Book Report: MARLEY'S GHOST (a picture book for grownups)

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Off and on in the past several days I have been reading a novel, or more correctly:  looking at a novel.  It is the graphic novel MARLEY'S GHOST (aka A CHRISTMAS CAROL) by Charles Dickens.

Of course I know the story, I have heard it countless times with Uncle Scrooge (not McDuck), Tiny tim, and all the rest of Christmas Carol people.  The reason I am going through the story again is because of the illustrator:  Harvey Kurtzman.  Kurtzman did his own adaptation in 1954 (and the e-version was marked down).

The Kurtzman adaptation  was not known until it was found fairly recently.

One thing I found interesting was that it was made in 1954, just when Harvey Kurtzman was getting recognized as the editor and creator of MAD Comicbook and was the first and then the pace setter of the Zany satirist-type of comics.  He was pouring out  great quantities (and quality) of his talent and went beyond that into another field of comics,  graphic novels.

MARLEY'S GHOST takes a close look of Ebeneezer Scrooge's life and how he became what he was;  grouchy old self-centered sour old man successful in business.... and did I say penny pincher and self-righteous?

When dealing with Scrooge normally the colors were dark and gloomy, but when people were   partying and doing Christmas-spirited things  the colors became bright and jubilant. 

It also showed that you don't have to be Christian to enjoy the season and show goodwill towards your fellow man.

However, the fact that it was discovered unpublished after he had died indicates he did not make a dime on it, but hopefully his survivors did.

It was good that Kurtzman did it in the time in his life he was at his creative peak.  As he got older he came down with Parkinson disease which caused his hands to shake.