Percy Shelley would definitely be considered an awful person these days. Someone who because of his money and charisma was able to slide through life, getting away with being an incorrigible human being. This covers up to the time he meets up with Mary Shelley who I admire much more. The cartoonish art was off-putting to me.

In this graphic novel, we follow the life of Percy Shelley, starting while he’s in college, shortly before his expulsion.

I didn’t know much about this when I started reading it but I must say it impressed me. It was not a 5 star book, it didn’t grip me like many other graphic novels I’ve read but it still had it’s merit.

The art was unique and visually appealing, at least for me. I didn’t know much about Percy Shelley before picking this up and, even though this graphic novel is not an extensive piece about his life, it gives the reader enough information for a glimpse of it.

Would I recommend it? Sure, if you want to know more about Shelley, you can read it for yourself and enjoy it for what it is.

This is my first graphic text read. A very interesting story of the life of Percy Shelley. It was a very quick read.

Meh. The basic gist of the story here is that Percy Shelley was a world-class a-hole. Yes, the guy was espousing theories in his day that were ahead of their time, and quite common today (such as atheism and vegetarianism) but also, he basically kidnapped a 16 year old he barely knew (who the story fails to mention was also clinically depressed) and then dumped her for another teenager after she popped out his kid.

Although I'm not fond of Shelley's personality, his poetry and controversial ideas always caught my attention. Moreover, I love Mary Shelley. So, I couldn't get more excited about this graphic novel about Shelley's life. The story is very fast-paced and begins with Shelley being expelled from Oxford and ends with him running away with Mary and her sister Clara. The illustrations might not have been my favourite, but I'm looking forward the second volume.

A perfectly portioned introduction to a interesting man. When I hear the name Shelley, I automatically think of Mary and her monster. I was expecting another book of Mary but was quite surprised and pleased to see it is about her husband, a person I know little about. Vandemeulen has created an enthralling biography of the eccentric poet while Casanaves style of art perfectly captures the time and tone of the period. I look forward to reading volume 2.

Perfect for the ravenous reader of graphic novels, Romanic poets, or people who are clever. The prose guides the reader along the high points of Shelley's early adulthood with breezy language and mod characterizations. The art is a fun combination of the style popularized in '80's alt-comics (notably From Hell), and early 20th Century comic strips like Thimble Theatre. On the whole, pleasant, and I am looking forward to the next volume.

Graphic novels are highly sought after in my classroom.. But with all the cool superheros and Vertigo graphic novels out, it can be difficult competition when I am trying to excite my students over British literature. Basically, I need all the help I can get so I love that this graphic novel marries the two. Each page is filled with rich detail and a riveting story line making Shelley feel like the superheros my students idealize.

I would recommend this for any teacher in the struggle to engage students to love literature or any literary nerds for that fact that want to see Shelley in a new, hip light.

Blogger at Momotips

I received a DRC of this graphic novel courtesy of Europe Comics via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you!!

It was a real pleasure to read this graphic novel! I knew the poet but not that much. I love how the story is build, and how is historically accurate! Going through the illustrations, it seemed to me that I was entering story. I could get to know Percy and his life. I must say that obviously the name of P. Shelley was already known to me, but I knew very little about this poet for the fact that I do not particularly love poetry. It happened in the past I read poems, but nothing from Shelley. Thanks to this graphic novel, as well as getting to know the poet closely, I was also able to learn more about his life and from where his works came from. Within the comic we find parts written both by P. Shelley but also by other writers who have accompanied him in his life. Cannot wait to read volume 2!

A longer and more accurate review is available at Momotips blog.

Thank you Europe Comics and NetGalley for a copy of this book to read & review.

I am very vaguely familiar with the life of Percy Shelley. I know that he's a writer and was married to Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley of Frankenstein fame and...that's it. What can I say? I'm far from an English Scholar. I thought a graphic novel would be a great way to bone up on a bit of knowledge without getting bogged down with too many boring details. I was right, but I also had to refer to Wikipedia a bit.

The artwork was clear and bright, in a style that I'm calling cartoony realism. I was easily able to determine what was going on and keep track of the people since everyone had their own look. I know authors want to sell more books to get more money, but considering Percy only lived to the ripe old age of 29, and this starts when he was about 19, I think his life could've been covered in one larger volume. Also, the inclusion of a few boxes that explained that poor Harriet was shunned and still married to Percy when he disappeared with Mary would've been super helpful.

Overall this was an entertaining glimpse into the life of a famous author, well drawn & colored, and with some good insight to the rather selfish person this guy was. I just wish it was one larger volume to cover his life, since it petered out right as it got to the beginning of the dramatic goodness worthy of a soap-opera.

Percy Shelley is mostly remembered as the husband of Mary Shelley. I knew he also was a poet, but much more I didn't know. This graphic novels tells his story as he is expelled from Oxford and pisses off many people in the pursuit of his dreams.

I don't know how accurate this story is, but I felt most sorry for his first wife, Harriet. Percy didn't came across as a likeable character. The art is rather cartoonish and not really my style. I'm however curious to find out more and would probably read the second part in this series.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Art - 3.3 stars
Story - 2 stars

Book, you put me in a predicament. It could be a nice story, but the real Shelley character is certainly not my favorite. Despite the humor and lightness with which the book treats Shelley's escapades, I am afraid that it does not manage to catch my sympathy.

In 1811 Percy Shelley is expelled from Oxford, his father -an aristocrat- is not happy, and then the story continues to tell his decisions in the following years, leaving the volume when he leaves with the best known, admit it, Mary Shelley (for writing Frankenstein). This is the era of Byron, of the scandals of this group of anarchist liberals.

I understand that Shelley is a very named poet of the romantic movement with strong ideas (which were mostly known after death) about atheism and free love. But the way in which he behaves, like a boy who does not care more than having a good time without wanting to feel tied to any convention or whom is hurting... , that is, she seduces the poor fool and escapes with her, abandons her and do the same thing again with the daughter of a friend ... No.

And, nevertheless, and in spite of the previous thing, I find that it is a good way to present the biography of an author or a historical personage.

Great description of Percy Shelley. I loved that the illustrations made it kid friendly. My son and I read it together for his reading hour one afternoon, and he was blown away with this graphic novel. Perfect for kids and adults alike!

Fabulous illustrations, easy read, and good layout. I learned a few things about this gentleman that I had not previously known.

Perfect beach reading material!

I enjoyed this comic, it was a history of Percy Shelly who later became the husband of Marry Shelley. The story was well done and gives you a basic overbeow of Percy Shelley and his life. It didnt fully explore everything, but it was enough to make me want to reaserch him. The pacing was a tad off in places and it was hard to keep track of who some pf the side charaxters where, other than that I would still recommend this comic.

Amusing a lot. A nice look at Percy B. Shelley's life. There were none really interesting information about his life (dates, places, events) besides meeting George Byron, but it did not bother me. I even liked the way it was drawn and colored, it portraited the story very well. The part of Harriet's letter to his father and his expressions was the best of all.

Percy Shelley, with a script by David Vandermeulen and art by Daniel Casanave, is the first book in the Shelley Bilogy. I was expecting an interesting, engaging story, maybe something darker, influenced by the cover, but I found a humorous adaptation of Percy's life.
The story doesn't show us much, only what this character did to become a controversial figure in his time, but under a lens of irreverence and comedy that resembles parody more than a recount as such. I really don't feel like I learned anything important about Percy Shelley in this comic, if I'm honest.
The story by David Vandermeulen is simple, direct, without many adornments, although it has some appeal. You read it in one sitting, and although it feels very short, it leaves a light taste when finished. It is true that I expected something much more interesting, a fascinating plot, and after finishing I'm not sure if it offers any novelty.
On the other hand, the art of Daniel Casanave seemed fascinating to me. The panels in Percy Shelley seemed more interesting to me than the story itself. They added a peculiar charm, a mixture of parody with good style, simple colors at the beginning that contrasted with the more exotic and darker combinations of the final pages.
While the essence of the story's lost and one expects something dark, deeper, let's say even predictable in the case of Percy Shelley, the story fulfills its function of entertaining and showing a simpler side of this character. However, I hope that the second volume, dedicated to Mary Shelley, will be better and more in keeping with the atmosphere of tragedy and melancholy that surrounds her.

Bilingual review published in my blog: http://tintanocturna.blogspot.com/2019/02/comic-percey-shelley-shelley-1.html

Thank you NetGalley and Europe Comics for allowing me to read a digital copy of this graphic novel in exchange for an honest review.  I love getting to read different genres; I like to think I am a well-rounded reader.

This story focuses on Percy Bysshe Shelley and tells the story of part of his life.  It opens at Oxford where Percy is forced to leave because of a scandalous piece of writing on atheism.  He then tries to go to his father's house, but the same happens.  Eventually, he meets Harriet, whom he believes is his true love.  Within the matter of one night, they fall in love and are married the next day.  The graphic novel then follows Percy to his uncle's estate and then back to London where he falls in love with another woman, after learning his wife Harriett has had a baby while she was away in London and he was at this uncle's estate.  Af

Because it is a graphic novel, the art is a huge deal.  In this one, I love how the colors really help depict the mood and feeling for each page and panel.  When it is supposed to be dark, the art is dark and brooding.  When it is supposed to feel happy and hopeful, the art is bright and colorful.  Overall, I like the general art style.  It is somewhat simpler than other graphic novels I have read and uses lots of lines, but it has a whimsy feel that I adore.  That, paired with the use of colors and how elaborate the facial expression and features of each character really make the art in this book work.  

As for the story itself, I am not sure how well it holds up to the actual story of Percy's life, but I assume it is pretty close.  I know that he did, in fact, elope with Harriet very quickly and that he did have a fascination with Lord Byron.  Both of these plot points are major in this graphic novel.  The rest is not so clear to me, other than his second marriage.  I think that this is part one of a series, so I assume the next will finish Shelley's story. 

When discussing the art and points in the story specifically, one of the most affecting series of panels for me was when Percy is alone and sitting in the window writing poetry and the moth or butterfly (not sure which) gets burned by the lamp.  I liked this since it came after Percy tells his uncle that he may be falling out of love and adds a raw element to a very pleasing and quite scene of poetry.  

I also really loved the bit with Mary Shelley walking the streets with a book and examining the butchers and their work.  This part is bloody and a little disturbing, but I am glad that it was included since Mary Shelley is a fairly important figure when it comes to literature.  I would love if a graphic novel for Mary Shelley would be next!  Along with this, I applaud the inclusion of some fairly dark and scandalous things in this book.  Along with the butcher street blood, there is a hanging scene and even scantily clad and a naked woman, kissing on a dead mother's grave, infidelity, and a hint at suicide.    

All in all, I am going to give this one three stars mainly because there wasn't a lot to keep a reader going when it came to this story.  Perhaps the life of Percy Shelley is overlooked and that is why it is the focus of this graphic novel.  The plot isn't really too wild; Percy seems like the kind of guy I would not like to meet or be friends with because here he is depicted as a wild child who doesn't listen to people and likes trouble.  Even though the art is nice and I like the general style, I would rather this be about someone else more interesting or nicer to read about.

A unique portrayal story of Percy Shelley's life and how he met Mary Wollenstonecraft.

I liked it for the most part but wish that the plot had expanded more than Percy going around wooing women. Percy had so much room for his character to develop- an aspiring poet going against his parent's wishes to pursue his dreams and ambitions but instead, we mostly get him going around falling in love, getting kicked out of places and not much else.

I did like the dialogue. Apparently, it's supposed to represent actual letters and documents written by the people that are represented in this graphic novel. I wonder how much of this story is accurate but unfortunately, there is no author's note to further explain the events.

The illustrations were pretty good. A bit cartoonish but they worked just fine to portray the story.

I wasn't crazy about the plot pacing though. It feels like the storyline bounces from one event to the next with no order and often brief scenes will happen with years between them. I get how they can't possibly document every minute detail but I think I would've preferred if there was more to the plot that explained things further.

Overall, not a bad graphic novel. I might consider reading the next one in the series as it leaves off with him meeting Mary. Hopefully, the next installment will be better.

*Thank you to NetGalley and its publishers for proving a free ARC*

I’m sorry to say that I didn’t like this one very much. I liked the colouring, but I didn’t like the graphics, the way the characters were drawn, either too skinny or too fat, with too sharp features. The story was too flimsy for my tastes; I didn’t enjoy seeing Shelley running around with girl after girl after girl, getting kicked out of places and not much else happening.

'Percy Shelley 1' by David Vandermeulen with art by Daniel Casanave follows the young life of Percy Bysshe Shelley.

Percy Bysshe Shelley was born into an aristocratic family, but didn't want to follow his father in to politics. Instead, he wanted to be a poet and live off the family's money. His atheist pamphlets put him at odds with teachers and priests around him. His spur of the moment romances and proposals got him in to various trouble. The book ends with his relationship with his future wife Mary, the writer of 'Frankenstein.'

I liked this look at the life of this poet. I'm more familiar with people around him, so it was a good way to learn. I liked the illustration style. It was more cartoonish, but it fit the story pretty well.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Europe Comics and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.