The Picture of Dorian Gray
Words by Ian Edginton
Art by I.N.J. Culbard
Paperback with flaps, 128 pp, £12.99
"Beauty is a form of genius – is higher than genius, as it needs no explanation… It makes princes of those who have it. Beauty is the wonder of wonders. Only shallow people do not judge by appearances."
Oscar Wilde's classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, reinvented in this striking graphic novel, is the story of a man who, exhilarated by his own beauty, pledges his very soul in a desperate bid for eternal youth. His wish is magically granted: a portrait of Dorian, painted by his friend Basil, begins to age in his place. Dorian's naïveté soon turns into narcissism and a dangerous sense of invulnerability. Influenced by the decadent aristocrat Lord Henry, he embarks upon a career of selfish hedonism and depravity, ruining several lives on the way.
With great skill and artistic flair, Ian Edginton and artist I.N.J. Culbard bring Oscar Wilde's morally ambiguous take on the Gothic thriller to the graphic novel form.
Oscar Wilde's classic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, reinvented in this striking graphic novel, is the story of a man who, exhilarated by his own beauty, pledges his very soul in a desperate bid for eternal youth. His wish is magically granted: a portrait of Dorian, painted by his friend Basil, begins to age in his place. Dorian's naïveté soon turns into narcissism and a dangerous sense of invulnerability. Influenced by the decadent aristocrat Lord Henry, he embarks upon a career of selfish hedonism and depravity, ruining several lives on the way.
With great skill and artistic flair, Ian Edginton and artist I.N.J. Culbard bring Oscar Wilde's morally ambiguous take on the Gothic thriller to the graphic novel form.
I.N.J. Culbard
I.N.J. Culbard is an award-winning artist and writer.
Early collaborations with writer Ian Edginton on adaptations for SelfMadeHero (The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Hound of the Baskervilles, A Study in Scarlet, The Sign of the Four and The Valley of Fear) led on to their subsequent series Brass Sun for 2000 AD. He has also worked with Dan Abnett on original series including The New Deadwardians (Vertigo), Dark Ages (Dark Horse Comics), Wild’s End (Boom Studios) and Brink (2000 AD). Other recent projects include Everything, written by Christopher Cantwell (Berger Books) and You Look Like Death, written by Gerard Way and Shaun Simon (Dark Horse).
Culbard has produced a number of his own adaptations for SelfMadeHero, including the H.P. Lovecraft stories At the Mountains of Madness, The Case of Charles Dexter Ward, The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath, The Shadow Out of Time and Robert W. Chambers’ The King in Yellow. Other work includes Deadbeats (with Chris Lackey and Chad Fifer) and Culbard’s first solo original graphic novel, Celeste.
Ian Edginton
Ian Edginton is one of Britain's best-known comics writers. He has worked for Lucasfilm, Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox to adapt Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Predator and Terminator properties, as well as with the H.G. Wells estate to adapt War of the Worlds for Dark Horse. He adapted Edgar Allan Poe's 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue' and H.P. Lovecraft's 'The Call of Cthulhu' (both illustrated by D'Israeli) for SelfMadeHero's graphic anthologies Nevermore and The Lovecraft Anthology, Volume I. With artist Rob Deas, he also adapted Pride and Prejudice for SelfMadeHero. In 2007, his graphic novel Scarlet Traces: The Great Game was nominated for Best Limited Series and Best Writer at the prestigious Eisner Awards.
Reviews
"Adapted by Ian Edginton and illustrated by Ian Culbard, a fascinating and highly enjoyable adaptation of Wilde's popular classic tale."
— The Bookseller
"It's a brilliant adaptation, retaining all the wonder of Oscar Wilde's text and portraying the story in a fresh and new fashion. An excellent read."
— Forbidden Planet International
"Suitably brittle and affectless."
— The Independent