Ian Pollack's Illustrated King Lear

by Ian Pollack (Illustrator), William Shakespeare

As flies are to wanton boys, so are we to th' they kill us for their sports, howls King Lear. In artist Ian Pollock's surreal interpretation of Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the abstract wail of "the unaccomodated man" is dramatized in subtle shadings of the old king's anguish.

Every line of dialogue is preserved, and every scene is illustrated in full-color panels arranged on the page in comic book format. As Lear loses his crown, his daughters, his youth, and his dignity, Pollack's paintings keep pace, raising the tension to the level of live performance, and making the nuances of speech and action vividly clear. Pollack's rendition of King Lear is an invaluable aid to both veteran and potential Shakespeare readers.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Fiction, Comics, Classics

140 pages, Paperback

Published January 4, 1984

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have come into possession of this graphic novel version of King Lear well over twenty years ago—before graphic novels were “in vogue” and before, much to my dismay, manga was translated into English. Even before then, I was deeply drawn to the story of King Lear and over the years, I find myself returning to it, often during dark times. Pollock’s illustrations are a perfect visual accompaniment to the darkness, depravity, and madness of the [complete and unabridged] tale. I believe this has been out of print for some time, but I’d highly suggest looking into digging up a copy or for Workman to issue a reprint.

[Julia the Wizard · Rating 4 out of 5]

May I first say that I love how everyone on goodreads seems to have happened upon this by happy accident. Me as well, I was trying to keep myself awake at a christmas party recently and found this bad boy laying around a storage area at someone else's house, they let me borrow it to finish. I love this art style so much. Grimey and surreal while still being colorful and readable. You should look up his website if you get a minute. Onto the actual play. The premise goes like this: what if the King of England was dying of old age and then everything imaginable relating to the Royal succession went wrong. And I do mean EVERYTHING. The tragedy here comes from the fact that this entire catastrophe could’ve been easily avoided if 1 or 2 people made a better choice. But that’s the thing hindsight is 20/20 can you honestly say you would’ve done better? Ok maybe, this is very high drama but you get what I’m saying. The women were handled badly but this is centuries old. I'm honestly surprised it’s not worse. Edgar and the fool are the absolute best and you can not convince me otherwise. If it seems like i'm being vague here it’s because I want to award you the opportunity to go into this relatively blind like I did. Dont worry too much about the language, the way it’s written makes it so that you can see what’s going on even if you don't understand every word. The visuals of this version also help.

[John · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had this forever, but my son found it on the shelf today and then spent quite a while looking at the illustrations, and then made me read him the fool/Lear scenes. I can see why he was drawn to it...I had forgotten that I even had it, so I didn't remember it too well, but man, the illustrations are so creepy and awesome. They are really affecting. They kind of remind me of the Scary Stories to tell in the Dark illustrations, in that they are disconcerting but it isn't always immediately apparent WHY they are so disconcerting. Just creepy as hell. And very helpful in understanding Lear. I remember when I got this and read it as a younger person, it was the first time I felt like I understood Lear (the play as a whole). You can't understand Shakespeare plays by reading them, you have to see them performed - and if you can't, something like this is the next best thing.

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's not my favorite adaptation, Pollack's artwork being too wild at times for my tastes, but I'd have to say that if you had to read this for school (or your child had to read it for school) it would definitely be more engaging and entertaining than the words on the page. As it's the entire text of the play, nothing left off, you get the full text and you get a bit of acting out of the words so that comprehension is aided.

All in all though, one of my favorite plays.

[M.Maka · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very interesting plot, but the vocabulary is very advanced

[Laura C · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great plot but not a huge fan of Shakespearian prose or the illustrations

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

I know it’s a style of art but I’m not a fan of the artistry style. I find it more distracting and I’m not able to focus on the story.

[rr]

This is my favorite Lear. Pollock's surreal illustrations unhinge the play from representational plausibility. Both Shakespeare and Pollock ask the audience to buy into a new--looser and stranger, both more attenuated and more intense--set of physical and psychological rules. Pollock has found a way to match Shakespeare's words with images whose strength is particular to their medium. He has found a way to make a graphic novel Shakespeare that isn't a gimmick or an aid but rather an interpretation.

[jeffrey jorgensen · Rating 3 out of 5]

i cant say much about this cause i cant really remember. i should go and read this again, i remember it being really great

[MBC · Rating 4 out of 5]

The illustrations add so much to the reading experience of this play. I really enjoyed it!