ANNE OF GREEN GABLES

A beloved and feisty heroine gets a graphic-novel makeover.

In this adaptation that follows L.M. Montgomery’s novel fairly faithfully, orphan Anne Shirley, with fiery tresses and an even more red-hot temper, arrives in Avonlea to help aging brother and sister Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert at their lovely home, Green Gables. Brimming over with imagination and having a propensity for florid ramblings, Anne stands out in the plainspoken town but manages to weave her way into the hearts of those who meet her, including her new “bosom friend,” the mild and well-behaved Diana Barry, and her academic rival and possible love interest, Gilbert Blythe. Anne manages to find herself in many a predicament, but time after time her inherent goodness always rights her wrongdoings. Marsden’s reprise of Montgomery’s time-honored tale stays true and manages to hit all the notes of the original. Thummler’s envisioned Avonlea is lush and verdurous, capturing the earthy beauty of the bucolic hills. However, some of her all-white characters—including Anne—are depicted with eyes as pupilless colored discs with no whites; this makes them appear blank and their bearers almost sightless, sounding a discordant note. But this small quibble is not enough to tarnish an otherwise vivacious imagining.

A sweet and cheerful adaptation of the beloved classic.