The Discworld Graphic Novels: The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of Pratchett's Discworld series, HarperCollins has published this hard bound compendium of the first two Discworld novels, "The Color of Magic" and "The Light Fantastic," in their 1991 renditions as graphic novels. Pratchett's writing skills have grown far beyond these early pastiches and satires, but there are real pleasures and genuine belly laughs in these two early books.

The Discworld rides on the backs of four giant elephants, who in turn stand on the back of planet-sized Great a'Tuin, the Star Turtle. "Hertzsprung-Russell Diagrams" are used to classify stars by colors, size and age. The Great a'Tuin is the only turtle to ever appear in a Hertzsprung-Russell Diagram. Trust me, if you are an astronomy student, it's a real groaner. But the great part about these stories is that there are puns, jokes and gags enough for everyone and every taste. The home of the quarrelsome, meddlesome gods of the Discworld, for example, is called Dunmanifestin... Ouch.

The drawings add interest. While the characters don't much resemble the pictures in my head, let alone the actors in Sky One's recent movie based on these novels, they aren't bad. Only the beardless Cohen the Barbarian seriously disappoints. Some cherished scenes have been clipped out; it's probably unavoidable, but I did miss Bravrd and Weasel, pastiches of Leiber's Fafhrd and Mouser, the bureaucratic evil of Ymper Trymon, and the very brief flight on TWA. But there's plenty of Pratchett humor left.

The drawings have a distinct charm and consistency. They add to the story, without distorting it. Those old paperback graphic novels, long out of print, are very hard to find; if you want a complete set of Pratchett, this volume is essential.

The madcap punning - persons robbing music shops must be "luters" - and throwaway lines - "We've got a wizard and we're not afraid to use him" - are there, and the drawings make them more fun still. These first two novels didn't have much of a plot but they definitely had their moments. This graphic novel gives you a chance to enjoy those moments again. And those new to Pratchett may find the graphic novels more accessible. Strongly recommended.

I've long been a fan of Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels, and this graphic novel was a lot of fun: a great way to revisit some of the early stories. The artwork is quite nice, and by and large they did an excellent adaptation that is both true to the original work and true to the adopted medium. All in all, very enjoyable.

That said, whoever did the lettering managed to insert a number of errors into the text - basic stuff like its/it's mistakes, the sort of thing any editor off the street would catch and fix. Mr. Pratchett's books have always been conscientiously edited in this regard, and this sort of thing is an insult, just poor craftsmanship. I hope future editions can manage to avoid this sort of thing.

I'm a big Pratchett fan, and generally feel that if it's Discworld-related, it's probably worth buying (well, in moderation, there's so much DW stuff out there). So in that respect, The Discworld Graphic Novels is indeed worth buying. However, it is not perfect. There are, as earlier reviewers have said, a number of spelling errors, which I find odd bc someone had to write the lettering in by hand, so didn't they notice? Also, I'm just not a huge fan of the two novels, and often get sick of Rincewind during one of his books. And sometimes with graphic novels (esp the ones that were comic books first) I have a hard time reading the dialogue in the right order, which gets annoying. I guess I'm more of a linear reader. So did I love it? No, but I enjoyed it, and thought Twoflower and the Luggage were well done.

This is a generally well done albeit somewhat abridged graphic novel treatment of Pratchett's first two Diskworld books. There are some graphic discrepancies, but not much that's serious - the wizards on Unseen University are not depicted as being fat, which is not in keeping with Pratchett's description. Rincewind's hat is drawn as a stocking cap rather than a proper wizard's hat. There are occasional other details that seem a bit off. On the other hand, there are some details that seemed to me quite good - I had never thought of Twoflower as being Asian before, but after thinking about it it's kind of obvious. The overall level of the drawing is quite good. The storyline is more or less faithful to the books, although some details of the plot have been omitted, specifically the murderous machinations of Trymon (the character is entirely absent) and the assassination of Galder Weatherwax at Unseen University. In fact the characterization of Weatherwax is really not in keeping with a member of the Weatherwax family to a person well versed in the Diskworld milieu. In fact in general the story elements involving the wizards have been given short shrift, which is rather unfortunate in this reader's opinion. But what the hey, it's a COMIC BOOK!

If this is your first introduction to Pratchett and Diskworld, enjoy the book, then go out and buy the novels. If you've already read the books (as I had) this is still a colorful and entertaining day's diversion.

Those truly interested in buying this book can get a preview of it on the publisher's website:

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I am a latecomer to Terry Pratchett's work, however, I loved the first two novels so much that I just had to have them in this form. I think Discworld fans are an unusual set and, a few errors aside, this is definitely worth having if you're a fan.

I think I liked these stories better as novels, partly because the graphic novel version cuts out some of Pratchett's amazing prose. That being said, I enjoyed this graphic novel version.

I personally like to use my imagination while reading a book to come up with the images that the author is trying to convey. This book gives the story while showing you the descriptions. The drawings are wonderful and the story still rings true, but if you are looking for the full 'DiscWorld Experience' I would read the actual novels. These books would be good for younger readers who enjoy the graphic novel genre.

PTerry fans rejoice! If you are a Discworld fan, this is a MUST HAVE. The art is all hand-painted, and its never boring.

i saw this product and realized i had to own it right away, and the price was awesome!!! and for it being a used book it came looking like new!! i have already read it twice and and on the third read now. i highly suggest this book to any fan of discworld and anyone who might want a visual of the first two books in a long series of awesome titles!!

Not a skimpy novel! Large volume; loaded with great illustrations, and of course the ingenious wit of Pratchett. A must for any Discworld fan.