Review by C.J. Bunce
We’ve reviewed the first volume here and the second volume here of what would become a worthy, direct adaptation of Frank Herbert’s Dune. The third volume, Frank Herbert’s Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 3–The Prophet fulfills the climactic promise of the earlier volumes, not surprisingly adhering to Herbert’s story thanks to contributions by Frank’s son, Brian Herbert. He and science fiction author Kevin J. Anderson provide a complete picture of Paul Atreides’ sci-fi/fantasy journey. You can order the third and final volume of this trilogy from Elite Comics, your local comic shop, or order it from Abrams here at Amazon.
If you’re not familiar with this new graphic novel trilogy, it is important to note it is not a tie-in to the 2020s movies, but an attempt to re-create the original novel in visual form. The third book in the graphic novel adaptation makes up for the heavily “talking-head” issues of the second act. And Spanish artists Raúl Allén and Patricia Martín have plenty of action to get caught up with, all stuffed into Herbert’s third act.
Much of that action is focused on the grotesque nature of the villains under the thumb of the mastermind Baron Harkonnen. The artists mix up their layouts this time to make chapters pop. They pull some layouts to the bleeding edge of the paper, peppered with a layout with silhouette stylized background, a few creative dark and light opposing pages, along with your typical block style and landscapes.
This installment creates a readable book that should keep readers engaged to the last page. I love their use of color to ignite what could have been a desert-drab series. The result is something more engaging than Denis Villeneuve’s second film adaptation. Fans and collectors of Bill Sienkiewicz art should note that Volume 3 includes the third part of his triptych cover art for this series.
The Prophet is that faithful wrap-up volume you’d hope for. Grab your copy–in a nice hardcover with full-color jacket–from Elite Comics or order it from Abrams here at Amazon.
Catch up on the original Herbert novel here and the original David Lynch cult hit film from 1984 starring Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Brad Dourif, Linda Hunt, Everett McGill, Patrick Stewart, Sting, Sean Young, Alicia Witt, Dean Stockwell, and Max Von Sydow here. A spin-off television series is in the works, a prequel series titled Dune: The Sisterhood, being prepared for Max. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies are now streaming on Max.
