SHAKESPEARE AND CONTEMPORARY ADAPTATION: THE GRAPHIC NOVEL By MARGARET MARY ROPER A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy with Integrated Studies The Shakespeare Institute College of Arts and Law The University of Birmingham December 2011 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT This thesis examines the process of adaptation of Shakespeare’s plays into the graphic novel medium. It traces the history of these adaptations from the first comic books produced in the mid-twentieth century to graphic novels produced in the twenty-first century. The editions used for examination have been selected as they are indicative of key developments in the history of adaptation of Shakespeare’s plays into the medium. This thesis explores how the plays are presented and the influences on the styles of presentation. It traces the history of the form and how the adaptations have been received in various periods. It also examines how the combination of illustrations and text and the conventions of the medium produce unique narrative capacities, how these have developed over time and how they used to present the plays. Sales data of Shakespeare graphic novels is presented and analysed to reveal the target audience is the education sector which in turn drives the publisher’s promotion of the authenticity and fidelity of their editions. How authenticity is claimed and invoked in the adaptation into graphic novels is also examined. To Mum, with love and gratitude Acknowledgements My sincere thanks goes to my supervisor Professor Kathleen McLuskie. Her support and encouragement has been so important in making this thesis possible. The academic input, advice and the challenging of my work has not only assisted but made this process both intellectually rewarding and enjoyable. Thanks also to the staff at the Shakespeare Institute Library for all of their assistance. I would also like to acknowledge the illustrators, editors and publishers of the graphic novels who have been so helpful in discussing their personal experiences and providing information on the production of the graphic novels. Their creative work has formed the basis of this thesis and has been a pleasure to read and discuss. I am also grateful to Jo Cox at Nielsen Bookscan for generously providing information on the sales of graphic novels in the UK. My family in Australia have made my study possible by not only encouraging me to come to the UK but also by taking care of commitments on that side of the world. I am most grateful for their love and support. A special thank you goes to my dear friend Leanne George whose kind gift of a graphic novel of Othello started this whole project. Finally, I would like to thank Matthew Wakeman who has supported and encouraged me from the very beginning to the very end of this project. The many hours of enthusiastic discussion and the many hours of proof reading have helped enormously. I am so grateful for his kindness, consideration and companionship which have made this a very special time in my life. TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction I. Introduction 1 II. Definitions of Terms 2 III. Adaptating Shakespeare’s Plays into Graphic Novels 10 IV. Literature Review – Shakespeare in Graphic Novels 28 V. Chapter Summaries 34 Chapter 1: Shakespeare Comic Books in the 1950s 37 I. Shakespeare and Comic Books of the 1950s 37 II. Adaptating Shakespeare’s Plays into Comic Books 44 III. The Reception of Shakespeare Comic Books 55 Chapter 2: Shakespeare Graphic Novels of the 1980s 68 I. Shakespeare and the Graphic Novel 68 II. The Oval Projects Shakespeare 71 III. Stylisation and Intertextuality: Graphic Novels and the Theatre 84 IV. The Reception of Shakespeare Graphic Novels 91 Chapter 3: Shakespeare Graphic Novels in the Twenty-First Century 102 I. Classical Comics Shakespeare 102 II. Manga Shakespeare 110 III. Independent Publications 121 IV. Shakespeare’s Storytellers: Onstage and Offstage Worlds 125 V. The Reception of Shakespeare Graphic Novels in the Twenty-First Century 135 VI. Digital Comics 151 VII. Shakespeare in Interactive Motion Comics – Macbeth 157 Chapter 4: Authenticity 167 I. Adaptation, Fidelity and Authenticity 167 II. The Control-Text and Editorial Intervention 172 III. Authenticity and the Modernised Text 181 IV. Visual Presentation of the Text 187 V. Graphic Novels as Performance 197 TABLE OF CONTENTS (cont.) Chapter 5: Marketing and Sales of Shakespeare in Graphic Novels 204 I. Marketing Books 204 II. The History of Marketing Shakespeare 208 III. Marketing Shakespeare in Graphic Novels 216 IV. Sales of Shakespeare in Graphic Novels 227 V. Graphic Novels in Education 235 Chapter 6: The Comparison of Three Tempests 248 I. Scenography and Style 248 II. Postcolonial and Romantic Tempests 262 Conclusion 282 Appendix 1: Selected Chronology of Shakespeare’s Plays in 289 Graphic Novels Bibliography 292 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Introduction Figure 1: Example of Closure, McCloud, p. 66. page 17 Figure 2: SelfMadeHero, King Lear, 2009, p. 12. page 25 Figure 3: Oval Projects, Othello, 1983, p. 57. page 27 Chapter 1- Shakespeare Comic Books in the 1950s Figure 4: Famous Authors Illustrated, Hamlet, 1950, p. 12. page 41 Figure 5: Henry Irving as Macbeth; Famous Authors Illustrated Macbeth, 1950, cover; Classics Illustrated, Macbeth, 1955, cover. page 47 Figure 6: Ellen Terry as Lady Macbeth, 1889; Vivien Leigh as Lady Macbeth, 1955. page 48 Figure 7: Famous Authors Illustrated, Macbeth, 1950; Classics Illustrated, Macbeth, 1955. page 49 Figure 8: Classics Illustrated, Hamlet, 1952, p. 1. page 50 Figure 9: Lawrence Olivier, Hamlet, 1948; Famous Authors Illustrated, Hamlet, 1950, p. 15. page 51 Figure 10: Classics Illustrated, Julius Caesar, 1950, p. 4. page 52 Figure 11: Classics Illustrated, Macbeth, p. 2. page 53 Figure 12: Classics Illustrated, Macbeth, p. 12. page 54 Chapter 2 – Shakespeare Graphic Novels in the 1980s Figure 13: Oval Projects, Macbeth, 1982, p. 52. page 71 Figure 14: Oval Projects, Macbeth, 1982, p. 40. page 72 Figure 15: Oval Projects, Othello, 1982, p. 57. page 73 Figure 16: Oval Projects, Othello, 1983, p. 68. page 75 Figure 17: Zarate’s use of colour, Oval Projects, Othello, 1983, p. 85 and p. 117. page 76 Figure 18: Oval Projects, Othello, 1983, p. 17. page 77 Figure 19: Oval Projects, King Lear, 1984, p. 78. page 79 Figure 20: Oval Projects, Twelfth Night, 1984, p. 120. page 80 Figure 21: Ian Pollock’s poster for the 1982 RSC production of King Lear. page 88 Figure 22: Poster for Lane College performance of King Lear, October 2007. page 90 Figure 23: Oval Projects, Othello, 1983, p. 69. page 98 Chapter 3 – Shakespeare Graphic Novels in the Twenty-First Century Figure 24: Chorus in Classical Comics Henry V, 2007, p. 7. page 105 Figure 25: Classical Comics, Romeo and Juliet, 2009, p. 7. page 106 Figure 26: Classical Comics, Macbeth, 2008, p. 1.; Orson Welles’ Macbeth, image of witches, 1948. page 107 Figure 27: SelfMadeHero, Romeo and Juliet, 2007, p. 68. page 113 Figure 28: Wiley Press, Julius Caesar, Hyeondo Park’s illustration of Marc Antony inspired by Marlon Brando, p. 11, and Cassius inspired by Mr. Burns, p. 14. page 116 Figure 29: Gareth Hinds, King Lear, 2008, pages 36 and 37. page 122 Figure 30: Nicki Greenberg, Hamlet, 2010, p. 99. page 124 Figure 31: Backstage image from Nicki Greenberg’s Hamlet, p. 289. page 125 Figure 32: Classical Comics, The Tempest, 2009, p. 18. page 128 Figure 33: SelfMadeHero, The Tempest, 2007, p. 25. page 129 Figure 34: Classical Comics, Romeo and Juliet, 2009, p. 33. page 130 Figure 35: SelfMadeHero, Othello, 2008, p. 145. page 132 Figure 36: SelfMadeHero, Henry VIII, 2009, p. 14. page 133 Figure 37: Classical Comics, Romeo and Juliet, 2009, p. 40. page 134 Figure 38: SelfMadeHero, As You Like It, 2008, p. 32. page 143 Figure 39: SelfMadeHero, Macbeth, 2008, illustrations of Macbeth, p. 15, and Lady Macbeth, p. 50. page 145 Figure 40: Dan Carroll’s Hamlet, 2009, Act 3 Scene 4, pages 5 and 6. page 152 Chapter 4 – Authenticity Figure 41: Classical Comics, Macbeth, 2008, Original, Plain and Quick Text, p. 9. page 185 Figure 42: Classics Illustrated, Hamlet, 1952, p. 13. page 190 Figure 43: Classical Comics, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, 2011 p. 65. page 191 Figure 44: Classical Comics, The Tempest, 2009, p. 131. page 192 Chapter 5 – Marketing and Sales of Shakespeare Graphic Novels Figure 45: Classics Illustrated covers of Julius Caesar, 1950, Hamlet, 1952, and Romeo and Juliet 1956. page 217 Figure 46: Classical Comics, Henry V, 2007, covers of the three Textual versions. page 219 Figure 47: Gareth Hinds, cover of King Lear, 2008. page 220 Chapter 6 – The Comparison of three Tempests Figure 48: Classical Comics, The Tempest, 2009, p. 49. page 249 Figure 49: Classical Comics, The Tempest, 2009, Act 5 Scene 1. page 251 Figure 50: Classical Comics, The Tempest, 2009, showing human faces in he landscape, p. 74 and p. 86. page 253 Figure 51: BBC, The Tempest: The Animated Tales page 253 Figure 52: Can of Worms Press, The Tempest, 2009, p. 43. page 254 Figure 53: Can of Worms Press, The Tempest, 2009, Trinculo and Stefano, p.