Dark Tales: The Snow Queen – Graphic Novel Review

Continuing my review of the Dark Tales series of graphic novels from Canterbury Classics, we are moving on to The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.

I was provided a free copy of Dark Tales: The Snow Queen for review. The opinions are my own.

One of the reasons I was looking forward to reading this graphic novel is because I know it served as an inspiration for Disney’s Frozen. With illustrations by Emilie Majarian, Dark Tales: The Snow Queen tells the story of young Gerda and her quest to rescue her best friend from the clutches of an evil queen. Hans Christian Andersen’s story is very different from Frozen but still enjoyable. On further digging, I found out his connection to Jenny Lind who, some say, Andersen created the queen after.

Here’s the official synopsis:

Follow Gerda on an adventure to find her friend Kay, who has been taken by the Snow Queen!

Seven vignettes in a graphic novel format make up Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale The Snow Queen, which depicts the struggle between good and evil. More than 100 pages of illustrated action and adventure await! A demon creates a magic mirror that reflects negative thoughts. His minions break it, and shards of the mirror get into the hearts and eyes of citizens all over the land. Gerda’s friend Kay is affected and is lured away by the Snow Queen to become her palace slave. Follow Gerda’s adventures in her quest to rescue her friend and restore his compassion!

The illustrations by Emilie Majarian are delightful. In her introduction, she even explains how she gave the queen a more animalistic look to serve as a scary antagonist for Gerda. While told in more than a 100 pages, the tale might feel a bit compressed to some who have read Andersen’s original work. However, I still enjoyed going through the graphic novel adaptation. Seeing characters move through the illustrated snowy terrain does help create an immersive reading experience.

Dark Tales: The Snow Queen is currently available for purchase.

You can also check out my review of Dark Tales: The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Feel free to share your thoughts with us.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary