Watership Down: The Graphic Novel

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James’s thumbnails were invaluable to me. He took so much of the weight off by providing the overall positioning of shapes and elements in each panel. This allowed me to skip the mentally taxing inception phase, and go right into the artistic editorial phase where I could observe the layouts being provided and make adjustments to the panel layouts as needed. This let me focus more on getting all of the details and environments correct. I understand you traveled to the actual setting of Watership Down, where you were able to take “hundreds of reference photos.” Can you tell us about the process of integrating these references into the graphic novel? The film's director, Martin Rosen, said in a recent interview with NPR that he wasn't trying to make a film for adults, nor for children. He was making a movie for himself.

This graphic novel adaptation of Watership Down does the novel justice. It’s lovely, keeping a lot of Richard Adams’ text and condensing the story enough while still keeping the spirit of it. Just look at this art, simply beautiful and just absolutely perfect for the feel of the story, the lovely countryside that is the world of the rabbits, which at any moment can become quite a terrifying place in an eyeblink. Because I haven't read Richard Adam's classic, all impressions I state here are strictly about the graphic novel, I can't draw any comparisons between the novel and this adaptation. The film was rated G but famously scared a lot of the unsuspecting kids who saw it. In fact, just in this past year, it was re-classified as PG.

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James: I always assumed that would be part of it. When I read the novel I really appreciated the quotes, the map, and the glossary. Collectively it brought depth to the world and I’m glad we could include all three of those things. What went into the process of designing so many different rabbit characters? In conclusion, as a story about rabbits, it does stand on its own. It might be a tad too dark and bloody for what one is used to expect from anthropomorphic stories with animals one associates with harmlessness and cuteness, but that also can be a sell for audiences that like their cute a bit bloodied. Ever since, Watership Down has teetered on the cusp between children's fantasy and adult literature. The appearance this month of a graphic novel — a genre that itself appeals to both young and old — only deepens that discussion of who the story is for, and whether children's books were ever meant exclusively for children in the first place.

It seems to me an adult book, but I think older kids would adore it; it can get pretty violent and upsetting, so despite the cute bunnies, parents should be careful. It's a beautiful adaptation, and I can imagine a lovely introduction to this epic story for many, and particularly younger, readers. Despite the fustiness I detected when I first tried to read it, it turns out the story is very humanistic and even progressive. The group of rabbits are trying to escape bureaucracy and authoritarianism to create a egalitarian society of kindness, and of valuing every member no matter their eccentricities. Their kindness radically extends even to other species, and that ends up working to their advantage. Their benevolence is not a weakness, it is a strength.Watership Down: The Graphic Novel,based on the novel by Richard Adams and adapted and illustrated by James Sturm and Joe Sutphin, is a classic story of survival and friendship that follows a group of rabbits in search of a place to call home. James: I’ve heard a lot of positive reactions to the stunning art and an appreciation to how faithful the book is to the source material. I’ve also heard from many people who have told me that they’ve been meaning to read Watership Down forever; it was their dad’s favorite book or a friend recommended it. For whatever reason they never did but the graphic novel was their way in. Joe: Yes – James and I were really closely knit during his time writing the script. And James was very open and generous with what he was writing; allowing me to offer any insight or input along the way. We worked well together that way. In many ways this was better than the original—the most important things to me (relationships, dialog, action) are emphasized to great effect. I really felt like I got to know these rabbits in a way I hadn't when I was younger and struggling through such a dense book. The artwork was so beautifully conceived and executed, I loved the care that was given to each frame, with just enough detail to create depth and dynamism. At times I was still confused about who was talking, and while the rabbits all looked different, the changes were too subtle for me at the speed I was reading. Except Bigwig who was my favorite character and very recognizable. I'll probably want to read this multiple times to see all the details I missed. And just like in the original, you didn’t need any translation here to know exactly what Bigwig means when he tell Woundword to “Silflay hraka” :)