Piper

Maggie is a deaf girl who lives on the outskirts of town, ostracized and ridiculed by the townsfolk. When a young man comes into town and claims to be able to rid all of the rats that have been plaguing the town for a rather large fee, Maggie finds herself drawn to this mysterious stranger and his ability to play wonderful enchanting music. However, the town starts to get suspicious of his intentions and plots to double cross him, Maggie finds herself questioning if she can even trust this strange Piper.

Some stories can only be told in a visual format. Unfortunately, Piper has quite the opposite problem. The story being told would have been much better off in a traditional novel as it seems like everything is rushed or barely brushed show more over. The pacing jumps quite a bit throughout the the story to accommodate for the shorter graphic novel format, leading to these odd moments where it feels like there's dialogue or scenes completely missing. As such, a lot of the emotional punch of the ending is lost since we barely know these characters before the whole thing ends.

The artwork falls into the category of being nice looking without really having anything that makes it stand out. It has a traditional "sketchy" look to it that is popular in many comic books. The characters aren't super detailed, especially when standing in the distance. And the backgrounds, for the most part, are flat colors which doesn't really help them stand out. The colors in general are diluted darker colors, giving the whole thing a dull appearance. Even flames look flat and almost off due to the diluted color pallet used.

Maggie and the Piper are wonderful protagonists that I wish were given more time to actually develop. The Piper's darker look on the world and Maggie's more forgiving personality make for some great contrast between them and lead to some great character moments as well. Because of the format and lack of time with these characters, their relationship development feels a bit rushed and Maggie's decisions towards the end seem to make absolutely no sense.

The story itself, again, would have been better fitted for a full length novel rather than just a short comic book. I really enjoyed the basic plotlines and Maggie's relationship with The Piper. I didn't particularly like the ending but given the way the story was going, I was not surprised to see it ended the way it did. Overall, though, the whole thing would have just been better as a standalone novel as the graphic novel format just does not work with this heavy of a story. show less

I'm probably being too critical, because on the whole this is a perfectly fine pseudo-medieval piece of storytelling, but several of the details got right up my nose.

1: Your main character is Deaf, and explicitly only lip reading, and yet there are multiple scenes in which characters are speaking from behind her and she replies, or speak from the side while not facing her. That's sloppy.

2: Don't try to pass off fiction as history -- and if it really is based off history, do a better job of being really clear what is and isn't. The book opens with a letter about finding details about the real history of Hameln, but because it's also a foil to set the mood for the story, the veracity is super unclear.

3: This is supposed to be a medieval show more story. The images are fantasy medieval at best, and generic at worst. I don't hate the images, they just seem lazy in the details, and not particularly accurate to time and place. Likewise, the leadership of Hameln in the Middle Ages could give a sh*t about whether the townsfolk believe in them. Would they want to clear out a rat plague? Yes, for productivity reasons. Would they care if the villagers were unhappy? Not likely. And the wedding scene -- totally inaccurate, from the white dress to the ceremony. Argh. Wrong, wrong, wrong. show less

Graphic novels aren't really my thing and WOOHOO, THIS BROKE THE STREAK OF ONE-STAR READS IN A ROW I'D BEEN GOING THROUGH!! I'm so happy. (dances) So. I looked at the cover and all its credits. I don't know anything about the work that goes into putting a graphic novel together, but I'm guessing it might be rare for so many specific people to be noted. That made me happy.

The first animations are of trees in the dark with accompanying creepy lettering and text. I was so excited to turn the page. This was a fairly standard romance with a few fantastical features (woo unintentional alliteration!) and from what I gathered, a wonderful retelling of the 1600s German folk tale. One element that was clearly fantasy was the Deaf protagonist show more Maggie, read lips so clearly and--from what I understand, not very much language can be read clearly on the lips alone, so that kept throwing me off. It was great to have other details in, though. Agnes was wonderful! I was surprised at how invested I was in the story and even though the ending had me sad, it still fit well with what the authors were doing. I'm so glad I read this. show less

I love adaptations and retellings of the Pied Piper tale, and this one slipped my notice because the synopsis makes no mention that it's a retelling, rather making it sound like a love story between two outcasts.

Maggie is beautifully drawn, a shock of color in the more uniform color palette of Hamelin and everyone in it. The Piper is also beautiful and unlike anyone else in Hamelin, drawing the connection between the two of the immediately.

I was a little confused about how Maggie was able to talk so well, but once it was explained that she wasn't born deaf it made more sense. It could have been a little more clear that she was looking at people as they talked so she could read their lips, but that's a minor quibble.

Piper is a graphic novel collaboratively written by authors Jay Asher and Jessica Freeburg and illustrated by Jeff Stokely. It is a retelling of the Pied Piper and the twist is that his music does not affect one person: Maggie. Maggie is a deaf girl, hence why his music does not endanger her. Maggie’s hearing was lost due to an act of violent bullying and the injustice only stems from there as villagers continue to bully her relentlessly. Yet she continues to make the best of it by telling funny stories to her caretaker, Agathe.

The Pied Piper heroically comes to save the village from the rat infestation that has wiped out the population with starvation and/or disease. But this rescue comes at a price. A price that the village decides show more not to pay once the deed is done. But if they refuse to pay in cash, they will have to pay at a different price-revenge.

Graphic Novels are something that I have only recently begun to develop an interest in, my first being Brian K. Vaughn’s Saga series. I simply must find more graphic novels that have been illustrated by Jeff Stokely as the artwork is marvelous. The expressions of the characters, the movement of the wind, and the playful innocence portrayed in a single panel where the Pied Piper is eating an apple under a tree in front of a peacock, for example. I was just so moved by the illustrations and they greatly improved the storyline.

Personally, I was hoping for more out of the character of Maggie. I was initially so excited about this graphic novel because it centered around a deaf character. Both of my parents are deaf and so I expected great things from this character but I was a little disappointed. I had to take a star away because it seemed like being deaf only came into play when someone walked up behind her and scared her, when she was incorrectly pronouncing words when Agathe wrote down her stories, or when she was being bullied. I just wish a little more research would have gone into her character because although lip-reading is a way to communicate, there was not any sign language at all. Granted, I was not expecting American Sign Language in a story based in the medieval times, some home signs between Agathe and Maggie would have been redeeming. Furthermore, going back to the sneaking up behind her example, when I try to sneak up on my parents, they can feel the vibrations from my walking behind them and it doesn’t always work. What is failed to be mentioned is that when you lose one sense, the other senses get stronger.

Although I had to take one (slightly biased) star away, the story itself is minimalist yet powerful. The elements of greed and the despicable villagers are well-balanced by the purity and optimism of Maggie and Agathe despite their tragic situation. Another well-balanced aspect in this story is how both of their backgrounds are isolated, tragic, and yet they find hope in one another. Furthermore, when they go in different directions, they still protect one another making their love story even more emotional.

I also enjoyed that this was a retelling of the Pied Piper as I thought that was unique. So many fairy tale retellings have centered around the princesses and Red Riding Hood lately that this one stands out.

In conclusion, I would recommend Piper for readers who enjoy retellings, tragic love stories, unexpected heroes, and graphic novels.

I would not recommend Piper for those who may be offended on how Maggie’s deafness is portrayed, or those who may be offended or triggered by bullying, violence, kidnapping, and revenge. show less

Recensione su BookLover

Maggie è una ragazza sorda che vive in un villaggio dove molte persone la trattano male proprio per questa sua disabilità. Le piace inventare storie e ha un’immaginazione molto fervida. Quando il suo villaggio viene infestato dai topi e un giovane arriva per risolvere il problema, Maggie se ne innamora; presto, però, scopre un lato più oscuro del pifferaio.

Quando ho visto questo volume in biblioteca, sono stata molto attratta dalla copertina e dal fatto che fosse un retelling di una delle storie dei fratelli Grimm (che, tra l’laltro, prima o poi dovrò leggere). Ho deciso quindi di prenderlo e non me ne sono pentita.

Per quanto riguarda la storia, l’ho trovata molto semplice ma intrigante. Era difficile show more mettere giù il libro per fare altro e, poi, si legge anche velocemente… Se non si sta fermi a guardare i disegni come ho fatto io! Seguiamo sia Maggie che il Pifferaio, le cui storie sono intrecciate ma il cui comportamento è molto diverso rispetto a coloro che hanno fatto loro del male.

Ovviamente non è una storia avvincente o veloce dal punto di vista della trama: anzi, l’ho trovata molto legata ai personaggi e al loro background, nonché alle loro interazioni. Ovviamente la storia non finisce bene, proprio come la storia dei fratelli Grimm, e mi è dispiaciuto molto per Maggie.

Per quanto riguarda i personaggi, ammetto che mi è piaciuto di più il Pifferaio. Non solo perché è più misterioso e serio rispetto a Maggie, ma anche per ciò che lo spinge a legarsi alla ragazza e la sua storia, che ovviamente non voglio spoilerare.

Maggie è fantasiosa e interessante a suo modo e mi è piaciuta un sacco, ma un po’ meno.

Ciò che traina entrambi è ovviamente la solitudine, che vivono in modo diverso, l’uno con rabbia, l’altra cercando vie d’uscita. È un argomento importante, che viene trattato dagli autori e dall’artista in modo molto espressivo.

Comunque, quello che mi ha attratto davvero sono i disegni, che hanno un tratto molto particolare e adatto ai ragazzi e alla storia, almeno secondo me. Non posso farvi vedere delle tavole perché l’ho già restituito in biblioteca, ma già dalla copertina potete vedere i dettagli e il tipo di disegno.

Nel complesso, un’ottima lettura a cui però manca qualcosa (non so bene cosa) per avere un voto totalmente positivo. show less

Interesting graphic novel retelling of The Pied Piper, where a deaf young lady in Hamelin falls in love with the piper. Very bittersweet and poignant story, though it does stick closely to the original tale. The art is lovely as well.