DUNE: The Graphic Novel - Books I, II, III (2020-24)

DUNE: The Graphic Novel - Books I, II, III

Adapted from Frank Herbert's original novel by hack authors Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson | Illustrator: Raúl Allén | Colourist: Patricia Martín | Page Count: 180 / 179 / 204

'He must find something that will inspire him.'

A three-part comicbook adaptation of Frank Herbert's first DUNE novel. My original plan was to give each part of the trilogy its own post, but my feelings about each one are largely the same, so I've combined them into one post. It'll be shorter and mean less repetition.

I won't give a synopsis because I've did that at least once before. I'll concentrate on the adaptation itself, which is variable but mostly not very good.

01. Book 1: DUNE (2020) is the worst of the three volumes, in both its writing and its art, but the early part of Frank's novel is at its weakest there, too, so I trudged on through, page after boring page, in the hope that things would get better once [spoiler] entered the open desert. I'm saddened to say that they rarely do.

Special adherence to the original text was of course necessary, and sure enough the important scenes are there, but there's no life to them. The words are flat. There's very little feeling of forward motion. It's like a room with no furniture and no movement in the air. It's stagnant. A pond with no ripples for sunlight to dance upon.

There are a few interesting details in the artwork (e.g., a panel with a young Paul in the background, playing with a kite in the shape of the Atreides emblem, showing how even in play the motifs of duty and honour are found, and later we see the notable desert mouse witness Paul's awakening to the knowledge of his own power) but the majority of it lacks spark, too.

The simplistic colouring also fails to excite, particularly backgrounds which are often a single block of colour with no feeling of depth, and consequently very little distinct personality. [1]

Text boxes are uniquely coloured to reflect the person to whom they apply; e.g., Paul's thoughts are presented in a green box with white text, whereas his mother's are inside an orange box with white text, etc. It's a technique that comicbook fans will be familiar with, and it's one that newcomers to the format will likely appreciate. The only downside is that DUNE has a large cast of characters and thus required many different colours. The dark ones are fine, but some, such as white text on a yellow background, can be difficult to read, especially on paper.

People who are new not just to the comicbook format but to DUNE as a whole will struggle in other ways, seeing as there's no glossary of terms to look up and the authors fail to fully explain in-universe terms in a satisfactory way. Kwisatz Haderach? Gom jabbar? Mentat? Fedaykin?

Now is a good time to state that I strongly advise against choosing the adaptation as your first experience of Frank's DUNE universe and its many characters. If you've not read the original novels, perhaps because of the daunting page count, then the comicbook may seem like a more accessible alternative, but it's a mere shadow of the real thing. The adaptation is watered-down DUNE. It's a piss-weak Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson retelling of Frank's intrigue-filled vision. Many of the intricacies — the very things that make DUNE so appealing and are, fundamentally, why it's so enduring — are completely excised to fit the reduced page count.

02. Book 2: Muad’Dib (2022) is better than Book I, as is the part of the story that it adapts in the original novel. Things pick up when Jamis issues his challenge to Paul. The scene has some actual conflict and strong emotion. The Water of Life (spice agony) scene also stands out, due to better background fills and a more elevated and confident use of colour.

03. Book 3: The Prophet (2024) is the best of the three books. Alia's portrayal is better than I expected it to be, and the recap near the start has some genuine personality, in that it breaks away from traditional panelling and dares to try something more artistic and symbolic.

One thing in particular bothered me, though. I don't know if it was a conscious choice or an oversight to have the Fremen so often depicted with an open face mask, even when on manoeuvres in the deep desert, but it was irksome because such disregard for water preservation is a folly that no true Fremen would ever allow to happen - even a Fremen child would know better. If it was intentional, it was an insulting disregard for DUNE lore. If it was accidental, it suggests that its authors (and current 'custodians' of the DUNE franchise) didn't give due attention to how their adaptation was turning out after submitting the text for illustration.

I bought all three books in the traditional format, i.e., a collection of paper pages fastened along one side, etc. But like most high-profile publications these days the three instalments are available as e-books, too. My preference is paper, but it's by far the weaker format in this case. The paper stock is satisfyingly heavy, but the colour reproduction and bleed on ink is appallingly bad. I'd to migrate from the paper version to the digital version partway through because of how crappy the paper version was. The colouring is such that it needs all the help it can get.

I don't know how other DUNE fans feel about the adaptation(s), and I've not read any other reviews prior to posting my own, but the three books must've sold well-enough to please the publisher, evidenced by the next novel (Messiah) getting similarly adapted later this year.

[1] I didn't enjoy much of Raúl Allén's work, but I've the utmost respect for his accepting and completing such an enormous task. Judging by his portfolio, in general, it seems likely that the reason some of DUNE's panels feel rushed and partially unfinished is because of time constraints. I believe that given the time needed, Raúl could've made his DUNE better than it is.

- Books I, II, III. Cover art is by Bill Sienkiewicz.-