When it comes to the Great American Novel, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more quintessential pick than Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage. The book's unflinching depiction of a soldier's life during the Civil War made it unique in the literary world upon release, and it also makes it a natural fit to be adapted into a graphic novel. Abrams ComicArts has done just that.
Ahead of its May release, IGN can exclusively debut a new preview of The Red Badge of Courage. Get a closer look in the slideshow gallery below:
The Red Badge of Courage is adapted from Crane's original prose by writer/artist Steve Cuzor. Here's Abrams' official description of the graphic novel:
Written by Stephen Crane when he was just 24, The Red Badge of Courage is a Civil War story that captured the imaginations of readers worldwide and made its author an overnight literary icon. Now artist Steve Cuzor and Abrams ComicArts are publishing a powerful graphic novel adaptation of the classic and genre-defining war novel. Cuzor’s stark yet detailed artwork in The Red Badge of Courage perfectly captures the realistic prose of the original novel, presenting a lushly illustrated, unflinching depiction of war through the eyes of a young, inexperienced soldier.
A groundbreaking and realistic examination of the psychological effects of war, The Red Badge of Courage draws from firsthand accounts and research and has been continuously in print since its publication in 1894. Crane’s depiction of his main character, Henry Fleming, and his internal monologue, ring so true that many readers mistook Crane for a veteran himself. The realistic prose and visceral descriptions of battle that Crane used marked the first shift away from uncritical patriotism in war literature. It would take until at least the 1920s and the wake of the horror of the First World War for the rest of the genre to catch up. In the years following its publication, The Red Badge of Courage was hailed by Crane scholar Henry Wertheim as “unquestionably the most realistic novel about the American Civil War,” while Ernest Hemingway called the novel an “American classic.”
“By illustrating Crane’s classic story, Cuzor pulls readers into the midst of the action, making Henry Fleming’s experience feel all the more visceral,” said Abrams ComicArts' Publisher Joseph Montagne in a statement. “Literary aficionados and students alike will find another layer of this classic story to appreciate in this new adaptation of Crane’s magnum opus.”
The Red Badge of Courage will be released in bookstores on Tuesday, May 13 and in comic shops on Wednesday, May 14. You can preorder a copy on Amazon.
In other comic book news, iconic TMNT villain Shredder is getting his own solo series, and we've got an exclusive look inside the new Heavy Metal series.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
