The Last Unicorn

February 21, 2011
Since it was first published in 1968, Beagle’s beloved fantasy novel has been made into a stage play and a film—and now this gorgeous, emotive graphic novel adaptation. Set in a fully realized but slightly tongue-in-cheek fantasy world that has inspired everything from The Princess Bride to Stardust, Beagle’s story is a romantic fable about a regal unicorn who leaves the forest she has protected since time immemorial to find more of her kin. After a short spell of imprisonment by a witch’s traveling circus, she journeys onward with an accident-prone magician, hoping to find the answer to her quest in the land of a coldhearted king and a monstrously fearsome red bull. Along the way, the unicorn and her good-hearted but hapless companion have many encounters, including one with a Robin Hood–esque group of bandits who seem dropped in from a Monty Python skit. Beagle’s sumptuously descriptive writing, adapted ably by Gillis, casts a spell throughout, while De Liz’s glowing, painterly artwork meshes perfectly with the haunting otherworldly beauty of the story.

May 15, 2011

Beagle's odd fable has collected millions of fans since its 1968 publication and is considered a fantasy classic. Fearing that she's the last of her kind, a unicorn--accompanied by an incompetent magician and the former girlfriend of a cowardly outlaw--journeys to free the other unicorns from evil King Haggard. It's a mashup of quest tales, heroic and otherwise, about seeking family (the Unicorn), love (Haggard's son, Prince Lir), power (Haggard), competence (Schmendrick the magician), and adventure (Molly). Yet beyond archetypes, the engaging characters carry the narrative, which becomes a quasi-Rorschach for readers to find in it what they will. Gillis and De Liz's adaptation succeeds with overall visual loveliness and striking design and coloring, although some details don't quite fit. The Unicorn, for example, seems too My Little Pony about the head, while her human persona, Amalthea, looks childishly dim-witted. But De Liz shines with the ornamentally grotesque Mommy Fortuna and her harpy. VERDICT Many fans of the story should enjoy this comics version, and new readers will find it an easygoing and beautiful read. Recommended for tweens and up.--M.C.

Copyright 2011 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2011

Gr 6 Up-A beloved story is now a graphic novel in this excellent adaptation. A unicorn leaves her forest home to find out if she is the last of her kind, befriending Schmendrick, a hapless magician, and Molly Grue, a bandit leader's runaway wife. These are vivid and lovable characters, and the story is filled with action, romance, and humor. Much of the original novel's lyrical language has been included, and readers will be eager to find out if the unicorn will give up her quest for love, or if any of Schmendrick's spells will ever turn out right. The legendary creature resembles the one in the film, but De Liz's artistic vision is original. This unicorn shimmers and glows, her mane framing her face with Art Nouveau-style tendrils. The illustrations are graceful and detailed, and inked in warm, glowing colors. This is a worthy successor to the classic novel and film.-Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY

Copyright 2011 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 15, 2011
Grades 7-12 Beagle originally published what has become his hallmark novel of a unicorn questing to find out what happened to the rest of her kind more than 40 years ago. In this full-color graphic-novel adaptation, the characters and moods of the story are beautifully maintained: the unicorn herself sheds a pink glow, while Schmendrick the magician provides the balance of gravity. Although female characters here sport a superabundance of curly locks, their faces, like those of the male characters, are fluid and expressive of a wide range of emotions. Panel sizes vary to fit the scope of the scene, with full pages given over to the tales most dramatic moments. A package that is both complimentary and complementary of its origins, this version will attract both those who already know the original story and readers who have yet to discover it. An interview with Beagle concludes the volume.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)

November 6, 2006
This fragment is Beagle's first, unsuccessful attempt at writing what became his classic fantasy, The Last Unicorn
(1968), though even his failures are marvels of wry humor and brilliant prose styling. Beagle's introduction illuminates his thought processes behind the composition of The Last Unicorn
, while his afterword explains "the occasional haunting connection" between this version and the finished one. As in the completed text, an immortal unicorn leaves her lilac wood in search of other unicorns. She engages in witty repartee with a whiny dragon and meets up with a two-headed demon, Azazel and Webster, who are carrying a coal stolen from hell. The unicorn and the demons have some intriguing, whimsical conversations, but the action ends abruptly before resolving any of the characters' fates. Collectors and those interested in the gestation of Beagle's masterpiece will best appreciate this imperfect gem.