Interviews: (external links open in new window)
01/2010 - School Library Journal
11/2009 - Boston Globe West
07/2008 - The Harrisburg Patriot-News ran two bits of an interview here and here, but the full transcript is here.
06/2008 - Powell's Books Q & A
05/2008 - Ingram Advance interview for Merchant
11/2006 - Audio: Metrowest Library author panel
08/2004 - Boston Globe - or click here for hi-res scan with illustrations.
08/2003 - Sequential Tart


Reviews for The Merchant of Venice:
Kirkus (starred review)
"Of late, there have been many unsuccessful attempts to adapt Shakespeare into the graphic-novel format; Hinds's beautiful new offering now sets the standard that all others will strive to meet. Presenting readers with deftly drawn characters (based on live models) and easily read dialogue that modulates over the course of the work from adapted prose to the original Shakespeare, he re-works the classic Shakespeare play of deception, greed and revenge. Though located in a modern setting, readers will easily follow the premise and find themselves lost in the intricately lovely Venetian backdrop. While this adaptation may leave purists sniffing at the omission of entire scenes and characters, Hinds carefully explains to his readers in a note why and how he made those choices. A deceptively simple graphic novel on the surface, this volume begs for multiple readings on a closer level, at the same time acting as a wonderful introduction to the original. Easily on a par with his stellar adaptation of Beowulf (2007), it's a captivating, smartly executed work."

Publishers Weekly - link
Fans of the play will find this an intriguing adaptation. Hinds sets his version in modern dress and dramatically edits the text to the basics while keeping the Shakespearean flavor of the dialogue (increasingly as the book goes on). The coloring in shades of slate blue and pale gray gives it an antique patina that's counterbalanced by the way Hinds leaves construction lines visible. That makes it feel like reading someone's unpolished sketchbook, as though the characters were observed, not created. It's always a benefit to see Shakespeare acted out, to make the universal situations clear to the modern viewer, and that benefit extends to the graphic medium, especially when the characters have a sense of motion, as here. Some aspects of the original are still discomforting; Hinds is faithful to the play in its treatment of the bloodthirsty, money-hungry Shylock, and some readers may be put off by the inclusion of lines such as “you may be pleased to collect whatever usurious interest pleases your Jew heart.” An author's note encourages further research on that matter and clarifies some of Hinds's creative decisions.


Reviews for King Lear:
Booklist (starred review) - link
"Having kicked off the recent outpouring of graphic-format Beowulf adaptations, Hinds now contributes to the similarly enthusiastic flood of graphic-format Shakespeare adaptations with an excellent rendition of one of the bard’s great tragedies. Using splash pages that open up the settings, washes of otherworldly colors, grotesquely expressive faces right out of William Blake, and figural work much improved from his previous effort, Hinds occasionally attains a visual poetry that marked the painful betrayals, the epic scope of the battles, and Lear’s seething madness. Even abridged (with helpful endnotes about many of the excised passages), the story and language here can seem intimidatingly dense, but the artwork keeps the exposition moving, and comic-book sound effects (“thwok!”) and expletives (“unh . . .”) paradoxically add a gritty realism. The most effective parts of the book are the dramatic ones, and most memorable are the grisly eye-plucking scene, a supernaturally eerie storm scene, and two cracking good sword duels. For powerful drama with quality art, this adaptation is the one to choose." — Jesse Karp


Reviews for Beowulf:
The New York Times Book Review - link
"...graphic novelist Gareth Hinds has reimagined “Beowulf” as a kind of superhero tale... great stretches of this “Beowulf” take place with no words at all, except the occasional “SMASH,” “SSWACK” and “SKUTCHLP.” Hinds stages great fight scenes, choreographing them like a kung-fu master and then drawing them from a variety of vantage points, with close-ups, wide angles and aerial views. In its way, the result is as visceral as the Old English, which was consciously onomatopoeic, and by changing his palette for each of the poem’s three sections he evokes its darkening rhythm."

Publishers Weekly - link
"The king of heroic epics gets a lavish visual interpretation in Hinds's full-color mixed-media gem.... Hinds's angular perspectives and unusual color palettes (dark, ruddy colors, deep burgundy blood, and not a ray of sunshine in sight) lend the book an almost overwhelming sense of menace...an ideal introduction to a story without which the entire fantasy genre would look very different."

School Library Journal - link
"This epic tale is exceptionally well suited to the episodic telling necessary for a successful graphic novel, as the warrior-hero fights Grendel, Grendel's mother, and, ultimately, the dragon that claims his life, and (in true comic-book fashion) each challenge is significantly more difficult and violent than the one before. Although greatly abridged and edited, the text maintains a consistent rhythm and overall feel appropriate for the poetic nature of the story. Hinds's version will make this epic story available to a whole new group of readers." ©2007 Reed Business Information

Kirkus Reviews
"Pairing art from an earlier, self-published edition to a newly adapted text, Hinds retells the old tale as a series of dark, bloody, chaotic clashes. Here Grendel is a glaring, black monster with huge teeth, corded muscles and a tendency to smash or bite off adversaries' heads; the dragon is all sinuous viciousness; and Beowulf, mighty of thew, towers over his fellow Geats. The narrative, boxed off from the illustrations rather than incorporated into them, runs to lines like, "Bid my brave warriors O Wiglaf, to build a lofty cairn for me upon the sea-cliffs . . . " and tends to disappear when the fighting starts. Because the panels are jumbled together on the page, the action is sometimes hard to follow, but this makes a strongly atmospheric alternative to the semi-abstract Beowulf, the Legend, by Stephen L. Antczak and James C. Bassett, illus by Andy Lee (2006), or the more conventionally formatted version of Michael Morpurgo, with pictures by Michael Foreman (2006). (Graphic fiction. 12-15)"

VOYA (Voice of Youth Advocates)
"In 1999, Hinds self-published a three-issue mini-series of comics based on the classic epic poem Beowulf. He then self-published a collection of the three issues under the title The Collected Beowulf (thecomic.com, 2000). Even if a library is lucky enough to own the self-published original, purchasing this new edition is worth the cost. Both the self-published and new editions feature Hinds's fabulously detailed, action-filled artwork. The illustrations for each section of the story are created differently. The first section features Photoshopped pen-and-ink drawings, the second paint on wood, and the third black wash over black ink. This gives each section a distinct feel. The difference between the two editions lies in the text. For his self-published edition, Hinds based his text on the 1910 verse translation by Francis Gummere and included a glossary of unfamiliar terms. For the new edition, Hinds creates a new text based on the 1904 prose translation by A. J. Church. Both include all three sections of Beowulf's story as he fights Grendel, Grendel's mother, and finally the dragon that kills him. This blood-drenched, battle-packed story of one of the first superheroes is sure to interest a new generation. It is being released just in time to be useful as a page-turning introduction to the classic epic poem before the Neil Gaiman movie adaptation is released in fall 2008."

KLIATT
"There is a scene in Gareth Hinds's Beowulf when our hero dives into a lake to battle a monster. As the warriors at the lake's edge watch, horrified, the waters turn blood-red. Beowulf bursts to the surface, severed sword held high, the monster's decapitated head clenched between his teeth by the hair of its scalp. It's an intense image in a graphic novel rife with haunting imagery. To recap: Beowulf is an epic poem in three parts. The first part is about a troll-creature named Grendel, who kills and eats all who dare dwell within a certain hall. One day a hero named Beowulf swears that he will kill Grendel without arms or armor; he keeps his oath by using his great strength to rip Grendel's arm off. In the second part, Beowulf enters the lair of Grendel's mother (located at the bottom of a lake) and kills her. The third part takes place years later, when Beowulf is a king. A dragon terrorizes his people, forcing the aged warrior (the entire third book is colored in gray) to don his battle gear one last time. Beowulf kills the dragon, at the cost of his life. I have read a number of graphic adaptations of classic literature, but I've never seen one as visually impressive as Hinds's Beowulf. This graphic novel collects the three issues self-published by the author. The language of the poem—which is quite complex—has been contemporized, and the art is gorgeous: Hinds has an extensive knowledge of human anatomy and color, which he puts to good use. The fight scenes are well choreographed; it is obvious that the author has martial arts training. Beowulf contains some bloody fight sequences and may be too intense for younger readers; highly recommended for all collections."

University of Iowa - link
"Larger-than-life deeds, terrifying monsters and epic battles lend themselves perfectly to the graphic novel format as Gareth Hinds adapts the tale of the great hero BEOWULF (Candlewick Press, 2007) for a new generation.... This version of Beowulf will engage reluctant readers as well as allow students who struggle with verse translations an opportunity to understand the tale in a new way. The artwork is glorious and powerful, yet not overly graphic in ways that would make it inappropriate for readers as young as 5th or 6th grade. Hinds' BEOWULF would be a terrific companion to the classic translations often studied in high school British Literature courses."

Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
"This graphic-novel presentation of the traditional three-part tale of Beowulf gives young readers the Geatish warrior as the hypermuscular, hard-hitting proto-comic-book superhero he's always been. Grim, rugged faces stare out of action-packed spreads peppered with realistic black blood spatters and onomatopoeic fight grunts as the monsters chomp on various warrior appendages and our hero kicks, rips, and thwangs his various enemies into grisly submission and death. Hinds manages his palette to good effect, sticking mainly to sepia and burnt umber in the mead hall and teals for under the sea, so that the occasional punctuations of flame and the stark blackness of the monsters really stand forth, and the dusky purples of the final chapter lead readers visually into Beowulf's shadowlands. The text, though colloquial, remains a challenging read, as it retains the archaic rhythms and bardic vocabulary of the heroic epic; the adapter clearly provides history and some character-developing storytelling to establish the encounters, but leaves the fight scenes unencumbered with any text at all, allowing readers to immerse themselves in the flesh-ripping violence. The final chapter may be a little confusing for those not familiar with the story, but attentive observers will be able to follow the main plot through the pictures and will ponder over the thematics of including a distant cityscape, complete with suspiciously familiar twin towers, as a backdrop to Hrothgar's warning that Beowulf use his God-given gifts -- fame, fortune, the power to command an empire -- wisely and without arrogance, and remain ever mindful that death awaits us all. With treatments like this available, honors English may never be the same. KC"

Globe and Mail
"According to the author's note that prefaces this rendering of the epic poem, the exact date of the composition of Beowulf is not known. But the most probable date "is thought to be around 700 to 850 AD. And yet, it still resonates today, and indeed has much in common with our modern superhero stories."
And resonate it does, in this graphic version, a potent blend of a minimal amount of text based on the 1904 translation by A. J. Church, and dramatic artwork that, frame by frame, tells this age-old tale in a new and visually thrilling way. "This," Hinds writes, "is a colloquial translation, and we have attempted to strike a balance between easy readability and the poetic drama in our favourite verse translation."
The textual matter is admirable, no doubt of that, but for readers who have cut their teeth on Spiderman comics, it is the painted frames that unfold - often in a jagged, discordant fashion - to tell this age-old tale of the mortal wounding of Grendel, that beguile and astound. Superhuman strength, moral and physical courage, slaughter and gore are painted large across these pages."

BlogCritics - link
"Interestingly, the book traces Beowulf's life in just two events, in both cases dealing with monsters that are troubling his friends or his people. In the first half, he is full of vigor, confidence and agility and is able to easily take on monsters at will. In the second half, though regal, he is old and doubts if he will return alive from the dragon's lair. Hinds...is able to make us aware of the fickle nature of life using the story of the rise and fall of even a great, mythical warrior. He evokes wonder and pity for the same character by judicious use of imagery that will stay with us long after we have put down the book."

CommonSense Media family book reviews - link
"Beowulf is a grim and gruesome story, and artist Gareth Hinds has produced a graphic novel to match.... A visceral yet accessible treatment...."

Indy Magazine
"Hinds has done a phenomenal job of expressing the sinister aura of the text, and refining what is essentially one of the greatest sagas of the Dark Ages into a very exciting, very atmospheric comic... fusing offbeat visual effects into the story flow: astronomical charts stand in for the night sky, the agonized cries from hand-to-hand combat appear as floating scrolls in the sky, and decapitations at Grendel’s hand are depicted as running ink smears."

Scott McCloud (author of Understanding Comics)
"...a nice distillation of the energy of modern american comics without any of the annoying artifacts."