A graphic novel adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road is coming later this year.
Abrams ComicArts will publish the new version of McCarthy’s novel, illustrated by French cartoonist Manu Larcenet, in the summer, the press announced in a news release. In a starred review, a critic for Kirkus praised the adaptation, writing, “Larcenet’s brooding black-and-white drawings suit the original perfectly. Read McCarthy’s novel first to appreciate the subtlety of Larcenet’s superb graphic adaptation.”
The Road, published by Knopf in 2006, follows a father and son traveling across post-apocalyptic America. The novel won the Pulitzer Prize, and in 2009 it was adapted into a film directed by John Hillcoat and starring Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Larcenet’s adaptation won the approval of McCarthy before he died last year at 89, Abrams says. The novelist’s estate has also given its imprimatur to the graphic novel.
Abrams quoted from a letter Larcenet sent to McCarthy, in which he wrote, “I’m coming off years of writing that wore me down, and I want nothing more but to draw! For almost six months now, I’ve been reading your book again and again, almost living in it. I’m starting to see how I could tackle the challenge of following the guidelines you set without feeling trapped by them.”
Larcenet’s adaptation was published in France this spring, where it was a hit, selling more than 60,000 copies in its first three weeks on sale. The graphic novel will be published in the U.S. on Sept. 17.
Michael Schaub is a contributing writer.
