Long Story Short: 100 Classic Books in Three Panels

Short is the operative term for this synopsis of classic books. While the illustrations are very good, the three-panel limitation of this book proves that summaries are inadequate when it comes to telling a good story. Most of the strips failed to capture this reader’s imagination, however, the strip of Jane Eyre is laugh-out-loud funny. This may be the perfect book for those who take their literature a little too seriously.

For this reader, the illustrations are the best part of the book because, for the most part, the panels fail to capture the essence of the classic story. The illustrator was too limited in the three-panel restriction. Because of her skill, it would be interesting to have a longer take on some of these books—or another subject like classic movies. In Mad Magazine their comics usually were around eleven panels, and that managed to cover the subject nicely. An expanded take would be great given the talent of this illustrator.