by J.R.R. Tolkien 
adapted by Charles Dixon
illustrated by David Wenzel
1990 / 133 pages

There’s a hierarchy so unfailingly true it could be carved into stone: the book is always better than the movie, and the movie better than the graphic novel adaptation.

But this otherwise unfailing rule does have an exception! I’m not going to start talking all crazy and tell you that this comic is better than the book – that has never been and never will be! – but it is better than the film! It is even better than many a book, paling in comparison only to its original source material.

For those unfamiliar with the epic tale, this is the story of Bilbo Baggins, the titular hobbit, which is basically a human-like creature though half the size, and with twice the hair on their feet. Hobbits are homebodies so Bilbo isn’t exactly sure how he joined a dwarfish expedition to steal back their treasure from an enormous talking dragon. Small and retiring though he might be, Bilbo is big in character, and while he doesn’t think himself brave, in meeting up with trolls, goblins, giant spiders, and the even more gigantic dragon, he ends up doing many a brave thing. This is an old fashioned epic tale with good eventually triumphing over evil…but not without paying a price.

That’s the original, and the 133 pages of this graphic novel adaptation provide the space to capture it all. Illustrator David Wenzel has given this a classic look for this classic tale – there’s a reason that in the 30 years since this adaptation first came out, no one has even attempted to improve on it.

Its size and depth do mean this isn’t for the casual comic fan, but for fantasy fans 14 and up, this will be such a treat!