Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan

Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Hardcover, 216 pages
Published September 13th 2016 by Candlewick Press
Source: egalley via netgalley

Oh so very beautiful! It is dark, sad and morose but with a fairytale ending. Matt Phelan is hit or miss with me so I'm never sure going in with one of his books but this one is extraordinary. I always love his watercolour art and this is exquisite. It is all dark black/white/greys which suits the 1930s atmosphere and the dark plot. Bits of red are used now and then for such things as Snow's lips,the pig's heart and the poisoned apple. At the end of the book, it turns to full colour for the fairytale ending. Phelan sets this realistic adaptation in the 1930s and it is amazing how he has kept all the plot points of the original tale by only slightly tweaking them. Snow's stepmother hires an assassin to kill her, the man returns with the pig's heart, a ticker tape gives the stepmother the information the mirror does in the original yet the mirror is included in a room full of mirrors that she likes to spend time admiring herself in. The Seven are a gang of street kids that Snow stays with whilst hiding from her stepmother and the story continues on with the apple and the awakening kiss. Fantastic adaptation which I read very fast and caused emotion in me. Recommended for older children because of the dark themes.