I have not had particularly good luck with graphic novels. Of course, I can count on one hand how many I have read. There's just something about large swaths of art work combined with words that distracts me (and yes, I have a similar reaction to books with glossy picture sections in the middle but for some reason, I still love those in ways that I don't love graphic novels). This is not easy to admit in a household overrun with comics thanks to D. and all three of the kids. Maybe I just really want to be able to create whatever paltry picture I can in my head without interference. I don't know. But in any case, I had already determined to give graphic novels another shot this year. And I was waffling between French Milk, which has gotten really good reviews, or the graphic Pride and Prejudice, which is a take on my favorite book ever. But I hadn't committed yet (and in the case of P&P this could be a good thing because while I am no purist, I do have very set conceptions and it would be easy for a book to fail spectacularly to live up to these). And I'm glad I hadn't committed because it now appears that the graphic novel from Diana Gabaldon, called The Exile, and which retells Outlander from Jamie's (swoon) perspective, has an on-sale date of late September of this year. I might just have to get myself a copy. Or maybe I can convince D. to buy it for me (so it doesn't count against *my* monthly book budget), gleeful that he might finally be one step closer to converting me to his "picture books."Check out Diana Gabaldon's blog for some sample pages and artwork from the upcoming book.
I tried one of this author's books once -- I think it was the first in this series. I just couldn't get into it. Many people seem passionate about them, though, and the graphic novel adaptation sounds cool!
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