Comics Bulletin logo
Search
  • Columns
    Random
    • The Inconsistencies

      Penny Kenny
      September 16, 2002
      Ambidextrous
    Recent
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 1

      Daniel Gehen
      October 30, 2020
    • Comictober 2020: DRACULA MOTHERF**KER

      Daniel Gehen
      October 27, 2020
    • What Looks Good
    • Comics Bulletin Soapbox
    • The Full Run
    • Leading Question
    • Top 10
    • The Long-Form
    • Jumping On
    • Comics in Color
    • Slouches Towards Comics
  • Big Two
    Random
    • Heroes in Crisis: The Identity Crisis of Today

      Penny Kenny
      June 7, 2019
      Big Two, Columns, Comics Bulletin Soapbox, DC Comics
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Stan Lee

      nguyen ly
      November 7, 2020
    • DC Comics
    • Big Two Reviews
    • Marvel Comics
  • Indie
    Random
    • Donny Cates Sinks His Teeth Into 'Redneck'

      Penny Kenny
      April 17, 2017
      Image, Indie, Interviews
    Recent
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • The Full Run: Usagi Yojimbo – The Wanderer’s Road Part 2

      Daniel Gehen
      December 4, 2020
    • 4.5

      TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      October 29, 2020
    • Reviews
    • Archie Comics
    • Boom! Studios
    • Dark Horse
    • IDW
    • Image
    • Oni Press
    • Valiant
  • Reviews
    Random
    • 4.0

      Tom Strong's Terrific Tales #4

      Penny Kenny
      September 15, 2002
      Reviews
    Recent
    • 4.5

      DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

      Daniel Gehen
      January 22, 2021
    • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

      Daniel Gehen
      December 14, 2020
    • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

      Daniel Gehen
      December 3, 2020
    • Singles Going Steady
    • Slugfest
    • Manga
      • Reviews
    • Small Press
      • Reviews
      • ICYMI
      • Tiny Pages Made of Ashes
  • Interviews
    Random
    • Amy Reeder and Brandon Montclare on Going Indie

      Penny Kenny
      July 21, 2012
      Interviews
    Recent
    • Interview: Jon Davis-Hunt Talks SHADOWMAN

      Daniel Gehen
      June 8, 2020
    • Interview: Becky Cloonan talks DARK AGNES and Her Personal Influences

      Mike Nickells
      March 4, 2020
    • Simon Roy

      Interview: Simon Roy on His Inspirations and Collaborations on PROTECTOR

      Mike Nickells
      January 29, 2020
    • Audio Interview
    • Video Interview
  • Classic Comics
    Random
    • Bringing Up Father: From Sea to Shining Sea

      Penny Kenny
      August 21, 2011
      Classic Comics Cavalcade, Columns
    Recent
    • Countdown to the King: Marvel’s Godzilla

      Daniel Gehen
      May 29, 2019
    • Honoring A Legend: Fantagraphics To Resurrect Tomi Ungerer Classics

      Daniel Gehen
      February 15, 2019
    • Reliving the Craziest Decade in Comics History: An interview with Jason Sacks

      Mark Stack
      January 2, 2019
    • Classic Comics Cavalcade
    • Classic Interviews
  • News
    Random
    • Preview: 'An Unreliable History of Tattoos' from NoBrow Press

      Penny Kenny
      March 30, 2016
      Books, News, Previews
    Recent
    • 2020 Ringo Awards Winners Announced

      Daniel Gehen
      October 26, 2020
    • BAD IDEA Announces 2021 Publishing Slate

      Daniel Gehen
      September 29, 2020
    • A Full Replay of NCSFest 2020 is now Available

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2020
    • Press Release
    • Kickstarter Spotlight
  • Books
    Random
    • Review: Barbara Yelin's 'Irmina' and the Beauty of Third Acts

      Penny Kenny
      April 27, 2016
      Books
    Recent
    • Collecting Profile: Disney Frozen

      CB Staff
      November 22, 2019
    • Collecting Profile: NFL Superpro

      CB Staff
      August 31, 2019
    • “THE BEST OF WITZEND” is a Wonderful Celebration of Artistic Freedom

      Daniel Gehen
      September 15, 2018
    • Review: ‘Machete Squad’ is a Disappointing Afghan Memoir

      Jason Sacks
      July 31, 2018
    • Review: ‘Out of Nothing’ is the Antidote to Our Sick Times

      Jason Sacks
      July 23, 2018
    • Review: ‘Bizarre Romance’ Shows Rough Edges in the Early Days of a New Marriage

      Jason Sacks
      July 10, 2018
What's New
  • Collecting Profile: If I win Powerball, I will buy Amazing Fantasy 15
  • DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)
  • Collecting Profile: Batwoman
  • Collecting Profile: Daredevil
  • Collecting Profile: Floronic Man
  • Review of Cheetah in Wonder Woman 1984
  • RSS Feed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Contact Us
  • Write for us!
  • Visit Video Game Break!
Home
Reviews

Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey

Penny Kenny
December 1, 2011
Reviews

 

Having just read and enjoyed Nancy Butler and Janet K. Lee's Jane Austen's Emma, I was more than happy to see the corner of their Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey peeping out at me from the comics section at Barnes and Noble. Though one of Austen's earlier works and not as familiar to readers as Pride & Prejudice, Northanger Abbey is still a smart story filled with wit and charm. Butler and Lee retain those characteristics, making only the subtlest and most delicate of changes in translating the prose to the graphic format. Authorial explanations and asides are given to characters to speak or think, thus preserving Austen's humor and keen sense of the ridiculous.

After a brief opening that mocks gothic romance novel conventions of the early 19th century and introduces readers to Catherine Morland, the story moves to Bath, where she is introduced into society. While sweet, Catherine is naïve and inexperienced. Though she can hold her own in a flirtation, she lacks the ability to see people as they are. Nowhere is this more evident than in her friendship with Isabella Thorpe. The two girls meet and become immediate BFFs, bonding over their love of gothic novels. However, if you read Isabella's dialog and look at her snide and insincere expressions for even a moment, you can tell she's a shallow, two-faced, opportunist. There's actually a great deal of humor to be had in watching Catherine not get what Isabella is doing. 

Other characters Catherine encounters are the boorish blowhard John Thorpe and the charming Henry Tilney. Lee captures Thrope's personality perfectly with his large head, squinched up eyes, and almost perpetual smirk. In contrast, Tilney is open-eyed and has a warm smile, though his nose does tend to change length and shape in the scene in which he's flirting with Catherine.

Lee's almost caricature style of art is well-suited for depicting the characters' expressions. It gives readers unfamiliar with Austen's prose style visual clues as to what's going on.

Though I'm no expert on early 19th century fashion, it looks as though Lee has done her research. The ladies' gowns and gentlemen's attire seem right for the era, as do the buildings and interiors. Austen herself didn't include much description in her novels, so Lee must have done some digging.

Nick Filardi's colors are subdued without being dull. They enhance the drawings, not overpower them. He's especially good at creating a luminescent glow of early morning sunlight.

Nothing suits a heroine better than a glowing background.

Let's be honest. Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey #1 isn't going to appeal to everyone, but it's a well done issue that deserves to find an audience. As the gothic romances it's mocking are the grandmothers of today's paranormal romance series, it's a timely read. I'd recommend it without reservation to fans of Jane Austen's books and teenagers (and older readers!) with a sense of humor who are over their Twilight phase.


 

For the past 13 years, Penny Kenny has been an elementary library paraprofessional in a rural school district. For the seven years prior to that, she headed a reading-math program designed to help first grade students with learning difficulties. Her book reviews regularly appeared in Starlog from 1993 to the magazine's unfortunate demise in 2009 and she has published several e-novellas under a pen name. She has been a reviewer with Comics Bulletin since 2007.

Jane Austen's Northanger AbbeyJanet K. LeeJeff EckleberryMarvelNancy ButlerNick FilardiPenny Kenny

Share On:
Tweet
Justice League Dark #3
Doctor Who Complete 6th Series DVD Review

About The Author

Penny Kenny
Penny Kenny

For the past thirteen years, Penny Kenny has been an elementary library paraprofessional in a rural school district. For the seven years prior to that, she headed a reading-math program designed to help first grade students with learning difficulties. Her book reviews regularly appeared in Starlog from 1993 to the magazine’s unfortunate demise in 2009 and she has published several e-novellas under a pen name. She has been a reviewer with Comics Bulletin since 2007.

Related Posts

  • Collecting Profile: Daredevil

    nguyen ly
    January 9, 2021
  • Collecting Profile: Fantastic Four

    nguyen ly
    November 21, 2020

Latest Reviews

  • 4.5

    DCeased: Dead Planet #7 Presents a Hopeful Future (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    January 22, 2021
  • Review: The Loneliness of the Long-Distance Cartoonist

    Daniel Gehen
    December 14, 2020
  • Retro Review: Detective Comics #826 Remains a Holiday Classic

    Daniel Gehen
    December 3, 2020
  • 4.5

    TMNT: The Last Ronin #1 Lives Up to the Hype (Review)

    Daniel Gehen
    October 29, 2020
  • 4.5

    Micro Review: Commanders in Crisis #1

    Jason Jeffords Jr.
    October 12, 2020
  • 3.0

    Review: GHOST WRITER Fights the Spectre of Unevenness

    Daniel Gehen
    September 3, 2020
  • 3.5

    Review: Strange Skies Over East Berlin

    Yavi Mohan
    August 11, 2020
  • DRAWING BLOOD: A Hyper-Stylized, Fictional Autobiography

    Ben Bishop, Brittany Peer, David Avallone, Drawing Blood, Kevin Eastman, Tomi Varga
    August 9, 2020
  • 3.0

    Alien: The Original Script #1 – This One’s For The Fans

    Jason Jeffords Jr.
    August 7, 2020
  • Singles Going Steady: Why? Lettering!

    Daniel Gehen
    July 28, 2020
RSSTwitterFacebookgoogleplusinstagramtumblr

Comics Bulletin is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for website owners to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com, audible.com, and any other website that may be affiliated with Amazon Service LLC Associates Program. As an Amazon Associate, Comics Bulletin earns from qualifying purchases.

All content on this site (c) 2018 The Respective Copyright Holders