Bea Wolf: Difference between revisions
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== Plot == | == Plot == | ||
The | The epigraph is a quote from ''{{w|Such, Such Were the Joys}}'' by {{w|George Orwell}}: | ||
> ...the child thinks of growing old as an almost obscene calamity, which for some mysterious reason will never happen to itself. All who have passed the age of thirty are joyless grotesques, endlessly fussing about things of no importance and staying alive without, so far as the child can see, having anything to live for. Only child life is real life. | |||
<blockquote> | |||
...the child thinks of growing old as an almost obscene calamity, which for some mysterious reason will never happen to itself. All who have passed the age of thirty are joyless grotesques, endlessly fussing about things of no importance and staying alive without, so far as the child can see, having anything to live for. Only child life is real life. | |||
</blockquote> | |||
=== fitt 1. === | === fitt 1. === | ||
The book opens with a narrator who introduces a band of rowdy, fun-loving children. He describes several of them in turn, then their king Carl, who | The book opens with a narrator who introduces a band of rowdy, fun-loving children. He describes several of them in turn, then tells of their king Carl, who finds buried treasure with a metal detector and uses it to buy a hoard of toys for everyone to share, taking none for himself. Eventually, he grows into puberty, and has to reluctantly leave his childhood behind. He and his friends wade to a nearby island to burn a funeral pyre of toys. Carl becomes employed at a local convenience store, and remembers his wild childhood fondly. | ||
He | |||
He passes his crown on, and the royal line continues until the eleventh monarch, Roger, who uses the kingdom's amassed fortunes to construct Treeheart, a treehouse paradise for his people. Treeheart faces threats from safety inspectors and envious teenagers, but the worst of them all is Mr. Grindle. | |||
=== fitt 2. === | === fitt 2. === | ||
Mr. Grindle is the most boring of the dull, determined to thwart any and all fun, and has the power to instantly turn young animals and children to adults with a touch of his finger. Disturbed by the noisy nextdoor Treeheart, he first politely asks them to be quieter, but is hit by a stray firework. Enraged, he sneaks in at night and turns most of the the sleeping children to adults, then begins shaping the treehouse to his own will. | |||
=== fitt 3. === | === fitt 3. === | ||
Roger awakens to a sparkling clean, safe, and funproofed Treeheart. He rouses the survivors into rebuilding, but the very next night Grindle attacks and turns fifteen victims to teenagers and adults. Wendy, hall-guard, protects Roger and keeps him from facing Grindle. Twelve days later, Roger unsuccessfully tries to plead with Grindle, and the kids take refuge in a local rec room. They grow depressed and bored, ceasing all play. Grindle takes to cleaning Treeheart each morning, but can never approach the throne. Of the kids, only Wendy and Roger are brave enough to visit. | |||
=== fitt 4. === | === fitt 4. === | ||
| Line 27: | Line 33: | ||
=== fitt 9. === | === fitt 9. === | ||
In the epilogue, the narrator tells of kids returning to Treeheart and celebrating, but warns of Grindle's mother, who has discovered the state of her son | In the epilogue, the narrator tells of kids returning to Treeheart and celebrating, but warns of Grindle's mother, who has discovered the state of her son. Grindle's mother is notorious for trapping kids in crochet cocoons to be hung in her house till they reach adolescence. But that is a tale for another time. | ||
=== Afterword === | === Afterword === | ||
Zach gives an afterword about the original epic poem of Beowulf, how it was popularized by {{w|J.R.R. Tolkien}}'s love for the story, and how ''Bea Wolf'' came to be. A few pages of character design and sketches are featured before the book concludes with acknowledgements. | Zach gives an afterword about the original epic poem of Beowulf, how it was popularized by {{w|J.R.R. Tolkien}}'s love for the story, and how ''Bea Wolf'' came to be. A few pages of character design and sketches are featured before the book concludes with acknowledgements. | ||
Revision as of 15:59, 21 November 2024
Bea Wolf is a 2023 middle-grade graphic novel adaptation of part of the Old English epic poem Beowulf, written by Zach Weinersmith and illustrated by Boulet. It began as a story Zach told to his daughter Ada Weinersmith on the commute to and from school. It was promoted through the comics Bea-wolf, Algo, Bea, and Bea-2, and referenced in Sympathy and Care-2. Zach considers it his magnum opus, saying in Bea-2: "Sorry about the ad but for God's sake it's the best thing I've ever written so please go buy it"
Synopsis
In a land of children known for their feats of fun, the tree house Treeheart is besieged by the middle-aged Mr. Grindle, whose touch can bring a fate worse than death: adolescence and adulthood. To face this foe comes a child warrior: Bea Wolf.
Plot
The epigraph is a quote from Such, Such Were the Joys by George Orwell:
...the child thinks of growing old as an almost obscene calamity, which for some mysterious reason will never happen to itself. All who have passed the age of thirty are joyless grotesques, endlessly fussing about things of no importance and staying alive without, so far as the child can see, having anything to live for. Only child life is real life.
fitt 1.
The book opens with a narrator who introduces a band of rowdy, fun-loving children. He describes several of them in turn, then tells of their king Carl, who finds buried treasure with a metal detector and uses it to buy a hoard of toys for everyone to share, taking none for himself. Eventually, he grows into puberty, and has to reluctantly leave his childhood behind. He and his friends wade to a nearby island to burn a funeral pyre of toys. Carl becomes employed at a local convenience store, and remembers his wild childhood fondly.
He passes his crown on, and the royal line continues until the eleventh monarch, Roger, who uses the kingdom's amassed fortunes to construct Treeheart, a treehouse paradise for his people. Treeheart faces threats from safety inspectors and envious teenagers, but the worst of them all is Mr. Grindle.
fitt 2.
Mr. Grindle is the most boring of the dull, determined to thwart any and all fun, and has the power to instantly turn young animals and children to adults with a touch of his finger. Disturbed by the noisy nextdoor Treeheart, he first politely asks them to be quieter, but is hit by a stray firework. Enraged, he sneaks in at night and turns most of the the sleeping children to adults, then begins shaping the treehouse to his own will.
fitt 3.
Roger awakens to a sparkling clean, safe, and funproofed Treeheart. He rouses the survivors into rebuilding, but the very next night Grindle attacks and turns fifteen victims to teenagers and adults. Wendy, hall-guard, protects Roger and keeps him from facing Grindle. Twelve days later, Roger unsuccessfully tries to plead with Grindle, and the kids take refuge in a local rec room. They grow depressed and bored, ceasing all play. Grindle takes to cleaning Treeheart each morning, but can never approach the throne. Of the kids, only Wendy and Roger are brave enough to visit.
fitt 4.
fitt 5.
fitt 6.
fitt 7.
fitt 8.
fitt 9.
In the epilogue, the narrator tells of kids returning to Treeheart and celebrating, but warns of Grindle's mother, who has discovered the state of her son. Grindle's mother is notorious for trapping kids in crochet cocoons to be hung in her house till they reach adolescence. But that is a tale for another time.
Afterword
Zach gives an afterword about the original epic poem of Beowulf, how it was popularized by J.R.R. Tolkien's love for the story, and how Bea Wolf came to be. A few pages of character design and sketches are featured before the book concludes with acknowledgements.