Cartoonist Adam Gillson and writer Nathanial Eker-Male worked together to re-create a portion of The Toilers of the Sea, which they have titled The Toil.
‘We took some liberties with the source material and focused only on the mid-section, which is where all the action is.
‘We figured this segment best lends itself to the art of comic book storytelling. Our adaptation doesn’t feature much dialogue. It’s actually based on a film script I wrote during my degree,’ said Mr Gillson.
Funding for the printing and administrative costs of the book was provided by Guernsey Arts and the Victor Hugo in Guernsey Society.
‘We’re really excited to bring Hugo’s story to a new generation, and hope that our comic book will attract younger kids to Hugo’s work.
‘It can be pretty tough to read so we wanted our comic to be an entry point into his fantastic bibliography,’ said Mr Eker-Male.
Very few adaptations of the book have been created in comic-style, and is the only one of its kind to be designed and produced in Guernsey.
The novel centres around Gilliatt, a Guernsey man who sets out to the Douvres rocks to recover the engine of a wrecked ship.
Head of arts development at Guernsey Arts, Russ Fossey, said he could not wait to see what they do with the book next.
‘Fostering local talent is at the heart of what we do at Guernsey Arts. We’re delighted to fund a project that is so intrinsically tied to Guernsey’s history and literary culture.
‘The guys have produced a great, modern interpretation of Hugo’s work,’ said Mr Fossey.
French author Victor Hugo spent 15 years in exile in Guernsey, where he wrote the epic classic Les Miserables.
‘Adam and Nathanial have created a version of Hugo’s work that is altogether their own.
‘We are pleased to support any endeavour that brings the author’s work to a new audience, and transposing it into this new, exciting medium is a great way to do just that,’ said Victor Hugo in Guernsey Society chairwoman Dinah Bott.
The book will be launched at an event in March and will be available to purchase later in 2022.
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