Small Gods graphic novel

[The Mad Collector]

Well this arrived yesterday afternoon and if I had seen it first I wouldn't have let this in the house. The 'illustrations' appear to have been done by a 4 year old having a bad day at nursery school and as for the text it is such infantile rubbish it makes the whole book unreadable. Whoever thought they could do a better job at writing than Terry was clearly delusional. I haven't gone far and frankly won't read any more of it but I will illustrate what has been done with the following extract from the conversation between Lu-Tze and the Abbot right at the beginning of the book.

The 493rd Abbot folded his wrinkled hands and addressed Lu-Tze, one of his most senior monks. The clear air and untroubled life of the secret valley was such that all the monks were senior; besides, when you work with Time every day, some of it tends to rub off.
"The place is Omnia," said the abbot, "on the Klatchian coast."
"I remember," said Lu-Tze. "Young fellow called Ossory, wasn't there?"
"Things must be . . . carefully observed," said the abbot. "There are pressures. Free will, predestination . . . the power of symbols . . . turning-point . . . you know all about this."
"Haven't been to Omnia for, oh, must be seven hundred years," said Lu-Tze. "Dry place. Shouldn't think there's a ton of good soil in the whole country, either."
"Off you go, then," said the abbot.
"I shall take my mountains," said Lu-Tze. "The climate will be good for them."
And he also took his broom and his sleeping mat. The history monks don't go in for possessions. They find most things wear out in a century or two.

As you can see there is plenty of dialogue in this section so adapting it shouldn't be a problem however this becomes

{picture - monk in entrance to large room, another person drinking from a cup}
Monk "Yoohoo! Grand Abbot? Cooeee!"
Abbot "Sip"
{picture - monk drawn 4 times making and lighting a rollup cigarette}
Monk "COUGH! AHEM! COUGH!
{picture - monk bowing}
Abbot "Ah, Lu-Tze"
Monk "Wotcha, your Veneraboleishness. You sent for me?"
{picture - Abbot talking to L-Tze}
Abbot "I am sending you to Omnia, on the Klatchian coast"
Lu-Tze "Haven't been there since the business with that Ossory fella, what, 700 years back"
{picture - close up of Abbot and odd drawing of map of the Disc}
Abbot "The Prophet ossory Assignment was 696 years ago. Now, there are some very tense pressures at work, free will and predestination are colliding. Much todo about the power of symbols. The situation must be observed very . . . carefully"
{picture - close up of Lu-Tze}
Lu-Tze "I shall take my broom of course and my bonsai mountains. The climate will be good for them"
{picture - back view of Abbot, Lu-Tze leaving"
Abott "God speed to you"
Lu-Tze "Which God did you have in mind? One of the zippier sort with wings on their sandals, I should hope"

Yoohoo, Cooeee! where does that come from? Or the cigarette or use of 'fella', also that last bit about god speed, the Abbot wouldn't have said anything like that. The lowercase ossory and the invented word todo are straight from the text not spelling mistakes on my part by the way. Has the adapter actually read the book or any of Terry's other works featuring these characters?

Flicking through the entire book continues in this dumbed down style with very odd illustrations, Death's eyes are apparently fitted with blue torches that shine about 6 inches out of his sockets for example.

 

[Tonyblack]

A picture only paints a thousand words if the picture is well illustrated.

Small Gods is still my favourite Discworld book, yet I have absolutely no interest in this version. Terry's words paint better pictures - I don't need to see them badly drawn and cut to pieces.

 

[The Mad Collector]

It's so bad I sent it back and got a refund, with the reason that I would never have bought it if I had seen it first

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I'm just going to keep it but I agree with Mad, it could have been a bit better the printing style is not that clear and not in the same class as the other four graphic ones.

 

[phalarope]

I didn't bother with this one because I was already familiar with the artist's style. He was tapped to do shirts for NADWCon in Baltimore; the one practically in my backyard and for which I wish I could have bought every piece of swag available. Imagine my horror when I saw what was on offer. Sadly, I find his work infantile and unattractive, and like Mad, won't have it in the house, much less adorning my body. Tastes vary, though, and I'm sure there are some people who like the illustrations. The real travesty is the ruination of the text.

 

[RathDarkblade]

Oh no. It appears that this book is an unmitigated piece of utter codswallop? And I was so looking forward to it, too.

It's not as if I get everything that has Terry's name on it. I passed on some of the more juvenile books, for instance, as well as "The World of Poo".

Oh well... yes, "Yoohoo" and "Cooeee" are two things that Lu-Tze would never, never say. Ever.

 

[The Mad Collector]

Oh no. It appears that this book is an unmitigated piece of utter codswallop?

That's one way of putting it, my actual thoughts on the book are not suitable for a forum where there may be readers who are children. Actually that's not true, they are not suitable for a forum where there may be readers.

 

[Mixa]

Oh my goodness… The Mad Collector is NOT collecting a book with the name PRATCHETT on the cover? We’re doomed! Run for your lives!!! :scared-shocked:

Ok, now seriously, I simply can’t believe they did such an awful work! :doh: The first thing I thought was… “Oh, what a shame! Rath was so looking forward to it!” XD

Mx

 

[Penfold]

Is it worth mentioning to Colin or Rob at the convention, Mad, in case they are unaware of what is being perpetrated in Terry's name?

 

[The Mad Collector]

It wouldn't get published without their approval Penners

 

[Penfold]

I would have thought that, especially for the go ahead for it to be drawn and written in the first place but would they have taken personal control of the end product? (I have to confess to not knowing how these things work but I doubt that Colin has the time to proof read the final copy of every book his authors write.)

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I would have thought that, especially for the go ahead for it to be drawn and written in the first place but would they have taken personal control of the end product? (I have to confess to not knowing how these things work but I doubt that Colin has the time to proof read the final copy of every book his authors write.)

Penners it was retweeted on Twitter

Terryandrob Retweeted

Forbidden planet! London! 4:00! I will be drawing tortoises in the book @terryandrob let me muck about with! #smallgodsgraphicnovel

 

[Brodgar]

My copy arrived yesterday. In a way I'm glad my reaction is the same as the general reaction here and it's not a case of me simply not being attuned to the wider/extra-Pratchett universe. On the other hand, I wish I'd read this thread before buying the thing. It is bloody awful. I could live with the mundane, repetitive 'artwork' if the adaptation was any good but it's the adaptation that's most offensive. I'm just too lazy to send it back. I'm currently re-reading Small Gods as well, so the comparison with the novel is emphasised.

 

[Dotsie]

I'm taking it off my wishlist. Thanks for the heads up

 

[Sister Jennifer]

Why is it like that I wonder?

I honestly think some people don't get why Sir Terry is brilliant, no matter how hard they try.

I am put off by the artwork, which is a shame. I don't like that dialogue at all

 

[Who's Wee Dug]

I was chatting to him at the DWCon he did say that it may no be what people was expecting, I think that was an acknowledgment of the criticism he may have been referring to regarding the book.

 

[Anonymous]

I didn't read it yet, but it is at my must-read list