The Exile: An Outlander Graphic Novel [ハードカバー]

It's really not that great eitheIt's really not that great either. Yes, I did pre-order this graphic novel, and yes, I am a fan of the Outlander series.

I prompt you, however, not to read the bad reviews (despite the fact that there are many) until you read this review.

As someone who has a great appreciation of literature and art as well, I own a vast array of novels and graphic novels. I won't consider myself an expert by any means, but I think I have a decent working knowledge of where the two differ. I agree with most reviewers that this might be blasphemy for hardcore Gabaldon fans. I am not a hardcore fan, and I decided to take Diana's endeavor with a grain of salt. She was certainly trying something new and regardless of what it was, fans were going to buy it (and they still will, more than likely).
To be honest, most of what I loved as a reader about Outlander got lost in the translation from novel to graphic novel. Unlike some, however, I feel that this was not because of the artist, but because of Diana Gabaldon's writing style: she writes in first person. It makes it a little difficult to translate that to graphic form, especially when you are taking it from someone that is outside of the relationship that is the core of her series. I felt that this was the main problem. Had the story been told from Jamie's point of view and not Murtagh's...well, I'm not saying that would have made it leaps and bounds better, but it might have helped a little.
That being said, I enjoyed the graphic novel a lot. It was light, not too heavy, did have a lot of nudity, which knowing the Gabaldon, should come as no surprise to readers. I thought the art was gorgeous; the illustrator really did a great job. I personally enjoyed the rough edge that the pictures had to them. It was not clean or polished with hard lines. It was light, airy and it went really well with the story. The art was the best part for me personally.

Do I think this was a waste of time? No. I spent a good two hours blowing through it on Tuesday night when I could have been writing a paper and I think it was worth it. I enjoyed myself and it was fun. Not earth shattering, but just fun. I think that this will be fun for you as a fan and as a reader if you allow it to be. I suggest you try not to get caught up in what your expectations of Gabaldon are, because she is not going to live up to them with this graphic novel. This is not her new 800-page novel. This is a 200-300 page graphic novel with no sweeping hills or grand descriptions of scenery or anything else.
Take it for what is actually is and not what you were wanting it to be. You will be a lot happier with the results if you just let it happen and try to have fun with it.

Would I recommend this? Sure! I already have. My mother and my older sister, and probably my aunt will all read it while on vacation in Key West. I told them it would be great to read for the plane or while sitting in the airport.

I hope that is review helps you make the decision whether or not to purchase. I think if you are looking for a Gabaldon novel, stay away from this. You will probably be disappointed and displeased with the artist's depictions of Jamie and Claire. If you want a fun, light, easy read that give you some insight to the other characters, then buy it. Like I said, not great, but I am happy that my money went to something I enjoyed and that others will enjoy as well.

I hope, I'll repost and let you know if everyone in my family hated it (I doubt they will).
r. Yes, I did pre-order this book,

The storyline in this graphic novel ("comic book" to some people) is interesting, and adds new elements previously unheard of in the Outlander series (a new character and Murtaugh-focused sub-plot). However, it's also a little choppy and disjointed.

The illustrations are beautiful and sometimes spot-on. They are, conversely, also sometimes very far off if you're familiar with the details of the series. For example, Jamie is clearly in the 5'10" area in this book, and never appears "a head above" the other men. Additionally, it's very hard to follow which man is which, as they are all portrayed almost identically.

Having said that, though, I do think it's worth reading, and as a die-hard fan, I believe it's worth owning.

One last note: Please don't review with one star just because you didn't know what a graphic novel was. That's not fair to the author or artist.

While I was not terribly familiar with graphic novels, I loved comic books well into my teens, and looked forward to The Exile. I, for one, am not disappointed. Given the constraints of the format I thought it was enjoyable -- and I loved the way Jamie and Claire were depicted by the artist. Someone wrote that Jamie looked too young and naive, seeming to forget that he was only 22 and still a virgin when he married Claire. I do agree that in some of the panels his looks changed somewhat, but usually due , IMO, to the artist attempting to convey emotion. Real people do not look the same all the time -- sometimes we look great and other times pretty darn unattractive (and I have the pictures to prove it!). The beautiful images of Claire succeeded in wiping away that horrible illustation that appeared on the cover of the first mass market edition to be released in the U.S. back in the early 90s -- the one where Claire looked like a middle aged washerwoman.

Now to the negatives: I agree that the color of Jamie's eyes didn't seem quite right, they looked too dark (Gabaldon wrote that his eyes were dark blue, but in the book they looked almost black); and the story of Kenneth was unnecessary and confusing. One of the problems with a graphic novel is that wonderful pieces of discriptive passages, with which Outlander abounds, are eliminated by the format. But I feel that Hoang Nguyen's beautiful illustrations of Scotland in many ways compensated for the lack of narration. I would like to see more of this format.