Manga- A New Experience

First off, my roommate who reads manga informed me that this book was not manga, but a graphic novel.  Does anyone else have an opinion on this matter?

Reading this version of Hamlet was interesting.  I really liked how there was a visual representation of the action of the play.  This helped to keep the characters straight and to better understand the action.  One thing that I really appreciated was that even in black and white, the intended mood of the art came through strongly.    This obviously is not the only way to approach Shakespeare, but I feel that this would be an especially good way to engage middle school age students in his work.  In addition to Hamlet, other Shakespearean plays have been transformed through this publishing company.  I would be interested in looking how other plays are taken to comic form.

On page 137-138, Laertes learns of Ophelia's drowning.  I really liked how on just two pages, they described and showed her death.  It was beautifully accomplished.  The first page shows Ophelia falling to the waters of her death, and the second page shows her sinking towards the plants at the bottom of the ocean.  The tragedy of her death is very well communicated.  Were there any spots in your graphic novel that you felt helped you to understand the scene better than before?