Off the Bookshelf: NORTHANGER ABBEY

Why, you may ask, am I reviewing a book that has probably been discussed to death by reviewers and literary types, ad nauseum?

Because, dear readers, this ain't your granny's Jane Austen!

Yes, this IS Jane Austen's NORTHANGER ABBEY.

But it's Marvel Comics' version. Five issues, published between 2011 and 2012. Sometimes I had to take issue with the ... umm ... caricatures of the characters. Honestly, the exaggerations of expression were funny, sometimes not even human. How dare they treat Jane Austen with such a cavalier lack of respect? But then I thought, hey, I loved "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies," so who am I to point fingers?

You can't turn a classic like a Jane Austen book into a comic book without LOVING the story -- so it wasn't lack of respect. More along the lines of "sacred cow makes good hamburger."

I'm still going to read the whole book one of these days. For now, I can honestly say I know enough about the story to want more. If you don't have the TIME to devote to a classic novel, you might want to consider the comic book version, just as an introduction.