Christian De Meter adapts Lehane's sHuTtEr iSLaNd

As a comic book fan and Thriller reader, I was blown-away by last years ‘THE HUNTER’ a graphic novel adaptation by Darwyn Cooke and the late Donald Westlake based on Richard Stark’s novel of the same name, and the one that introduced the iconic Parker.

Now Geoff Boucher at the LA Times provides a review for the long awaited graphic novel adaptation of Dennis Lehane’s incredible Shutter Island from Christian De Metter -

The graphic novel is religiously (and gruesomely) faithful to Lehane’s novel and with good reason — it would be hard to tamper with the circuitry of such a meticulously crafted mystery. The visual demands and page-count realities of the new medium required some tough choices, but De Metter has handled them deftly. The plot of the original novel was purposely confounding in certain dark corners and here those shadowy places are ambiguous in a different but still satisfying way. The climatic sequences of the book in its original form possessed a powerful and satisfying click as they fell into place and, under De Metter's watch, the dread and revelation remain intact.

The story, set in 1954, presents a U.S. marshal and widower named Teddy Daniels who, with his new partner, is dispatched to an island with one dominant landmark: Ashecliffe Hospital, a fortress-like mental institution that is missing one of its mass murderers. A hurricane hits and the entire island becomes a wind-lashed prison where the simple case of an escapee deepens into a surreal puzzle. Daniels, who arrived on Shutter Island with his own inner demons, soon wonders what is real and who can be trusted.

Like Darwyn Cooke’s retro-crime masterpiece “The Hunter,” which was the best graphic novel of 2009, “Shutter Island” finds that less is more when it comes to the color palette; crime and punishment, it seems, are best presented in shades of iodine yellow and drowning-victim blue. There are only a few slashes of bright colors in the 128-page “Shutter” graphic novel and they are carefully placed to deepen the dream-time quality of Lehane’s carefully constructed nightmare.

Read Geoff Boucher’s review at the L A Times Here

As a fan of Lehane’s gothic masterpiece I just ordered it from Amazon and been advised the sucker is en route to my door.

The LA Times also features Dennis Lehane speaking about his reaction to the newly released graphic novel version of sHuTtEr iSLaNd -

You can watch the Dennis Lehane video at the LA Times - Here

So with the Shutter Island Film coming shortly, and now this graphic novel – I am very excited as sHuTteR iSLaNd is one of my all time favourite novels – period! and it's a period peice to boot.

Read More here from Brand X and the L A Times [via Tokyo Pop] who premiered the Dennis Lehane video - Thanks Guys