The Eclipse Hobbit!

As far as I can remember the Eclipse Comics adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit came out of left field. I don't remember much buzz about it at the time, but it was a period when I was less connected to comics overall. After the burst of interest in fantasy in the 70's, largely as a result of the success of Tolkien's epic works, the story had gotten an animated treatment in both television and in the cinema. There had been a radio play or two, but things seemed relatively quiet in Middle-Earth. 

The adaptation by writers Chuck Dixon and Sean Deming was illustrated with consummate skill by artist David Wenzel. I had run across Wenzel on some Marvel comics and his name didn't evoke great confidence, but his work in this version of the story is at once distinctive and delicate. His vision of Middle-Earth is not derivative to my eye. Eclipse issued the story in three installments and then in collaboration with Unwin, the longtime publishers of the story produced a graphic novel. 

Wenzel's version of Gandalf is a potent one, as he seems far from fragile and is presented with strong features. He's less the wizened old man of other adaptations. Bilbo Baggins is a surprise as well, shown as quite chubby and with a haircut that frankly reminds me of Moe from the Three Stooges. The Dwarves look great, and distinctive as far as that's necessary in this tome. Unlike the bloated trilogy of recent years, it was less important to distinguish them in all sorts of peculiar ways. 

Gollum is quite different as well. Wearing pants makes him immediately more civilized than his counterparts in other media. He's less a creature and more a crazy and withered person. People love the Riddle Game in Bilbo's encounter with Gollum and it plays well in the novel, but I found it seemed to drag Jist a bit in this presentation. I was happy that this adaptation kept Beorn and his wonderful lodge, something abandoned in other renditions not unlike Tom Bombadil in adaptation of the grander The Lord of the Rings.

 

Smaug is outstanding! That said, the reading becomes quite dense as the band of dwarves enter the final stages of the story. The creators are clearly feeling the pinch of trying to keep all of the story from the novel and the panels get smaller as the captions get larger. This clearly needed to be at least one issue longer. The Battle of the Five Armies barely has enough pages to showcase it, though Wenzel does produce some stellar images. One complaint I have is that the elves don't look much different than the humans, and in some respects even more drab. But overall, the art has a lovely calm to it, that fits the atmosphere of the story being told. 

The adaptation has proven quite durable and is available sundry languages across the globe. I found a modern version on the stands of my local bookstore just a few weeks ago. If you're a fan of the Tolkien tales, this is a charming way to interact with these classic characters. 

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