Dumas, Alexandre. Illustrations by Nokman Poon. The Count of Monte Cristo. Part of the Manga Classics series. 2017. 401p. ISBN 978-1-927925-61-4. Available in the graphic section of the library.
At nineteen, first mate Edmond Dantes happily had it all. He was soon to become captain of the ship Pharaoh after the accidental death of its captain. He was about to marry the beautiful Mercedes. And he was financially supporting his father through carefully managing his money. Unfortunately, three men conspire to undermine his life. Danglars, a jealous rival for the position captain, wants Edmond removed so he can become captain instead. Fernand Mondego, Mercedes’ cousin, wants Edmond gone so he can gain her affections. The two of them hatch a plan to have Edmond arrested on his wedding day by incriminating him in a plot to help Napoleon return to France. The royal prosecutor, De Villefort, becomes the third man involved in the conspiracy when he discovers that the letter that Edmond carried was destined to his own father in Paris. Edmond’s fate is sealed, and he is sentenced to prison at the Chateau d’If.
Finally escaping from solitary confinement after fourteen years but having been educated by a fellow prisoner, Father Faria, Dantes vows vengeance on those who wronged him. Upon his death, Father Faria had given instructions to Edmond to locate a treasure, which he uses to transform himself into the Count of Monte Cristo, a fabulously wealthy man who inserts himself in the Paris social scene with one goal: to trap and exact his revenge on Danglars, Mondego, and De Villefort, his enemies.
Artfully condensed from the original French version at over 1,200 pages, this graphic novel loses none of the central plot and focuses on the Count’s carefully planned ruin for his enemies. Beautifully illustrated, fans of graphic novels, historical stories and of suspenseful tales will appreciate how Edmond wreck the lives of those who harmed him. For a similar classic in English, take a look at Wuthering Heights, where Heathcliff wrecks violence on those who harmed him.
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