God is Change Visualized: A Review of Parable of the Sower: A Graphic Novel Adaptation

Parable of the Sower by Damian Duffy
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Earlier this year, I read Octavia E. Butler's Parable of the Sower and was completely fascinated by this tale of a society that it is beginning to collapse. What struck me even more was how closely it resembled our current times, despite the fact that Ms. Butler wrote this book back in the early 1990s (Check out my review of Parable of the Sower). So, when I learned that this book was being adapted into a graphic novel by the same team that had created Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation, I jumped at the chance. And, like that previous adaptation, I was not disappointed.

Damian Duffy and team don't try to reinvent the wheel with this adaptation. Indeed, with the exception of a few minor changes, they stick pretty close to the original story. So, if you have already read Parable of the Sower, you already know what to expect in terms of plot. What is truly joyous to discover in this book is the artwork and how the team integrates and visualizes Ms. Butler's tale. Like their previous adaptation, the team favors a more blocky artwork with dark colors and harsh lines to represent this world falling into chaos. The liberal use of reds, oranges, and black colors works very well to show how the fires, which are both a prevalent threat to the characters and a constant theme in this book, seem to define life in this world. The team also does a good job of pointing out who is who as there are a lot of characters to keep track. Like Kindred, this is a wonderful adaptation of a modern classic.

That said, at times the color palette gets so dark that it is difficult to make out what is going on, especially as events turn violent. This may be a good thing for younger readers, but it does obscure the violence and madness that is prevalent throughout this world. Also, while the team uses text boxes to point out the many different characters, it can still be hard to track who is who as some characters tend to look similar. That said, the most important characters are distinctive enough that it is okay that some of the minor characters tend to look alike.

Whether you have read Parable of the Sower or not, this is an excellent graphic adaptation that lovers of sci-fi, graphic novels, or the works of Octavia Butler should not miss. I would give this a 4.5 out of 5 stars if Goodreads allowed it and I highly recommend this book to anyone who is a fan of the three categories I mentioned.


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