Classics Illustrated #10: Cyrano de Bergerac Hardcover – 13 July 2010

Edmond Rostand's enduring tale of "Cyrano de Bergerac" gets the graphic novel treatment in this Classics Illustrated edition, adapted by Peter David and Kyle Baker. Fanciful artwork and some well-chosen explanatory notes make this a great introduction to a great story, equal parts comedy, romance, and drama.The French soldier Cyrano de Bergerac is renounced for his wit, writing skills, bravery with a sword, and his panache. He is also cursed with the largest nose ever to darken a human face, and with an unrequited love for his beautiful cousin Roxanne. Roxanne is in love with the handsome, brave but rather dull Baron Christian de Neuvil, and will beg Cyrano to watch over him. Encouraged by Cyrano, Christian will take up the wooing of Roxanne, in which cause Cyrano will play many roles. He will also watch over Christian in the face of many threats, even death...This Classics Illustrated edition includes the essentials of a long and moving story, including doing justice to several comedic moments and to the famous dual wooing scene. Kyle Baker's almost whimsical art crucially captures the changing emotions of the characters. "Cyrano de Bergerac" is very highly recommended as an entertaining graphic novel treatment of a great story.

I bought this to read with my 3rd grade daughter, and we loved it! She's an advanced reader, and this book still gave her a healthy challenge; it would not have been a good choice for her as an independent reading book. The illustrations are highly stylized, which I find an asset (others my find them distracting as they're unrefined and a bit harsh). The adaptation finds a great middle ground in combining traditional-to-Old English prose with a more contemporary vernacular, offering readers (young and old) an accessible exposure to the foundations of our descriptive, English language styles. My daughter loved the story, as did I. As a follow-up, we rented Steve Martin's "Roxanne." This book has turned us on to the publisher's other offerings, too: "Pride and Prejudice," "Tom Sawyer," Edgar Allen Poe stories, and others. As a teacher, there is great value in introducing these old stories, as they're often models used by modern story tellers, giving young readers larger reading strategy tools to promote greater comprehension. Oh, and they're fun to read :)