A Wrinkle in Time: The Graphic Novel

L’Engle’s Newbery Medal–winning 1962 novel of good, evil, and quantum physics gets a stellar (no pun intended) graphic novel treatment from Eisner-winner Larson (Mercury). Larson’s loose, modern drawing style focuses on the characters, largely omitting backgrounds and leaving readers room to add their own imagination. Meg Murry looks every bit as gawky and uncomfortable in her own skin as she feels, and Larson also plays up Charles Wallace’s specialness and strangeness, giving him large, haunted eyes that seem to see things his other family members cannot. The b&w art, highlighted with Wedgwood blue, effectively accents the children’s sense of alienation, but limits some critical storytelling elements (like a villain’s red eyes) after Meg, Charles Wallace, and their neighbor Calvin are whisked across time and space on a mission to rescue Dr. Murry from an evil force that threatens the universe. While fans may miss L’Engle’s detailed and evocative prose, her original dialogue, combined with Larson’s deft interpretation, will remind them of their first reading, while simultaneously bringing a seminal classic to a new generation. Ages 10–up. Agent: Edward Necarsulmer IV, McIntosh & Otis. (Oct.)■