This comic adaptation is part of a series of short comics I’ve been working on, all of them a tribute to my friend and mentor Jeanne Leiby, former editor of The Southern Review and The Florida Review, who–back in ’05, before many university-sponsored literary journals would even consider running comics–initiated the comics section at The Florida Review, and constantly defended the art form against criticism from more “traditional” writers and editors. Each comic in my series is an adaptation of a different small-press author’s work, and is an attempt to offer a quick glimpse at what can happen when the literary world and the comics world meet. So far, I’ve been able to work with Lavinia Ludlow, Ben Tanzer, and J. Bradley, and I was ridiculously excited to create an adaptation of an excerpt from Steve Himmer’s The Bee-Loud Glade (Atticus Books, 2011), a book bursting with amazing visuals (so maybe another artist will take the challenge and offer his/her own view of Himmer’s world? we can only hope…).
Click on Panel 1 and follow the links to read Nathan’s illustrations in sequence, or just enjoy the gallery.
Thanks, Nathan, and all at Atticus — this is truly an honor.
I wanted to say how much I enjoyed this comic. What a great idea to pull together two literary worlds. I’d also like to say that I find this to be very appealing from a visual standpoint. Great illustrations, wonderful writing, great all around! I love it. Well done.
Wow! What a great read! I haven’t heard of “The Bee Loud Glade” but I just bought a copy. I’d also like to say that I was so interested in Mr. Holic’s work that I checked out the 15 Views series he is a part of and I found that to be an incredible read as well! Very impressive stuff. Keep up the good work!
Ha ha! Finch would be proud: this sounds like a “15 Views” author slyly promoting the story series! (I’m surprised you didn’t make references to the amazing Second Nature plants in your home office, Kelly)
Great read!!!! Today just happens to be “Labor Day”, how ironic. The visuals were great but as I read along I found myself not really paying too much attention, the story painted a pretty clear picture on it’s own.
I really liked panels 8 and 9.
Nathan, this is damn fine work. Well done. I agree with Lori in that I love panels 8 and 9. And panel 2 was a favorite, too. The illustrations and colors perfectly complement the feeling of the piece.
Oh, and this is a damn fine story, too. So hats off to Mr. Steve Himmer as well. Great stuff all around.
This is awesome. Great work my friend!