Review: Snow White: A Graphic Novel by Matt Phelan

Title: Snow White: A Graphic Novel

Author: Matt Phelan

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Publishing Date: September 13th, 2016

Pages: 216

Genre: Young Adult Graphic Novel

Series: Standalone

Source: ARC Book

Award-winning graphic novelist Matt Phelan delivers a darkly stylized noir Snow White set against the backdrop of Depression-era Manhattan.
The scene: New York City, 1928. The dazzling lights cast shadows that grow ever darker as the glitzy prosperity of the Roaring Twenties screeches to a halt. Enter a cast of familiar characters: a young girl, Samantha White, returning after being sent away by her cruel stepmother, the Queen of the Follies, years earlier; her father, the King of Wall Street, who survives the stock market crash only to suffer a strange and sudden death; seven street urchins, brave protectors for a girl as pure as snow; and a mysterious stock ticker that holds the stepmother in its thrall, churning out ticker tape imprinted with the wicked words "Another . . . More Beautiful . . . KILL." In a moody, cinematic new telling of a beloved fairy tale, extraordinary graphic novelist Matt Phelan captures the essence of classic film noir on the page—and draws a striking distinction between good and evil.

Snow White: A Graphic Novel is a Snow White retelling set in the 1920's

What made me pick this book up: 

I found it at BEA. The cover said Snow White and I love anything fairytale. I didn't know it was a graphic novel when I picked it up.

What did I like about the cover: 

I actually really like it. Very minimalist. I love the color, the apple- which of course screams snow white, and I love the lettering.

What made me read this book: 

Well, it's Snow White, I was also looking for a quick read to read between my larger books. I also happen to love graphic novels.

What did I like the most: 

I absolutely love the idea of a 1920's Snow White. It's given me ideas for my own book. I also love the dwarves being little boys.

What didn't I like: 

I think because my copy is an ARC and was in black and white, so it was a little less interesting to me. I feel like it was almost too fast of a book. I finished it in less than 15 minutes. There was barely any story to it at all. I would think it's just a waste of money to buy it.

Would I read the rest of the series/more from this author?
I noticed he writes children's books as well, I think I'd check those out more than any more graphic novels by him.

Since it only took me 15 minutes and was free, it wasn't really a waste of time. But I was really disappointed. 2 stars only because of the uniqueness of it.

Matt Phelan made his illustrating debut with Betty G. Birney’s The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster). Since then he has illustrated many picture books and novels for young readers, including Where I Live by Eileen Spinelli (Dial), Very Hairy Bear by Alice Schertle (Harcourt), and The Higher Power of Lucky by Susan Patron (Simon & Schuster) winner of the 2007 Newbery Medal.
Matt studied film and theater in college with the goal of one day writing and directing movies. But his first love was always drawing, and the more he saw the wonderful world of children’s books, the more he realized that this was the place for him. Being an illustrator is in many ways like being an actor, director, cinematographer, costumer, and set designer rolled into one.
Matt writes: “I have a fascination with the decade of the 1930s. The movies were learning to talk (and in the case of King Kong, growl), the music was beginning to swing, and the nation was thrown into tremendous turmoil. On one hand, you see a level of suffering documented in the dramatic and gritty photography of Dorothea Lange and Walker Evans. On the other hand, consider what the American public was flocking to see in the movie theaters: the glamour and grace of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers dancing in a series of perfect musicals. For my first book as both writer and illustrator (coming in 2009 by Candlewick Press), I naturally gravitated to this complex decade, specifically the strange world of the Dust Bowl.”