ADAPTATION OF A LITERARY WORK IN THE FORM OF A GRAPHIC NOVEL

Visual representation of the Isabel Greenberg's Glass City paracosm

Abstract

Graphic novels are book editions of high artistic value, which have their origins in the art of the picture book and comics. One of the main features of the genre is its thematic diversity. Some of the topics covered in the publications are existential universal issues, others are encyclopaedic or biographical works, and there are some that interpret classical literary texts. There are also graphic novels in which the literary text is interwoven with an author's parallel narrative. Such an example is The Glass City by the British illustrator Isabel Greenberg. It is an author's edition, in which the artist reviews the early texts of the sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne Bronte and their brother Branwell and the fictional world, created by these young authors. They called the imaginary universe "paracosm" - created own world, which is characterized by detailed rules, common language, geography and characters, shared by all participants in the fantasy. This phenomenon is common in children who later in life become famous artists and reveals rich imagination, but also a trauma and desire to detach from reality and the difficulties that may be encountered in it.