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Written by Erin Jameson Friday, 02 July 2010 11:52

A comic book adaptation of the Jane Austen horror mash-up that delivers, well, pretty much exactly what its title implies.

176 pgs., B&W; $14.99

(Writers: Jane Austen, Seth Grahame-Smith, Adaptation: Tony Lee, Artist: Cliff Richards)

 

Let me reassure you that I get it. I do. I understand that kids sometimes don't really like books and, therefore, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Pip and the Zombies are all doing the fabulous work of getting the young'uns to pick up the classics. Wuthering Heights now comes with a blurb on the cover that says it's Twilight's Edward and Bella's favorite book. I also understand that maybe some of these kids are maybe getting interested and picking up the “original” Pride and Prejudice and maybe all those Twihards are reading Wuthering Heights and I realize that that's a good thing. I do. Really.

Having needed no such encouragement to read Pride and Prejudice when I was younger andbeing that sort of person, I reread it about once a year. There's a lot of moon-eyed glances into space and sighing from the corner of the house where this is taking place and, frankly, I think my husband finds reasons to be out and about when it's that time again. Perhaps that makes me the least qualified writer on our staff to review Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. I love Pride and Prejudice. LOVE IT. I think it's incredibly well-written, I don't find it boring, I find the genteel wordplay a little thrilling and I love reading about the doings of what was 1793's upper-middle-class. I have referred to “my girl Jane Austen” multiple times in previous reviews. So that's my disclaimer, gentle readers.

One of my favorite moments in the original Pride and Prejudice is a scene where Elizabeth Bennet, one of my favorite literary creations ever in the entire world, is telling her mother she won't marry a tubby cleric who has come to woo the five Bennet sisters. Mrs. Bennet, bless, goes into hysterics and asks Mr. Bennet to intercede. The original line where he does, indeed, intercede is “An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.” And the crowd goes wild! Elizabeth hugs her dad, most readers cheer out loud (They do, right? Right?) and Mrs. Bennet flings herself onto the divan for a bit of a faint. P&P&Z keeps this entire line, this beautiful moment of kinship, and adds “—For I shall not have my best warrior resigned to the service of a man who is fatter than Buddha and duller than the edge of a learning sword.” Gone is the loving father and, in his place, a general stands at the head of the ranks consisting of five British girls.

Because, you see, the Bennet sisters are warriors. Fierce, martial arts-trained warriors. And so it goes. Lines from the original have soulless codas that beat you about the head with the fact that people are badasses in this book. There's some ritualistic self-mutilation and Mr. Darcy jokes with Elizabeth Bennet about his balls and she mows down hundreds and hundreds of zombies and snarks at everyone. (She actually snarks at everyone in the original version, too, it's just this is vulgar and cruel and not especially clever.) Mr. Wickham ends up with a lot more than a simple disgraced banishment but, thankfully, Lydia Bennet remains as always, unerringly foolish and the perfect foil for her older sister.

And you know what? People who have never read the original probably think it's totally awesome. Holy cow! It's a hot chick in a ripped petticoat mowing down zombie hordes. What's not to love? What's that chick from Playback rattling on about? Elizabeth Bennet is smokin' hot and knows how to work a musket. There's some innuendo for those of you lookin' for a little love and lots of spattering gore for those of you who aren't. I won't say this is a book for everyone because it does stray over the line into “creepy” every now and again (seriously, I don't like literary cutters) but it's kind of a lark if you're coming at it from a fresh perspective. People well-steeped in Austen culture probably sniff a bit and credit it for the exposure.

Giving credit to the talent, the creative team behind this book is a force to be reckoned with. Of course, Jane Austen's name comes first and, while I have mixed feelings about that, I'm relieved that she appears so that maybe youngsters can be tricked...I mean, encouraged to read her other books. She shares a writing credit with Seth Grahame-Smith, a writer of many talents who is involved in writing the screenplays for both this and Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter, as well as a number of projects for MTV. The adaptation for graphic novel form was done by Tony Lee, a longtime comics writer with credits on properties like Spider-Man and Doctor Who. Rounding out the creative team is Cliff Richards, who has been around a little, as well, illustrating books like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Wonder Woman.

Say what I like about the text inside the book, I can't really bring myself to criticize the art. In fact, I love it. It's beautiful. The Bennets sway through the book, Elizabeth being especially compelling, and the action scenes are brilliantly orchestrated. It's pure camp in Richards' hands and I can almost forgive Grahame-Smith's reinterpretation of Elizabeth. In his hands, she's gorgeously expressive and, if I squint hard enough, I can ignore the texts and pretend she's expressing something other than bloodlust.

Sadly, I can't get over my love of the original Eliza Bennet, she of the sharp tongue, bad temper and witty wordplay. I just can't bring myself to embrace the new, openly cruel Eliza of the sharp sword and Asian self-mutilation. The Eliza Bennet I know wouldn't watch an innocent man burn and think it a necessary cost. And that's the Eliza I love. If you don't know her, I can recommend whole-heartedly recommend Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Guns! Zombies! Dirty jokes! If you're acquainted with her charms, though, and her thrilling flaws and her dancing feet, I would recommend you give this a pass – nothing here to see but corpses lurching about. | Erin Jameson

Click here for a preview of Prise and Prejudice and Zombies, courtesy of USA Today’s “Pop Candy” blog.