Getting Literary…

GIVE IT UP! and Other Short Stories
Written by Franz Kafka
Adapted and Illustrated by Peter Kuper
Published by NBM

Now on its fourth printing, this NBM collection has clearly struck a chord with readers. Kuper, who also adapted Kafka’s THE METAMORPHOSIS, doesn’t really do a straight translation of Kafka’s short work here; instead, what he depicts is almost an impressionist take on the classical author’s work.

Kuper’s artistic style is very bold and striking; knowing that the work will be published in black and white, he uses that to his advantage in these pages. Much of Kafka’s work was drenched in darkness and despair, and Kuper embraces it by using the inks on the page in smooth concert with the open areas to allow the negative space to tell as much of the story as the delineated art does. It’s an effect that few artists do well (Frank Miller being one of the obvious exceptions), but Kuper is definitely one of them.

My reaction to the rest of the book isn’t necessarily enthusiastic as it pertains to story execution, however. I understand that Kafka’s works resist literal translation to the sequential format; at the very least they’d be a little dull. But at times it feels like Kuper takes his impressionist act a little too seriously, and some of the stories get loose in the delivery. However, when Kuper puts the focus to material, like “The Hunger Artist”, the book sings and displays an amazing vitality.

In the absence of series like CLASSICS ILLUSTRATED, only NBM seems to be taking aim at the literary graphic novel market. Books like GIVE IT UP! have an important niche to fill in the market, and it’s gratifying to know that there’s enough of an audience for them to require multiple printings. This book wasn’t my cup of tea for the most part, but I respect the effort and concept.

/Mason