Graphic Novel Illustrated by Lalit Kumar Singh

In my slow, meandering pursuit of great graphic novels, I happened upon this series called “Campfire Classics” out of New Delhi, India. Their mission:

“To entertain and educate young minds by creating unique illustrated books to recount stories of human values, to arouse curiosity in the world around us, and to inspire by tales of great deeds of unforgettable people.”

This being my first taste of a Campfire Classic, I wasn’t sure what to expect. As I read through this retelling of Herman Melville’s epic novel, though, I was thoroughly pleased with their handling of it, both in the paraphrasing and in the artwork.

Now I’ve admittedly never read the actual classic novel, so I may be shooting myself in the foot here by saying that I enjoyed Lance Stahlberg’s adaptation. It certainly would be easier for me to judge the value of the adaptation based on personal experience with the original, as I’ve done, for example, in comparing Kurt Vonnegut‘s Slaughterhouse Five (1969) with the graphic novel by Ryan North and Albert Monteys (2020), or Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness (1899) with the graphic novel by Peter Kruper (2020).

Each new artist brings to the table his or her own personality when adapting a novel to this secondary, more visual medium, and these new styles often add a whole new layer of understanding to the original text, as it’s filtered and then retold through the artist’s own interpretation. When thinking in these terms, Ari Folmen’s Anne Frank’s Diary (2018) was as exciting and transformative to me as was the original book, The Diary of Anne Frank. It’s the same story, powerfully told in each, yet with such vastly different approaches that it was like reading two completely different stories. I loved them both!

With that in mind, I feel like Lance Stahlberg did a find job in paring this massive novel down into the most essential bite-sized chunks, small enough for even a careful reader to finish in an hour or so. I was happy to learn a few more details about the novel’s plot that I hadn’t been aware of before, and it was an entertaining read. I’d just recently finished reading R.C. Sproul: A Life by Stephen J. Nichols (2021) and in that biography learned that Sproul had written about the theological underpinnings of Moby Dick in his graduate work, and that it remained a constant fascination for him throughout his life. In fact, you’d do well to read his article, “The Unholy Pursuit of God in Moby Dick.” It’s an instructive perspective!

I also enjoyed the artwork in this edition of Moby Dick. The panels and layout were varied enough to maintain interest, and Lalit Kumar Singh’s use of space and angles really allowed for a unique perspective aboard the Pequod. I tip my hat to anyone willing to use their artistic talents in this way, so it’s hard to find fault with any graphic retelling of a novel. The only thing I might say is that the characters are all so masculine that they generally look alike, separated only by hair and the occasional odd facial feature. It was hard to tell who was talking, unless the characters were named (which they often were), so a bit more imagination in their characterizations would have been helpful.

All in all, I loved this short adaptation of a classic American novel. The whaling facts in the back of the book were super helpful and educational, and added that extra touch that would make a teacher or parent happy. I will definitely keep my eyes open for more titles from Campfire Classics. They’ve got a great list in the back pages of my paperback copy, and some look really exciting—especially Conquering Everest.

©2023 E.T.