Review: The Beatles Yellow Submarine OGN
It was 50 years ago today. The gang from Pepperland began to play. Here it is, finally, the comic book adaptation for the Beatles animated fantasy.
You would think that there would have been a comic book adaptation around the time of the movie’s release, given the cartoon nature of this film. Well, actually, there was. It was published by Gold Key comics in 1968. But one only has to take a glance at that title to realize that it was an uninspired adaptation, looking like they just grabbed cells from the movie to create it. (You can find it here for free: https://www.scribd.com/doc/
The Creative Team:
Bill Morrison, the writer goes all out to bring the Beatles animated classic to comic book format. It is an inspired adaptation that takes the magic of the movie and brings it to the next galaxy. The Blue Meanies are a clear threat to the citizens of Pepperland and the fab four have their hands full in trying to subdue them and take out the threat they represent. I went into this issue with some skepticism, after all, what more could this adaptation do that the animated film hadn’t already done? What indeed! Bill Morrison has an awesome imagination and treats us to some great dialog and keeps the story flowing quite nicely, which brings me to…
Bill Morrison the artist. Unlike the Gold Key Adaptation from 1968 which uses standard comic book panels and what appears to be cut outs from the movie itself, Morrison gives us obscure panels which are different on just about every page. Circular panels, wavy lines, lightning bolts. It feels like Candyland meets the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in pure manic fun. It captures the energy from the movie and brings it to us in a fantastic way. His inner child is working overtime and it’s well worth the read. I can think of no one who could do a better job with this type of story. The illustrations and colors explode all over the page in a psychedelic trip that will leave the reader wanting more.
In Conclusion:
If you’ve seen the movie a thousand times and love it, you might think that you don’t need this volume. But I beg to differ. Give this comic a shot, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how your enjoyment of the story is enhanced with the escapist tone of this issue. If you’ve never seen the movie then this is a good introduction, if you read this comic and like it, you’ll love the movie when you get around to seeing it. **** (8.9 rating)
The Beatles Yellow Submarine OGN
Writer – Bill Morrison
Art – Bill Morrison
Colors – Nathan Kane
Publisher – Titan
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About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
