Title: The Mortal Instruments: The Graphic Novel, Vol. 1
Author: Cassandra Clare & Cassandra Jean
Pages: 208
Genre: Graphic novel, YA, fantasy
My Rating: ★★★★
The first installment of Cassandra Clare’s bestselling urban fantasy series, The Mortal Instruments, is adapted into a graphic novel series!
Hanging out with her best friend, Simon, is just about the most exciting thing in Clary’s life…that is, until she realizes there are people only she can see. But when her mother disappears and a monster attacks her, Clary has to embrace a world that she never even knew existed–a world full of vampires, werewolves, demons, and those who fight for the humans, Shadowhunters…
Okay, I’m going to be real for a second: I originally rated the novel version of this book 2 stars. Well, maybe it was more like 2.5 stars. But, nevertheless, I just did not love it and when people saw my rating I was… met with some rather unhappy responses.
Here’s my opinion on The Mortal Instrument series: they’re fun and consumable, and they have stood up well over the years. They have good world building, action, and romance. But what grips me the most is the very complex history and connections between all the characters/families. I think Cassandra Clare does such an amazing job in building the Shadowhunter/Downworlder worlds and each book gets stronger and stronger. Are they literary masterpieces? I mean, that’s not my decision to make. And I’m not going to drag anyone who likes these books because you are allowed to enjoy what you want. This series has overall been really fun for me to read and I will continue to read however many more books Cassandra Clare publishes.
Now with that being said, I did not love book 1 in this series because it read like bad Harry Potter fanfic. However this graphic novel was a wonderful new way for me to dive back into this world. I really recommend this if you’re wanting a refresher or cliffnotes version of what happened in book 1 (but keep in mind this graphic novel is only a portion of the novel.) And, dare I say it? But I found Jace so much more likeable in the graphic novel version!
However, I don’t love the art. At times some panels looked really poorly drawn and it was confusing during some action sequences. And there were a few times where I thought Clary and Izzy looked oddly drawn. However, I really love the cover art and wished we could’ve gotten the entire graphic novel in full color.
Overall I really enjoyed diving back into this world. There were a lot of things I forgot (like, hello, Hodge. I forgot about you) and it was fun to be able to visualize it all. I thought Jace’s falcon story was depicted very well and all the pertinent information wasn’t glossed over. I really think if you’re a huge fan of this series then you may enjoy these graphic novels, too!
xx,
Amy
A Court of Crowns and Quills 