical that someone who is essentially a children’s book author of comics (SquirrelGirl, Adventure Time) could approach this masterpiece with the right tone in this first graphic novel adaptation.
But North gets Vonnegut and this book, and it turns out that the comics medium, enacted by illustrator Albert Monteys, is perfect for this whimsical, elliptical, focus on the horrors of war, but this is the best graphic novel/comics series I have read so far this year (by March 5). The book moves from horror story to anti-war diatribe to existential/not quite nihilistic philosophy to romance to science fiction in an effort to explore the beyond-words shock and awe of his own experience, and what medium is bette for all the jumping around in time and tone than comics? The story focuses on Billy Pilgrim but also features a Hitchcockian cameo of Vonnegut itself, who we assume is the biographer/historian of Billy’s Dresden experience.
Billy, forever traumatized, a POW for a time when he was in Dresden, becomes, after the war--married, working as an Optometrist, but also for a time in a psych hospital--“unstuck in time,” “time traveling” all the time to Dresden and back home, and to the planet Tralfamadore (trying to reimagine the past, trying to imagine a future through the miracle of sci fi) reading unknown science fiction writer Kilgore Trout. All his life he knows brutal bullies who resort to violence, just as he sees in the war. Unspeakable cruelty and meaningless devastation. He hears that destroying this once divinely beautiful city by the Allied forces will (as with Hiroshima) "hasten the end of the war" even as thousands of civilians and cultural institutions are destroyed forever.
So it goes.
Churchill on Dresden: "It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed," he wrote in a memo. "The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing."
Read the original, of course, but read this, too; this is a great adaptation!!
BBC report on the bombing, 75 years later:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe...
Kurt Vonnegut was in Dresden, as the greatest massacre of WWII took place, and he was traumatized by it for his whole life, though you might not have guessed the ptsd from his characteristic mix of light-hearted spoofing of American culture and custom and dark satire. I have reviewed this novel elsewhere, one of my favorite books ever, so was skeptical that someone who is essentially a children’s book author of comics (SquirrelGirl, Adventure Time) could approach this masterpiece with the right tone in this first graphic novel adaptation.
But North gets Vonnegut and this book, and it turns out that the comics medium, enacted by illustrator Albert Monteys, is perfect for this whimsical, elliptical, focus on the horrors of war, but this is the best graphic novel/comics series I have read so far this year (by March 5). The book moves from horror story to anti-war diatribe to existential/not quite nihilistic philosophy to romance to science fiction in an effort to explore the beyond-words shock and awe of his own experience, and what medium is bette for all the jumping around in time and tone than comics? The story focuses on Billy Pilgrim but also features a Hitchcockian cameo of Vonnegut itself, who we assume is the biographer/historian of Billy’s Dresden experience.
Billy, forever traumatized, a POW for a time when he was in Dresden, becomes, after the war--married, working as an Optometrist, but also for a time in a psych hospital--“unstuck in time,” “time traveling” all the time to Dresden and back home, and to the planet Tralfamadore (trying to reimagine the past, trying to imagine a future through the miracle of sci fi) reading unknown science fiction writer Kilgore Trout. All his life he knows brutal bullies who resort to violence, just as he sees in the war. Unspeakable cruelty and meaningless devastation. He hears that destroying this once divinely beautiful city by the Allied forces will (as with Hiroshima) "hasten the end of the war" even as thousands of civilians and cultural institutions are destroyed forever.
So it goes.
Churchill on Dresden: "It seems to me that the moment has come when the question of bombing of German cities simply for the sake of increasing the terror, though under other pretexts, should be reviewed," he wrote in a memo. "The destruction of Dresden remains a serious query against the conduct of Allied bombing."
Read the original, of course, but read this, too; this is a great adaptation!!
BBC report on the bombing, 75 years later:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe...
June 7, 2020
Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five, a science fiction classic, has been morphed into a bold creative graphic novel that does the story real justice. It’s a standout among graphic novel adaptations.
The graphic version doesn’t just repeat the story from the novel, but also provides the reader with handy dandy charts and displays of all the characters, the timelines, and even all the equipment worn into battle by Billy Pilgrim’s wartime buddy.
The story intersperses comic relief ala Hogan’s Heroes POW camps with the horrors of war including particularly the Dresden Bombing. And then for something completely different, soldier Billy Pilgrim is so traumatized that he becomes unstuck in time, flitting back and forth over the years and is captured by aliens who put him in the zoo on their planet with a kidnapped buxom bride to exhibit fornication with on full display.
The aliens have a different view of time then we do. For them, like unstuck Billy Pilgrim, everything is observable now, past , present, future. Every moment exists always. And their motto seems to be to always exist in the moment, at least the good moments. Kind of like Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side Of Life.
But, I digress. The point is that, like the companion novel, it’s just not a traditional story structure. Anyway, if you dig the novel, you’ll get a real kick out of the graphic novel version.
The graphic version doesn’t just repeat the story from the novel, but also provides the reader with handy dandy charts and displays of all the characters, the timelines, and even all the equipment worn into battle by Billy Pilgrim’s wartime buddy.
The story intersperses comic relief ala Hogan’s Heroes POW camps with the horrors of war including particularly the Dresden Bombing. And then for something completely different, soldier Billy Pilgrim is so traumatized that he becomes unstuck in time, flitting back and forth over the years and is captured by aliens who put him in the zoo on their planet with a kidnapped buxom bride to exhibit fornication with on full display.
The aliens have a different view of time then we do. For them, like unstuck Billy Pilgrim, everything is observable now, past , present, future. Every moment exists always. And their motto seems to be to always exist in the moment, at least the good moments. Kind of like Monty Python’s Always Look on the Bright Side Of Life.
But, I digress. The point is that, like the companion novel, it’s just not a traditional story structure. Anyway, if you dig the novel, you’ll get a real kick out of the graphic novel version.
September 17, 2020
I’ve had a few days to compose myself and I’m ready to actually review this graphic novel. I read Slaughterhouse Five years ago and I’d be lying if I said I remember too much about it beyond there being a human zoo and a terrible war. But that seriously does seem to sum this up, but the meaning and heartbreak is so much more.
Poor Billy’s life is not great and while he experienced a whole hell of a lot of shit, he also experienced some seriously amazing stuff too. The main focus for the majority of the story is the war, how awful it was, and how awful it still is. Billy’s part in it is not substantial besides being a prisoner and having to see so many vicious things happen to people around him.
What makes his story unique is that he becomes “unstuck” from the time he’s in and begins to experience his life jumping from one moment in his life to another. It’s fascinating and confusing to see him go through this. Things get even more interesting when he gets abducted by aliens.
Anyway, all of that really isn’t even the point. Billy could be lying in a hospital bed in a coma for all the reader really knows or believes, but you start to feel just how disjointed a person can be after having the horrific experiences that Billy had. Not even just with the war, but life in general. It almost feels like there is no point to his whole life, which is absolutely heartbreaking. I feel like it goes from, what’s the point of sending these children to fight these wars, what’s the point of wars, what’s the point of life at all. Of course, that’s just how I felt while reading this.
So while I very much did enjoy this graphic novel, it is much more serious and depressing than I do recall. It does bring to life the “unsticking” of Billy’s life, which is interesting. I recommend this to those who have read Slaughterhouse Five in its original form because this can bring a new way to view the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Archaia for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
Poor Billy’s life is not great and while he experienced a whole hell of a lot of shit, he also experienced some seriously amazing stuff too. The main focus for the majority of the story is the war, how awful it was, and how awful it still is. Billy’s part in it is not substantial besides being a prisoner and having to see so many vicious things happen to people around him.
What makes his story unique is that he becomes “unstuck” from the time he’s in and begins to experience his life jumping from one moment in his life to another. It’s fascinating and confusing to see him go through this. Things get even more interesting when he gets abducted by aliens.
Anyway, all of that really isn’t even the point. Billy could be lying in a hospital bed in a coma for all the reader really knows or believes, but you start to feel just how disjointed a person can be after having the horrific experiences that Billy had. Not even just with the war, but life in general. It almost feels like there is no point to his whole life, which is absolutely heartbreaking. I feel like it goes from, what’s the point of sending these children to fight these wars, what’s the point of wars, what’s the point of life at all. Of course, that’s just how I felt while reading this.
So while I very much did enjoy this graphic novel, it is much more serious and depressing than I do recall. It does bring to life the “unsticking” of Billy’s life, which is interesting. I recommend this to those who have read Slaughterhouse Five in its original form because this can bring a new way to view the book.
Thanks to NetGalley and Archaia for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for my honest and unbiased opinion.
July 19, 2020
I have wanted to pick up Slaughterhouse-Five for years, ever since I was given 1984 in high school instead of this book. I had always been interested in what I missed out in reading this book, and lucky for me NetGalley had the graphic novel version of this book!
I thought this was a great way to present the story, even if I haven't read the original work. If I had options like this way back in my high school days then it would have made reading some of these classics way more entertaining! I'd highly recommend educators and students grab books like these to add a little spice and fun to your reading lists.
I really enjoyed the illustrations, and I found the book really intriguing and well done.
Three out of five stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
I thought this was a great way to present the story, even if I haven't read the original work. If I had options like this way back in my high school days then it would have made reading some of these classics way more entertaining! I'd highly recommend educators and students grab books like these to add a little spice and fun to your reading lists.
I really enjoyed the illustrations, and I found the book really intriguing and well done.
Three out of five stars.
Thank you to NetGalley and BOOM! Studios for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.
January 29, 2024
Daily Vonnegut (Bonus).
One of the purest, most beautiful graphic novels I have read. It’s a faithful and respectful adaptation to boot. You can’t do much better than this if you want to relive Slaughterhouse-Five. Seriously, just artistic merit? Top 10 graphic novels I have come across. Ryan North, a Canadian legend.
One of the purest, most beautiful graphic novels I have read. It’s a faithful and respectful adaptation to boot. You can’t do much better than this if you want to relive Slaughterhouse-Five. Seriously, just artistic merit? Top 10 graphic novels I have come across. Ryan North, a Canadian legend.
February 25, 2022
A mi, la novela de Vonnegut no me convenció. Por confusa (y porque me líaba yo de más, supongo), no llegue a conectar con ella y en su día la verdad es que, como ejercicio de escritura vale, pero como obra maestra pues no, no la tuve en buena estima.
Sin embargo, la adaptación de North y Monteys me ha parecido sublime. O sea, el formato novela gráfica le va como un guante. El ver todo claramente secuenciado y diferenciado (porque una novela, en fin, son parrafos y letras todo, ¿vale?) ayuda indudablemente a que sepas donde estás en cada momento y a entender lo que es la obra, vaya.
Llegaba al comic exceptico, a Monteys siempre le he conocido por Para ti que eres joven o Tato y su dibujo, aunque muy caracteristico y tal, nunca me había parecido destacable. Pero ha sido llegar a esto y cambiar de opinión a las pocas páginas. La composición, los colores, la expresividad... todo es una maravilla.
En definitiva, que si no os gustó la novela de Vonnegut, aun tampoco gustandoos los comics, deberiais darle una oportunidad a esto.
Sin embargo, la adaptación de North y Monteys me ha parecido sublime. O sea, el formato novela gráfica le va como un guante. El ver todo claramente secuenciado y diferenciado (porque una novela, en fin, son parrafos y letras todo, ¿vale?) ayuda indudablemente a que sepas donde estás en cada momento y a entender lo que es la obra, vaya.
Llegaba al comic exceptico, a Monteys siempre le he conocido por Para ti que eres joven o Tato y su dibujo, aunque muy caracteristico y tal, nunca me había parecido destacable. Pero ha sido llegar a esto y cambiar de opinión a las pocas páginas. La composición, los colores, la expresividad... todo es una maravilla.
En definitiva, que si no os gustó la novela de Vonnegut, aun tampoco gustandoos los comics, deberiais darle una oportunidad a esto.
September 2, 2020
Gracias a NetGalley he podido leer esa novela gráfica por adelantado.
Cuando leí Matadero Cinco no conseguí conectar con la novela ni con el mensaje de Vonnegut, pero creo que la mejor manera de adaptar esa historia era con una novela gráfica. El trabajo de adaptación de Ryan North es de alabar y en esta ocasión me ha gustado más la historia y el humor y tristeza en el mensaje de Vonnegut.
También me ha gustado mucho el dibujo de Albert Monteys, dibujante de El Jueves.
Cuando leí Matadero Cinco no conseguí conectar con la novela ni con el mensaje de Vonnegut, pero creo que la mejor manera de adaptar esa historia era con una novela gráfica. El trabajo de adaptación de Ryan North es de alabar y en esta ocasión me ha gustado más la historia y el humor y tristeza en el mensaje de Vonnegut.
También me ha gustado mucho el dibujo de Albert Monteys, dibujante de El Jueves.
February 13, 2024
Rarely does a comic adaptation meet the expectations of the original novel, but this does, because Vonnegut's metafiction and hyper self-awareness is perfectly suited to the medium. Sad, funny, sobering and sparse, Kurt's 1969 anti-war classic Slaughterhouse Five is brought to life with Albert Monteys' beautiful cartoony illustrations which are polished and yet somehow derivative of Kurt's own style. Ryan North (Adventure Time) writes the script and somehow it works. A lovely way to honor the original work.
January 5, 2021
Vaig llegir "Matadero 5" de Vonnegut fa molts anys i, tot i trobar-la una novel·la espectacular, em vaig dir que no la tornaria a llegir perquè em va semblar tristíssima i molt i molt colpidora.
Només una versió com la de North i Monteys podien fer trencar aquesta promesa (bé, no vaig prometre res, per ser franc).
I quina versió.
Perquè no era fàcil portar-la al còmic, amb aquesta narrativa fractal i fragmentada.
Però l'adaptació és una genialitat. Des del mateix us del metallenguatge al talent immens d'Albert Monteys com il·lustrador.
Poc més hi puc aportar. Hi funciona tot. És perfecte. I et deixa amb la mateixa sensació d'absurd vital. Però al contrari que l'altra vegada, aquest cop sí que penso tornar-hi.
Només una versió com la de North i Monteys podien fer trencar aquesta promesa (bé, no vaig prometre res, per ser franc).
I quina versió.
Perquè no era fàcil portar-la al còmic, amb aquesta narrativa fractal i fragmentada.
Però l'adaptació és una genialitat. Des del mateix us del metallenguatge al talent immens d'Albert Monteys com il·lustrador.
Poc més hi puc aportar. Hi funciona tot. És perfecte. I et deixa amb la mateixa sensació d'absurd vital. Però al contrari que l'altra vegada, aquest cop sí que penso tornar-hi.
June 6, 2020
Slaughterhouse-Five was my first Kurt Vonnegut Jr. I had just graduated high school and I obviously knew nothing. I remember reading it before bed and not being able to go to sleep because I was so damn confused! 9 years later and I'm no wiser.
World War II, the bombing of Dresden, time travel, aliens and "being unstuck in time"... Slaughterhouse-Five is a really weird anti-war book and this graphic novel is a pretty good adaptation. The art fits the story, it helps to explain what's actually going on. It's still really confusing and I can see why people could be confused and not enjoy this graphic novel. Especially if they haven't read the source material and don't know how weird Vonnegut's writing style was.
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
World War II, the bombing of Dresden, time travel, aliens and "being unstuck in time"... Slaughterhouse-Five is a really weird anti-war book and this graphic novel is a pretty good adaptation. The art fits the story, it helps to explain what's actually going on. It's still really confusing and I can see why people could be confused and not enjoy this graphic novel. Especially if they haven't read the source material and don't know how weird Vonnegut's writing style was.
Review copy provided by the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
October 28, 2020
I read Slaughterhouse-Five when I was in my teens or early twenties, and I mostly remember being annoyed by it, with its time slips and alien abductions. Either being older or, more likely, the extreme skill of this graphic novel adaptation has given me a new appreciation for Vonnegut's story. Darkly humorous and sadly still too timely.
February 24, 2022
Lo primero que tengo que confesar es que no he leído la historia original (ya la tengo reservada en la biblio así que no me matéis) pero desde que vi esta adaptación tuve la necesidad de leerla y ahora que ha caído en mis manos me he dado cuenta de que es una auténtica joya.
La historia y como está narrada me parece magistral (su mérito tendrá Ryan North porque me da la sensación de que no era fácil de adaptar) y el dibujo de Albert Monteys le va como un guante.
No hay peros, solo cinco estrellas bien merecidas y mucho sobre lo que pensar.
La historia y como está narrada me parece magistral (su mérito tendrá Ryan North porque me da la sensación de que no era fácil de adaptar) y el dibujo de Albert Monteys le va como un guante.
No hay peros, solo cinco estrellas bien merecidas y mucho sobre lo que pensar.
May 13, 2021
Όταν διάβασα Βόνεγκατ, ήταν λίγο μετά το θάνατο του και σκέφτηκα, πόσο κρίμα που δεν τον γνώριζα όταν πέθανε, να κλάψω για εκείνον. Δεν ήξερα βεβαίως τότε ότι όταν ένα άτομο πεθαίνει, φ α ί ν ε τ α ι να πεθαίνει. Παραμένει ζωντανός στο παρελθόν, οπότε είναι πολύ ανόητο εκ μέρους των ανθρώπων να κλαίνε στις κηδείες.
Ο Βόνεγκατ σε ηλικία 23 χρόνων βίωσε την καταστροφή της Δρέσδης, που αν ορθώς ισχυριστούμε ότι όλες οι καταστροφές είναι αχρείαστες, η καταστροφή της Δρέσδης ακουμπάει οροφή. Πώς μπορεί λοιπόν κάποιος τόσο χαρισματικός και ευφυής όσο εκείνος να μιλήσει για κάτι τόσο φρικώδες; Υποτίθεται πως όλα είναι πολύ ήσυχα μετά από μια σφαγή, εκτός από τα πουλιά. Και τι λένε τα πουλιά; Το μόνο που μπορούν να πουν για μια σφαγή, "που-τι-ουίτ".
Ο Μπίλι Πίλγκριμ αιωρείται ��έσα στο χρόνο, ανάμεσα στο παρόν, το παρελθόν και το μέλλον, σε στιγμές που υπήρχαν ανέκαθεν και θα εξακολουθήσουν να υπάρχουν για πάντα. Ναι, είναι δύσκολο να το συλλάβει ένας γήινος αυτό, ο Μπίλι όμως το γνωρίζει, του το εξήγησαν οι Τραλφαμαντοριανοί. Έτσι συγχρόνως γεννιέται, πεθαίνει, είναι ένας επιτυχημένος οπτομέτρης, ένας κρατούμενος στα τελειώματα του πολέμου, ένας απαχθείς γήινος που γίνεται ατραξιόν για εξωγήινους, ένας μεσήλικας επιζών αεροπορικού ατυχήματος, ένας ταλαίπωρος ηλικιωμένος που του φέρονται σαν να ξεμωράθηκε. Κάθε στιγμή. Συμβαίν��ι αυτό που πρέπει να συμβεί.
Βασικά όμως είναι ένας άνθρωπος που έζησε τη φρίκη του πολέμου και παρέμεινε καλός, όπως και πολλοί σαν αυτόν, παιδιά που πολέμησαν πολέμους αντρών και κάποιοι τυχεροί επέστρεψαν, ψάχνοντας τρόπους να διαχειριστούν την τόση φρίκη.
Έτσι έγραψε λοιπόν ο Βόννεγκατ για τη φρίκη του πολέμου. Με τρόπο κωμικό που μέσα κρύβει πόνο, με κυνισμό που κρύβει ευαισθησία και ειρωνεία που κρύβει βαθιά αγάπη για τον άνθρωπο. Με τον τρόπο που μισούν τον πόλεμο εκείνοι που πραγματικά έχουν πολεμήσει. Βάζοντας δικές του νάρκες αγωνίας για την ελεύθερη βούληση, το χρόνο -πώς γέρασα τόσο πολύ, πού πήγαν τόσα χρόνια- το θάνατο.
Ένα αντιπολεμικό αριστούργημα, η κορυφαία δημιουργία ενός πολύ ιδιαίτερου συγγραφέα που θα πεθάνει, έχει πεθάνει και θα πεθαίνει πάντοτε στις 11 Απριλίου του 2007. Έτσι πάει.
*Είναι εξαιρετική η διασκευή του σε graphic novel, το βιβλίο είναι ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου και ήμουν στα νύχια για να ουρλιάζω ΤΟ ΚΑΤΑΣΤΡΕΨΑΤΕΕΕΕΕ, ΧΑΟΥ ΝΤΕΡ ΓΙΟΥ, όμως το διάβασα και είμαι τόσο χαρούμενη που το έκανα, που το έκανα πάσα και το διαβάζει ο μικρός. Που δεν είναι τόσο μικρός. Είναι μεγαλύτερος τέλος πάντων κι απ'όσο είναι. Το θέμα είναι ότι αν δεν έχετε διαβάσει το βιβλίο, μπορείτε να ξεκινήσετε από αυτή την εκδοχή και είμαι σίγουρη ότι θα σας τραβήξει στην πρωτότυπη μορφή του. Κι αν έχετε διαβάσει το βιβλίο και το έχετε αγαπήσει, αξίζει να έχετε και αυτό εδώ στη συλλογή σας.
Ο Βόνεγκατ σε ηλικία 23 χρόνων βίωσε την καταστροφή της Δρέσδης, που αν ορθώς ισχυριστούμε ότι όλες οι καταστροφές είναι αχρείαστες, η καταστροφή της Δρέσδης ακουμπάει οροφή. Πώς μπορεί λοιπόν κάποιος τόσο χαρισματικός και ευφυής όσο εκείνος να μιλήσει για κάτι τόσο φρικώδες; Υποτίθεται πως όλα είναι πολύ ήσυχα μετά από μια σφαγή, εκτός από τα πουλιά. Και τι λένε τα πουλιά; Το μόνο που μπορούν να πουν για μια σφαγή, "που-τι-ουίτ".
Ο Μπίλι Πίλγκριμ αιωρείται ��έσα στο χρόνο, ανάμεσα στο παρόν, το παρελθόν και το μέλλον, σε στιγμές που υπήρχαν ανέκαθεν και θα εξακολουθήσουν να υπάρχουν για πάντα. Ναι, είναι δύσκολο να το συλλάβει ένας γήινος αυτό, ο Μπίλι όμως το γνωρίζει, του το εξήγησαν οι Τραλφαμαντοριανοί. Έτσι συγχρόνως γεννιέται, πεθαίνει, είναι ένας επιτυχημένος οπτομέτρης, ένας κρατούμενος στα τελειώματα του πολέμου, ένας απαχθείς γήινος που γίνεται ατραξιόν για εξωγήινους, ένας μεσήλικας επιζών αεροπορικού ατυχήματος, ένας ταλαίπωρος ηλικιωμένος που του φέρονται σαν να ξεμωράθηκε. Κάθε στιγμή. Συμβαίν��ι αυτό που πρέπει να συμβεί.
Βασικά όμως είναι ένας άνθρωπος που έζησε τη φρίκη του πολέμου και παρέμεινε καλός, όπως και πολλοί σαν αυτόν, παιδιά που πολέμησαν πολέμους αντρών και κάποιοι τυχεροί επέστρεψαν, ψάχνοντας τρόπους να διαχειριστούν την τόση φρίκη.
Έτσι έγραψε λοιπόν ο Βόννεγκατ για τη φρίκη του πολέμου. Με τρόπο κωμικό που μέσα κρύβει πόνο, με κυνισμό που κρύβει ευαισθησία και ειρωνεία που κρύβει βαθιά αγάπη για τον άνθρωπο. Με τον τρόπο που μισούν τον πόλεμο εκείνοι που πραγματικά έχουν πολεμήσει. Βάζοντας δικές του νάρκες αγωνίας για την ελεύθερη βούληση, το χρόνο -πώς γέρασα τόσο πολύ, πού πήγαν τόσα χρόνια- το θάνατο.
Ένα αντιπολεμικό αριστούργημα, η κορυφαία δημιουργία ενός πολύ ιδιαίτερου συγγραφέα που θα πεθάνει, έχει πεθάνει και θα πεθαίνει πάντοτε στις 11 Απριλίου του 2007. Έτσι πάει.
*Είναι εξαιρετική η διασκευή του σε graphic novel, το βιβλίο είναι ένα από τα αγαπημένα μου και ήμουν στα νύχια για να ουρλιάζω ΤΟ ΚΑΤΑΣΤΡΕΨΑΤΕΕΕΕΕ, ΧΑΟΥ ΝΤΕΡ ΓΙΟΥ, όμως το διάβασα και είμαι τόσο χαρούμενη που το έκανα, που το έκανα πάσα και το διαβάζει ο μικρός. Που δεν είναι τόσο μικρός. Είναι μεγαλύτερος τέλος πάντων κι απ'όσο είναι. Το θέμα είναι ότι αν δεν έχετε διαβάσει το βιβλίο, μπορείτε να ξεκινήσετε από αυτή την εκδοχή και είμαι σίγουρη ότι θα σας τραβήξει στην πρωτότυπη μορφή του. Κι αν έχετε διαβάσει το βιβλίο και το έχετε αγαπήσει, αξίζει να έχετε και αυτό εδώ στη συλλογή σας.
June 27, 2021
I already loved Slaughterhouse 5, this graphic novel is a great adaptation.
October 5, 2020
Reading this graphic novel reminds me just how masterful, funny, mordant, and humane Kurt Vonnegut's writing was. Ryan North does a great job adapting the novel and keeping the tone pitch perfect (poo-tee-weet) and Albert Monteys' art is both cartoonish and realistic at the same time (matching the tone of the novel perfectly). This is a novel about the cruelty of man, the absurdity of war, the unceasing cruelty of time, and about how utterly inadequate the strategy of focusing on the good times really is. I need to go back and re-read all of Vonnegut asap.
**Thanks to the adapter, artist, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
**Thanks to the adapter, artist, publisher, and NetGalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review.
July 27, 2022
Die Graphic Novel ist eine grandiose Umsetzung dieses modernen Klassikers (aber kein Ersatz!).
So ist das nun mal.
So ist das nun mal.
Read
April 18, 2021▫️ SLAUGHTERHOUSE-FIVE or The Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance With Death (A Graphic Novel Adaptation) Original story by Kurt Vonnegut, adaptation by Ryan North and illustrated by Albert Monteys, 2020.
There's an ongoing debate if SH5 and Kurt Vonnegut as a writer really are "science fiction", and I acknowledge the issue especially in considering KV a SF author, but the time play / warp aspects, as well the presence of the Tralfamadorian aliens in the Slaughterhouse-Five narrative make a pretty clear case for me.
The graphic novel will work best for people who know the Slaughterhouse story, and have a basic context on Vonnegut's meta-satire of war, POWs, PTSD, and being "unstuck in time".
In many ways, the story actually became *more* clear with the images. I read SH5 in 2019 so it was relatively fresh in my mind, as much as this book can be.
Kudos to North and Monteys on this fantastic adaptation collaboration. It works so well. Great art, retaining Vonnegut's humour and pathos in the graphic medium.
There's an ongoing debate if SH5 and Kurt Vonnegut as a writer really are "science fiction", and I acknowledge the issue especially in considering KV a SF author, but the time play / warp aspects, as well the presence of the Tralfamadorian aliens in the Slaughterhouse-Five narrative make a pretty clear case for me.
The graphic novel will work best for people who know the Slaughterhouse story, and have a basic context on Vonnegut's meta-satire of war, POWs, PTSD, and being "unstuck in time".
In many ways, the story actually became *more* clear with the images. I read SH5 in 2019 so it was relatively fresh in my mind, as much as this book can be.
Kudos to North and Monteys on this fantastic adaptation collaboration. It works so well. Great art, retaining Vonnegut's humour and pathos in the graphic medium.
December 19, 2022
BA-YIL-DIM! Sırtlan Yayınları'ndan sevgili dostum Emre'nin "Okumalısın, kaçırma," cümlesi ve zaten Kurt Vonnegut'ı çok sevmem neticesinde almıştım. 1 saat içinde uçarcasına, ağzım açık ve gülümseyerek okudum. Çizgi roman fanlarının muhakkak kütüphanesinde olmalı. En önemli başarısı da sanırım Vonnegut edebi lezzetini aynen çizgi romana yansıtabilmek olmalı. Tebrikler Ryan North, teşekkürler Emre! :)
April 18, 2021
I wanted to like this. Slaughterhouse-Five and Kurt Vonnegut hold a dear place in my heart. Vonnegut and his personal battles with the novel were the main subjects of my thesis. This graphic novel adaptation is greatly missing that connection. There is no denying that the artwork is beautiful (though I might argue that the soldiers are illustrated to look much older, which contradicts Vonnegut’s intention of reminding the reader how young these soldiers are via “The Children’s Crusade”). To put it plainly, this is an accurate adaptation, but it’s missing a major component, Vonnegut’s style and overall essence, which is easily unadaptable. To truly see the humanity and inhumanity in Vonnegut’s semi-autobiographical story, his voice is the only one who can properly deliver the comedy, desperation, and fleeting reality of it. Furthermore, some of the structural decisions of this graphic novel are clearly made to create an easier read. However, these decisions also contradict Vonnegut’s specific intentions of his non-linear and elusive style that he meticulously weaved throughout his novel. It’s choices like these that make this adaptation miss the point at times. While I commend the adaptation, as it is no easy feat, it feels like a lackluster version of Slaughterhouse-five that would’ve been written by anyone but Vonnegut.
June 8, 2022
An excellent representation of the novel.
January 17, 2021
Dudo mucho que lea un tebeo tan redondo como este en lo que queda de año. Lo que han hecho Ryan North y Albert Monteys en esta adaptación es simplemente magia.
December 21, 2021
As good an adaptation as I could hope for. One thing about "graphic novels" is that you can read them fast. That can be good or bad. In this case, I liked that I could get the full story of the novel in two short bursts. It wasn't as moving to me as the original was, but that could be just that I'm older and have read more Vonnegut since then.
Very different from anything else by Ryan North.
Poo-tee-weet?
Very different from anything else by Ryan North.
Poo-tee-weet?
June 29, 2022
Obra maestra. Sin más.
November 25, 2021
Si algo tiene este cómic es que me han dado ganas de leer el libro porque obviamente deja muchas cosas en el tintero. Es normal, es una adaptación, y me da la impresión de que es un libro muy complejo de adaptar.
Al menos la historia tiene coherencia, o toda la coherencia que puede tener una trama con saltos en el tiempo. Me ha gustado la parte metaliteraria del cómic y los dibujos de Albert Monteys funcionan muy bien, aunque me costaba ver la diferencia de edad en una u otra escena del protagonista (cuando se suponen que tienen edades distintas).
Lo dicho, me ha gustado, pero me da la impresión de que el libro debe ser mejor. Y una auténtica fumada.
Al menos la historia tiene coherencia, o toda la coherencia que puede tener una trama con saltos en el tiempo. Me ha gustado la parte metaliteraria del cómic y los dibujos de Albert Monteys funcionan muy bien, aunque me costaba ver la diferencia de edad en una u otra escena del protagonista (cuando se suponen que tienen edades distintas).
Lo dicho, me ha gustado, pero me da la impresión de que el libro debe ser mejor. Y una auténtica fumada.
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