Grave Sight [Graphic Novel]: Vol. 1 by Charlaine Harris (Denis Medri & William Harms) **Review**

Grave Sight [Graphic Novel]: Vol. 1
by Charlaine Harris

Series: Grave Sight vol. 1
Pages: 64
Publisher: Dynamite Forces inc.
Release date: 1st June 2011
Buy: Book Depository | Amazon UK | Amazon US | Waterstones

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Goodreads synopsis:
Acclaimed New York Times Bestselling author Charlaine Harris, the writer of the Sookie Stackhouse series, has joined the Dynamite Entertainment family with the first book of her hit Harper Connelly series, Grave Sight. 
For the past five years, readers have been thrilled by the Harper Connelly series which follows a woman who has what you might call a strange job: she finds dead people. She can sense the final location of a person who's passed, and share their very last moment. The way Harper sees it, she's providing a service to the dead while bringing some closure to the living - but she's used to most people treating her like a blood-sucking leech. Traveling with her step-brother, Tolliver, as manager and sometime-bodyguard, she's become an expert at getting in, getting paid, and getting out fast. Because for the living it's always urgent - even if the dead can wait forever.
At the age of 15, Harper Connelly was struck by lightning, an event that gave her the ability to find the dead and see how they died. Since then, Harper's scratched out a living selling her services to anyone with a checkbook. It's not the best life, but it beats the alternative - at least until Harper and her brother Tolliver roll into Sarne, Arkansas and find themselves embroiled in a murder mystery!

This is my first experience with a graphic novel, and I have to say that I wasn't sure whether or not it would be a good one.
I used to read Manga when I was quite a bit younger - probably around 13/14, but it has been a long time since I've read anything like that, and I wasn't sure if it would still be my kind of thing.
This is why I bought this graphic novel in particular - I absolutely adore Charlaine Harris, and have already read all but one of the Harper Connelly series, so I already know that it's a story I enjoy. It also meant that I was able to compare the full story to the graphic novel, and see how well the Graphic novel matched up the original book.
I was definitely pleasantly surprised.

I know that art in Graphic Novels and Manga can vary A LOT from one book to the next, so I didn't know, again, whether or not I would like the style of this one, but I really did. The artwork is really crisp and bold, and at the same time, really shows the facial expression of each character, so you can imagine exactly how they're feeling / how they're saying something, and it adds real depth to something that could potentially fall a little flat (in my opinion - seeing as you don't get the depth of the details on the characters or story, like you would in the full novel version).
So the artwork is definitely really eye-catching and atmospheric, which I guess is one of the most important things with a graphic novel, so it gets a huge thumbs up from me for that.

Harper's character though, looks absolutely nothing like I had imagined her in the novel. I can't quite decide on whether or not this is a good thing. I didn't expect her to look quite so grungy, and I can't remember if she is described as having really short hair in the novel, but it's not at all how I imagined her.
I actually don't think, though, after some consideration, that this is a problem. It kind of sets the graphic novel apart from the original story a bit, and gives it a little more edge, which I love, and I guess actually suits the story really well - it's not a light-hearted, 'fluffy' story, in any way, shape or form - it's gritty, thrilling and mysterious.

As for the actual story, this is quite a difficult one for me to comment on properly, under these circumstances. As I've already said, the story is familiar to me, as I've previously read the original novel that this is based on, so I can't say whether or not the story was entirely clear to me SIMPLY from reading the graphic novel.
If I was to comment on the ORIGINAL story, I'd say that it's really gripping, thrilling, interesting, and that I absolutely adore it, but as I already know it, I don't know how good a job the graphic novel does of communicating it on its own.
Obviously, the graphic version has to leave out A LOT of detail that the novel has, because it's not as long, and it's done mostly in pictures, so it's not quite as in depth, but I would say that it is still entertaining in its own way.
I think what I'd have to do, to see if I enjoy the story in a graphic novel, is to pick up one that I am entirely unfamiliar with.
But as far as this one goes, I did really enjoy it.

What I would say about the plot, if you're thinking of picking these graphic novels up, is to make sure you get volumes 1,2 and 3 before you start reading, as the entire story is cut up into sections, and just reading this graphic novel on its own, will not conclude the story.

Overall, I'm really impressed by my first graphic novel experience, and I am definitely excited to pick up more, both in this series, and others. I have ordered the first volume in the True Blood graphic novels, which I believe are whole, and different stories to the original books, so this should be something a little different, and will hopefully develop my love of the graphic novel further.

I recommend that all Charlaine Harris fans DEFINITELY pick this one up and give it a go, but also fans of graphic novels, manga, fantasy and even horror.
I just urge you to give it a try!