Romeo Juliet and Prince of Cats
The literature
classic Romeo and Juliet by Shakespeare has been told in different media for countless times.
It is such a high concept love story that everybody would understand it. People
from different time period and different background, would read it and analysis
it in their own unique way.
It is shocking to
see such a diligent romantic story could be portrait in such a dark stylized
way. Prince of Cats, a Brooklyn ghetto version of Romeo and Juliet, immediately
took my mind into the world it creates. I couldn’t help thinking of the
original story and the plot from the Shakespeare’s version when I was reading
Prince of Cats, however, it is almost impossible to make the connection between
both world even though the story is both about two young lover, Romeo and
Juliet. Even though both characters from the literature and graphic novel uses
“thee”, “he who” and “verily”, it seems a little unbefitting and confusing.
The Drawing from
an artist standpoint is very stylized and successful, saturated neon color with
detailed line work, which perfectly illustrates the disorderliness and violence
in the world. However reading the
original version of Romeo and Juliet, we can somehow sense the darkness
undertone of their society too, the pain of separating from your love because
of family conflicts, death of the cousin and friends, and eventually death of
the young lovers. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet brings us a glimpse of
darkness in the 1500s of Verona.
Even though both
of the story has a dark undertone to it.It would be easier to recognize them as
two completely different pieces, and try to make strong connections between
them. In my opinions, both of the versions are fascinating in their own way.
However, making the transition of adapting such well-known classic literature
into a stylized graphic novel can be difficult.
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