Friday, June 28, 2024

Listen with me

 

Investi-Gators Collection by John Patrick Green

The idea of an audiobook for a graphic novel has always felt a bit counter-intuitive to me. If your story is told visually, if those visuals are essential to fully convey what is happening, then how can it work to tell it aurally? I've listened to a few now and have learned the keys. First is full cast. Each character needs a distinct voice so we can track what's happening. Second is sound effects. Action can be conveyed with sound. A car starting. The "whoosh" of a parachute or "splat" of a cake. And sometimes the dialogue is tweaked or narration is added to make action and other essential elements clear. This audio makes great use of it's narrator, telling us often what Mango and Brash are doing with humor and tongue firmly planted in cheek. It helps that in the original graphic novels are often break the fourth wall or reference the fact that they are comics. The audio follows these same patterns, with characters talking about the fact that this is an audiobook and colors not especially mattering. It's quite silly and playful. And utterly enjoyable. 

 Advanced Reader Copy provided by NetGalley

No comments:

Post a Comment