Watership Down: The Graphic Novel

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In conclusion, as a story about rabbits, it does stand on its own. It might be a tad too dark and bloody for what one is used to expect from anthropomorphic stories with animals one associates with harmlessness and cuteness, but that also can be a sell for audiences that like their cute a bit bloodied. James: I always assumed that would be part of it. When I read the novel I really appreciated the quotes, the map, and the glossary. Collectively it brought depth to the world and I’m glad we could include all three of those things. What went into the process of designing so many different rabbit characters?

When I expressed interest I had a few conversations with Ten Speed and then was asked to create a proposal for the estate to consider. Though I draw comics too, I knew that I was not the right artist to draw this book and I was asked to include three artists that the estate would then choose from if my proposal was selected.

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He started off a story, 'Once upon a time there were two rabbits, called Hazel and Fiver,' " recalls the younger one, Rosamond Mahony, who was about 6 at the time. Can it be read without knowing Richard Adams’ novel? Well, yes — but for Frith’s and El-Ahrairah’s sake, why would you? It’s perfect for the fans of the original story, but for the newcomers I’d suggest to also read the original book to appreciate everything more. Because let me tell you - I’m a certified superfan of Watership Down (Bigwig and Hazel, you are my dream team!) and this looked exactly how I’d ever imagine the story, and if you love the original, I can’t fathom you not loving this as well. Richard Adams, an Oxford-educated civil servant, was taking his two young daughters on a drive through the British countryside. They wanted to be entertained, and he complied. Siblings Hazel and Fiver from Watership Down: The Graphic Novel by Richard Adams, adapted by James Sturm and illustrated by Joe Sutphin. The 2023 graphic novel is the latest adaptation of the 1972 children's classic.

Could it be the fact that this is an adaptation without input from the author? Very possible. James Sturm does admit in the author's notes that there's been omissions from novel to graphic adaptation and that there are cuts in terms of characters and scenes, as well as changes he had to made to fit the visual medium. Good Things: The art was beautiful, and the pacing and framing were subtle but impactful to the reading experience. The muted, classic color choices were thematically appropriate to the classic story, setting an ‘age’ to the book, despite its brand new adaptation. I appreciate the skill that went into creating distinct visual differences and personalities for rabbits, with slight shading or size differences, shared expressions within groups, and individual voices and markings to build characters without descriptive narrative. This seems like it would be hard to do, and Sturm/Sutphin nailed it. Joe: Yes – James and I were really closely knit during his time writing the script. And James was very open and generous with what he was writing; allowing me to offer any insight or input along the way. We worked well together that way. After a few rounds of edits (with input from the estate and Ten Speed) I would blow the thumbnail drawings up, drop in the lettering, and Joe would print those out and use them as a guide for the finished art, or the “bones” for the drawings. And he's got a point. Richard Adams fought in World War II. Glimpses of his wartime experiences emerge throughout the book. The rabbit Hazel was based on the author's commanding officer. And there's a lot of fighting and fear of death.

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The art is another thing that saves this adaptation. It's beautifully done, and the main rabbits have distinctive features: Hazel's lines are softer (which is why I thought he was a girl rabbit) and his fur is slightly lighter, Fiver has the Crazy Prophet face of a madman, Bigwig has a gruff Clint Eastwood aura, General Woundwort looks like a big bully, and so on. The artist took care to not make all look rabbits indistinguishable, which is appreciated. The artwork delineates the characters better than the writing does, I'd hazard to say. Joe: Our time walking those fields and rivers and hills with Juliet, Ros, and Aldo truly was the catalyst. We didn’t have to go online and sift through the thousands of concepts and speculations that are posted regarding Watership Down. We were able to get any factual information we needed from then on, straight from the people who loved and spent time with Richard. People who’ve heard the stories and facts straight from him. Would you mind elaborating on the specific challenges you faced adapting Watership Down? Did any particular adaptive element prove especially difficult? It's a beautiful adaptation, and I can imagine a lovely introduction to this epic story for many, and particularly younger, readers. Make sure to read about the author/ illustrator ‘Adapting Rabbits’ at the end. It was enlightening to learn their process. I would have preferred this at the beginning to set context, instead of abruptly jumping into such an unusual book. My last suggestion is to take your time looking at the pictures and absorbing the tale. (except for the scratching biting, bloody illustrations.) Rabbit time is different than human time.

James’s thumbnails were invaluable to me. He took so much of the weight off by providing the overall positioning of shapes and elements in each panel. This allowed me to skip the mentally taxing inception phase, and go right into the artistic editorial phase where I could observe the layouts being provided and make adjustments to the panel layouts as needed. This let me focus more on getting all of the details and environments correct. I understand you traveled to the actual setting of Watership Down, where you were able to take “hundreds of reference photos.” Can you tell us about the process of integrating these references into the graphic novel? Okay, look. Look. I’ll consume anything Watership Down. I’ve read the book three times. I’ve read the sequel, “Tales From Watership Down,” just as much! I even read the semi-connected “Plague Dogs.” I’ve watched the original movie countless times (and the “Plague Dogs” movie once, as well). I’ve seen the Netflix series. I’m on a quest to find the 1999 Canadian series, as bad as I’ve heard it was. Hell, I just saw there’s an audiobook version of Tales and bought it in under a minute, holy crap, I’m PSYCHED. The first impression was that this is a story I'd probably have liked better when I was younger and more attuned to enjoying anthropomorphic stories on their own merit. That doesn't necessarily mean I disliked the anthropomorphic aspect of this story, only that I'm perhaps more desensitised to it and it doesn't appeal or speak to me the way it would have when young. I have enjoyed other anthropomorphic stories as an adult, "Maus," "Animal Farm," etc., but those had a symbolism and metaphors that were easy to spot and understand.The one note that may seem off to modern sensibilities is that the group of adventurers is all male, and female rabbits are seen as a necessary and practical resource. But females are treated by the group kindly and with respect, even if they are relegated to being minor characters in the story. One of the first things the two Americans did was fly to London, meet with Mahony and Johnson, and visit the real Watership Down — a gentle hill in southern England.

It seems to me an adult book, but I think older kids would adore it; it can get pretty violent and upsetting, so despite the cute bunnies, parents should be careful.Joe: We couldn’t have made what we did without the trip we were able to take to Hampshire in England, or without the relationship with Richard Adams’ daughters, Juliet and Rosamond, who continued to share pivotal details and information throughout the process of creating the graphic novel. Although leaves remained on the beeches and the sunshine was warm, there was a sense of growing emptiness over the wide space of the down. The flowers were sparser. Here and there a yellow tormentil showed in the grass, a late harebell or a few shreds of purple bloom on a brown, crisping tuft of self-heal...Along the edge of the wood a sheet of wild clematis showed like a patch of smoke, all its sweet-smelling flowers turned to old man's beard...now the blue was high and rare, the sun slipped sooner to the west and, once there, foretold a touch of frost, sinking slow and big and drowsy, crimson as the rose hips that covered the briar.