![]() Yes, it's one panel but it really underscores what a terrible person Griffin is, to begin with. The graphic novel includes a bit of gratuitous nudity because, of course, the maid at the inn sleeps sans clothing (in the dead of winter mind you) and leaves her door unlocked so Griffin can sneak in and ogle her while sleeping. Because, most middle school boys if you asked them what's the one thing they'd do if they became invisible was, odds are it would be sneaking into the girls' locker room. In many ways, the graphic novel The Invisible Man made me feel like how the story would be adapted as a comic book by middle school boys. There's a whole other blog post simmering in my mind about the differences between the ones created for Marvel and DC characters.but that's another post for another time. For those of you not old enough to recall, Power Records took pop-culture stories and transformed them into read-along records complete with a comic book (in some cases). In some ways, it reminded me of the Power Records of my youth. So, I decided to give that a try to see just if and how it might hold up or compare to the original text. It was while reading/listening to The Invisible Man, that I stumbled across a graphic novel adaptation of the story in my local library. But, again, he goes on a reign of terror, which kind of drains a lot of the potential sympathy for the character. I kept expecting Wells to try and make us feel something for Griffin as a bit of a tragic figure with the desperate search for a serum to reverse his condition. Flashbacks and running into an old colleague reveal that, perhaps, he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder and a persecution complex long before the serum rendered him invisible. I get the feeling that Griffin wasn't exactly a real winner even before he became invisible and allowed his id to run free. But, you know, that's a bit of a lack of planning on his part or not fully thinking through his plan. Look, I get it that he has to run around naked in order to be fully invisible and that it's winter. And he just can't quite seem to stop stealing from people or terrorizing everyone. ![]() Seems he's been thrown out of a department store of the time for staying overnight and stealing their clothes. And then, Griffin decides that because he's invisible, the laws of society don't apply to him and we'll go on a reign of terror. We finally hear the name of our titular focus (Griffin) and we get the backstory on how he became invisible. Once the Invisible Man is outed, you'd think things would pick up. (It does make me wonder if this was originally serialized similarly to the infamous "The Night Gwen Stacey Died" issue of The Amazing Spider-Man with the title appearing on the last panel to not give away the big reveal. The first quarter of the book is spent waiting for the rest of the cast to figure out that the title character is, indeed, invisible. It's not a huge reveal or surprise if the villain is mentioned right there in the title. Back to Doctor Who, it reminds me of Dalek stories from the classic series in which the word "Dalek" is part of the titles but they don't show up until the cliffhanger ending of part one. ![]() But I'm honestly not so sure.Ī large chunk of the first quarter is centered around a mysterious stranger who shows up in a small village and basically takes over an inn. And maybe the story would have worked better unfolding in weekly or monthly installments. Doing a bit of research, I found that Wells initially serialized the story, which then put into the Doctor Who frame of mind of figuring out where the cliffhangers all were. The story of a scientist who invents a serum that allows him to become invisible and then becomes a raging ball of id just never quite connected with me this time around. ![]() And immediately found myself not really looking forward to going back to it. Since it was included as part of my Audible subscription, I decided to take advantage of it and began listening. Odds are that even if you haven't read it, you're aware of the basic outline of the story thanks to multiple pop-culture retellings or uses of the character over the years.įor this year's Vintage SF Month, I decided that I'd take a look at the foundational novel in the genre and see if it holds up. The becoming invisible portion is the basis for one of the building blocks of the science-fiction genre in H.G. One of the eternal questions debated on many a playground is if you could pick one superpower, which one would it be and why? Odds are that a lot of the responses are going to be the old standards of flying, running fast, or becoming invisible. ![]()
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