As much as I like the musical, I don't think it translates to a graphic novel. Besides not having the magic of Andrew Lloyd Weber's music, I found the art in this very off-putting. It feels very dated, but not dated in the late 1800s/early 1900s sense, dated like superhero comics from the 80s. It just felt very congested and busy.

A fantastic and engaging visual treatment of a classic story — recommended reading for comics enthusiasts. Well illustrated!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

Before I start, one thing must be said, the ebook for this is quite awful, honestly. Very hard to read.

Luckily, the comic was good enough to make me wanna continue, otherwise I most certainly would've DNFD.

“Everything that is underground belongs to him!”

Apologies in advance for making this review more about my first and favourite musical than the graphic novel I just read. It’s just brought back so many wonderful memories!

I first saw ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ in 1992. My school’s music classes were going on an interstate excursion to see the musical and a few of us who weren’t studying music as an elective managed to find a way to tag along. I finally understood why my Nan loved musicals so much.

I was already quite familiar with the Angel of Music because when I stayed with my grandparents my Nan and I would listen to it on repeat (on cassette) while we played cards late at night. My Pop would be trying to sleep in the next room but every time a new song began Nan and I would get up and dance around the room. Poor Pop … Saint that he was, he never once complained. You would have loved my grandparents!

As an adult I got to see ‘Phantom’ again, this time with my mother in 2008. Mum fell in love with it as well and although Nan had died a couple of years beforehand we’re pretty sure she was there too. We had seats directly in front of the orchestra so it was an even bigger buzz when the chandelier flew over our heads!

Although I haven’t read the book (yet!) the graphic novel included many of my favourite scenes from the musical. The Phantom’s face was more skeletal than I had been expecting but it worked. I wasn’t so sure about his red eyes. I expect the detail of some of the darker scenes will be more vivid in print.

Some of the fonts, particularly those used in the letters, were quite difficult to read in the ARC. Hopefully the higher resolution of the published version will render these more legible.

Thank you so much to NetGalley, A Wave Blue World and Diamond Book Distributors for the opportunity to read this graphic novel. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

I should premise this by saying, I adore The Phantom of the Opera. The book, the musical, the music, and the storyline. So when I saw this, I had to start reading it immediately. And then devoured it as fast as I could. The art is so gothic and amazing that it really brought a different feeling to the story. And that feeling was even darker and more morose than the book/musical, but I loved it!!

The Phantom/Ghost is especially a wonderful character and I so felt for him. I also felt like Christine had a new level of humanity and feeling, which added to her character. It’s extremely concise but still holds the story quite well. But seriously, I’ve got to compliment the drawings again because they were just so vivid and the Phantom looked so amazing. I very much liked this version of him although he is not usually so grotesque.

If you like The Phantom of the Opera at all or if you were ever interested in reading it, but worried it was too long or too much, do yourself a favor and pick up this graphic novel. It does well to uphold the feel and story of the book, but also brings its own characteristics to be admired.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and A Wave Blue World Inc for allowing me to read this graphic novel for my honest and unbiased opinion.

Amazon review pending release.

I am enamored by this graphic novel. The artwork is amazing along with the coloring, perfect.
The characters jump off the page. The plot true to form. You have got to check this out.

Thanks to NetGalley, A Wave Blue World, and Varga Tomi for an ARC in return for an honest review.

**I received and voluntarily read an e-ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.**

Most people don't know that Andrew Lloyd Weber didn't create the Phantom of the Opera and in fact adapted it from a novel. So when I first saw this graphic novel, I was uncertain as to which Phantom I would be reading.

This graphic novel is definitely adapted from the novel. Basically, if you've come searching for anything related to Andrew Lloyd Weber's musical, you should go elsewhere. After all, comparing Weber's musical to the original novel would be like comparing the Batman Forever movie (Weber) to the original Michael Keaton Batman (Leroux).

The colors are nice and play well into the story. The drawings seem a little incomplete at times, as if a line or two wasn't erased completely, but I've not read any other material by the author and illustrator before, so this may be part of their style. At times, the font choices were a little hard to read, even on a large iPad, especially in the letters from the Phantom.

Overall, it's a great abridged adaptation that leans heavily on a gothic horror style. If you're a fan of Poe, Shelley, and others of the like, I'd definitely check this one out.

The Phantom of the Opera was one of the first stage performances I had ever seen so when I saw this graphic novel adaptation I wanted to read it. It was an interesting take with detailed illustrations and it is definitely a Gothic horror portrayal.

I was provided with an electronic ARC through NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

As a huge fan of Leroux's 1910 novel, it is hard for me to not be intrigued by a graphic novel that stays true to that story down to the point of view it adapts, which is mostly that of Raoul, and to a limited extent, the managers. Of course there are parts that are left out, but I think that is to be expected from a graphic novel.

The art style was unique for me in a positive way and it fit the overall gothic tone of the story really well, however, maybe because it is an arc, the image resolution for the pages were very low and it made reading difficult, so I'm hoping this issue will be corrected if it is going to be published as a digital copy as well.

I can recommend this graphic novel to fans of the Leroux novel and ALW's musical or anyone who is interested in stories with a gothic undertone, which one can feel even stronger than the original novel in this rendering thanks to the illustrations.

The artwork is what'd caught my attention at the very first place, and a retelling of The Phantom of the Opera sounded just as exciting. Reading on the phone is not the most ideal way and it certainly affected my reading experience on this book. I would have rated it higher if this is in a physical copy or larger display. The flow of the story was captivating just like the original, but I wished there were more depth portrayed in the characters. All in all, a recommended read.

Well I have to consider this a success. It's a graphic novel adaptation of the original novel, and one that shows up all the story well. My only experience of the Phantom in living memory was the stage musical, overladen with so much naff 80s OTT-ness you expected Meat Loaf to be under the mask, yet still not without power. So I was surprised to see a character that didn't survive to even be in the stage adaptation, and got to find the backstory of Raoul and Christine a little more satisfactorily developed. Every sense of the story, as a kind of second-rate Poe, is here still, though – the grand guignol mood of the Phantom, here almost in a plague mask at times, is certainly richly laid on. There are problems, but with the original – if the Phantom didn't want anybody to cross the subterranean lake, why would he take his boat to his home and leave one behind for The Persian to use?! - but this adaptation is a good one. It might be a little too much with the funky framing and odd image sizes at times, and its choice of cursive scripts really must have been better, but whether you come as a fan of the format or the fromage of the original, this strong debut solo creation should win you over. Four stars plus.

The Phantom of The Opera, is my all time favorite broadway play, so when I saw this I knew immediately that I had to read it. I’m so glad I did too. The artwork was beautiful, and while they stayed pretty true to the original story, they made it more horror like then the gothic romance we are used to seeing. This made it seem like a new story which was surprisingly interesting. Since Halloween is around the corner this would be a great graphic novel to read in order to get into the spooky Halloween mode.

Gothic Monster
The original Gaston Leroux Phantom of the Opera is a great novel, and it does not get nearly as much attention as it should. The graphic novel is an abridged version of the original Phantom of the Opera. Though, with all retellings, there are always some parts of the original book that are left out. The major difference is the tone of the story, focusing more on the Gothic horror, and less on the mystery. With the aesthetics of the literal interpretation of the phantom’s skull-like appearance. Filled with dramatic paranoia, and Gothic drama. Highlighted by heavy line-work within the images, and a Gothic monotone color palette. It seemed a bit strange that Varga Tomi inserted the phantom in front of the other characters so soon in the story. As it is hard to pretend you have a ghost, when you see him in person from the beginning. The Persian is then introduced a little too late in the story to be considered a reliable character. The brilliant, musical, humanized Phantom is not in this graphic novel, just the ugly monster. Christine certainly has a strong constitution when dealing with this version of the Phantom. More monster than myth, it is very hard to sympathize with Erik the man, after what he puts everyone through. This graphic novel is a unique perspective on the events of The Phantom of the Opera. A notable example of Gothic horror, and a retelling of an original monster story.

The design and artwork of this graphic novel is absolutely beautiful. Unfortunately, on my phone the formatting isn't the best, so it made some of the images quite difficult to read but I'm sure in print or a reader it reaches its fun potential! The story was faithful to the original material and had excellent pacing throughout - a must for graphic novel lovers!