Today sees the release of Mark Stafford and David Hine’s much-anticipated adaptation of Victor Hugo’s The Man Who Laughs.
Less well-known – and read – than Les Misérables and Notre-Dame de Paris, The Man Who Laughs follows the story of Gwynplaine, the two-year-old heir to a rebel lord, who is abducted upon the orders of a vindictive monarch, who has him mutilated (to produce a permanent, grisly smile), then abandoned.
Hugo’s novel is an impassioned, outrageous and bizarre book. As David Hine writes in his afterword to the adaptation, it is also the inspiration behind The Joker in Batman, and has ‘left an indelible mark upon modern popular culture’. In this superb graphic adaptation, The Man Who Laughs has found an ideal new form.
Here’s what David Hine has to say about adapting the book:
When Heath Ledger’s Joker says “Let’s put a smile on that face” in the movie The Dark Knight it’s a twisted version of Victor Hugo’s Gwynplaine who is speaking. In 1940, when Jerry Robinson, Bob Kane and Bill Finger were working on the first issue of the Batman comic, they saw a poster featuring Conrad Veidt in the 1928 movie of The Man Who Laughs and that image inspired them to create the Joker as Batman’s nemesis. In 2011, I wrote an issue of Batman and Robin for DC Comics featuring a crazy Frenchman who mutilates his own son in a perverted homage to Victor Hugo.
The story was a tip of the hat to the man who inspired the Clown Prince of Crime, but like most people outside of France, I hadn’t actually read L’Homme Qui Rit. It is nowhere near as popular as Les Misérables or Notre-Dame de Paris. When I finally managed to track down a copy of the book I soon realised why. Written in the latter part of Hugo’s career, when he was living in exile in the Channel Islands, it is rambling and crammed with repetitive details of the workings of the British aristocracy and political system. But as I struggled through the more turgid passages I became entranced by the story that lay at the heart of the book – a story of love and humanity and the struggle against the workings of fate and a corrupt society. I found myself visualizing episodes and imagining them as scenes in a comic book: the Comprachicos sinking beneath the waves as they beg forgiveness for their sins, Gwynplaine struggling through the snow with the baby Dea in his arms, the first glimpse of his mutilated features, the fearful depths of Southwark Jail, the gothic maze of Gwynplaine’s own castle.
There aren’t many artists who could capture the grotesque aspects of the story and also convey the humanity of the characters and the black humour and irony of Hugo’s prose. I worked with Mark Stafford once before on a story for SelfMadeHero’s Lovecraft Anthology: Volume I and I knew he was the perfect artist to draw this book. I just had to convince him to spend a year adapting a long and near-unreadable 19th-century tome into a gripping graphic novel for a 21st-century audience. Miraculously, Mark became as enthusiastic as I was and I couldn’t be happier with our collaboration.
This passage is an extract from David Hine’s afterword to The Man Who Laughs, which is available now.
Now that we’ve established ourselves as the leading light of the graphic novel renaissance in Britain, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and set about breaking America. After our launch in the States last year, we’ve already gained a reputation as the most prominent British graphic novel publisher. As Casey Burchby wrote in Publishers Weekly last week, SelfMadeHero are leading a ‘New British Invasion’ of graphic novels in the States. The UK indie scene is fast growing a reputation as the place to go for ground-breaking graphic novels – and we’re at its heart.
In April, we’ll be travelling to New York with four of our creators – Glyn Dillon (The Nao of Brown), JAKe and Robert Sellers (Hellraisers), and Rob Davis (Don Quixote) – all of whom will attend MoCCA Arts Festival as special guests. Run by the Society of Illustrators, this is one of the finest independent comic arts festivals in the States, taking place in the 69th Regiment Armory over the weekend of 6th-7th April. Our creators will be signing and sketching on the SelfMadeHero stand, D113-D114. They’ll also be discussing the Brit comics scene and their latest releases at a ‘Table Talk’ event on the Sunday at 2.30pm. The discussion will be chaired by Jimmy Aquino from the Comic News Insider podcast.
If that’s not enough, we’re also having a party at the brilliant Bergen Street Comics in Brooklyn on Thursday 4th April. If you’re in New York, do pop in, pick up a drink and meet our creators.
You can read Boing Boing’s review of JAKe and Robert Sellers’ Hellraisershere and a review by Publishers Weeklyhere.
You can read the Chicago Tribune’s Scott Stantis on Glyn Dillon’s The Nao of Brownhere and another review by The New York Timeshere.
Rob Davis discusses the daunting task of adapting Don Quixotehere.
So we’re looking good to break America. Let’s just hope the trip doesn’t go the way of an Oasis tour. Or a visit by the hellraisers…
Last Thursday, Brighton’s graphic novel fans gathered at the brilliant Dave’s Comics on Sydney Street for the launch of The Murder Mile by Paul Collicutt. The book, which is the Observer’s Graphic Novel of the Month for February, is a pacey crime thriller set against the backdrop of the race to break the four-minute mile barrier.
In the Observer, Rachel Cooke said of the book, ‘The Murder Mile is like Chariots of Fire as rewritten by Raymond Chandler, a mash-up that is completely delightful on the page… It’s magical.’ As Roger Bannister, John Landy and others battle to break the four-minute mile barrier, private investigator Daniel Stone investigates the death of a promising young American athlete. As he looks into allegations of race-fixing, Stone soon finds himself caught in a dangerous web of conspiracy and corruption.
The Murder Mile combines Paul Collicutt’s talent for sequential art with his love of track and field. As well as being an award-winning illustrator, he is a club runner, a qualified athletics coach and Chairman of the Phoenix Athletics Club.
Joining members of the comics and athletics community, another graphic novel fan, the Mayor of Brighton, also attended the launch – a grand addition to great evening.
Curator Rosie Goldsmith’s plan to bring six of the best Dutch-language authors to the UK for a tour of six cities over six nights always looked ambitious. But with most of the country blanketed in snow, the High Impact tour’s success seemed even more miraculous as it reached London for its sell-out grand finale.
Taking place at the Tabernacle in Notting Hill, the final leg of the tour lived up to its ‘High Impact’ billing. The audience were treated to readings from an incredible group of Dutch and Belgian writers, from the poet laureate Ramsey Nasr to the prize-winning travel writer Lieve Joris. The London event also included guest appearances from three of the UK’s finest authors: Deborah Moggach, David Mitchell and Tracy Chevalier, who ended the evening with a reading from The Girl with the Pearl Earing. All three writers have been inspired by Dutch culture and written on Dutch themes, and all three had high praise for the contemporary Low Countries literature showcased at The Tabernacle.
Judith Vanistendael, the only graphic novelist on the bill, took to the stage to discuss her work in the light of the evening’s theme, ‘the Dutch Golden Age’. She recalled being moved to tears by the paintings of Golden Age masters Vermeer and Rembrandt. On an evening otherwise dominated by the written and spoken word, Judith’s talk served as an important reminder of the power of the image. Frames from When David Lost His Voice and Dance by the Light of the Moon were projected behind her as she spoke eloquently of her inspirations and intentions.
The audience and guests were entertained throughout by musicians Eric Vloeimans and Tuur Floorizone, who made the combination of accordion and trumpet sound as improbably perfect (as David Michell put it) as Wensleydale and Christmas cake. Like the rest of the evening, it was an excellent reminder that we should open our eyes – and ears – to international culture. Judging by the talent on show at The Tabernacle, the Low Countries would be a good place to start.
The High Impact writers’ personal blogs are being published every day this week on the tour’s website.
A unique project presenting the very best of Dutch-language literature to the UK, HIGH IMPACT is bringing 6 top writers from Belgium and the Netherlands on a tour of 6 cities for 6 nights of readings and debates.
They are the Low Country literati: all prize-winners and bestsellers back home, all writing in Dutch, producing some of the most exciting literature in Europe – but not nearly as well known or read here in the UK. Now for the first time, and in a unique collaboration, 6 of the best Dutch-language storytellers are coming together for a tour of 6 English cities – to perform for us and to discover what they may (or may not!) have in common.
Curated by Rosie Goldsmith, known in the UK as a champion of international fiction, HIGH IMPACT is a unique idea with a unique group of writers. You’ll hear the Dutch Poet Laureate side by side with Belgium’s leading graphic novelist, two global bestsellers, a thriller writer, a celebrated historian and a travel writer, together on stage every night. Selected from across Flanders and the Netherlands not only for their brilliant books but also for their wit, wisdom, fluent English and performance skills, they’ll wow you with their readings and ideas. Each night a different city, a different theme, a different type of venue. The tour ends with a final gala gathering in London and a performance alongside English literati including David Mitchell (The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet), Tracy Chevalier (The Girl With The Pearl Earring) and Deborah Moggach (Tulip Fever).
Running from 14–19 January 2013, HIGH IMPACT features SelfMadeHero’s very own Judith Vanistendael, ground-breaking author of Dance by the Light of the Moon (2010, translated by Ina Rilke) and When David Lost His Voice (2012, translated by Nora Mahony).
Judith will be appearing alongside Lieve Joris, Herman Koch, Ramsey Nasr, Peter Terrin and Chika Unigwe, showcasing the best literature from Flanders and the Netherlands in English translation.
Tour dates
Monday 14 January, Oxford: Blackwell’s Bookshop. Tuesday 15 January, Birmingham: The Anglican Cathedral, with Writing West Midlands. Wednesday 16 January, Liverpool: The Epstein Theatre. Thursday 17 January, Sheffield: St George’s Church Lecture Theatre, with the University of Sheffield. Friday 18 January, Norwich: Norwich Arts Centre. Saturday 19 January, London: The Tabernacle.
Praise for Judith Vanistendael’s When David Lost His Voice:
“The final moments are big, bleak, brilliant and stark.” Rosie Blau, The Economist
“This is an amazing book, one of the best published by SelfMadeHero so far.” Rachel Cooke, The Observer
