3 stars
A dark coming-of-age story featuring a manipulative main character and a troll set on eating his life. Weaving together fairy tale themes, the punk scene, and the hauntings of fear and regret, Gaiman creates a memorable tale of coming to turns with life.
Good fit for those who enjoy the odd side of Gaiman. This one was heavy of the creepy, weird, and dark.
Overall, I enjoyed the story. My main issue was the graphic adaptation itself. I thought the story itself was fine. Not my favorite, but it certainly was interesting and took some creative turns. However, since it was originally published as a short story, the illustrations didn’t quite mesh with the narration for me.
On my first reading, I found myself focusing on the words more than the pictures. Doran’s art style was lovely and detailed, and perfectly meshed with the Gaiman aesthetic by the end, but it didn’t feel necessary. It was more of an illustrated story than a graphic novel whose words and pictures worked together to get its message across. While the art was great, it didn’t really add much to the story.
A nice edition of the book for those who’ve already read and enjoyed “Troll Bridge”. For me, the illustrations just served as distraction from the story itself. I re-read it a second time and focused mostly on the words and enjoyed it more than my first go-through trying to take in both at once. On my third go-through I focused only on the illustrations. The artwork and story feel like two separate parts and it was hard for me personally to enjoy them together.
Note: despite the aesthetic of the cover, this is not a children’s graphic novel. There are some pretty heavy adult themes throughout. Works best for adults and the YA crowd.