Review by Ian Keogh

In 2020 Fred Fordham and Aya Morton published their adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. It set the gold standard to be attained by subsequent versions, which are inevitably compared just as Leonardo di Caprio’s film portrayal of Jay Gatsby was compared to Robert Redford from decades earlier.

The story is a wistful demolition of values held in the upper reaches of American society during the 1920s. Nick Carroway is privileged enough to rent a large house on Long Island for the summer, where his neighbour is the mysterious Jay Gatsby, immensely wealthy and thrower of grand parties to which all are invited. Across the bay are Tom and Daisy Buchanan, socialites known to Nick. As the summer passes everyone reveals themselves to Nick in one way or another, and he’s able to piece the truth together from assorted rumours. It’s a mystery, it’s a drama and it’s a tragedy enlivened by Fitzgerald’s sparkling dialogue and observations and an understated approach.

It’s likely that Ted Adams and Jorge Coelho began work on their adaptation before Fordham and Morton’s publication, and their method differs. Chalk and cheese, in fact. There’s a feeling that Ted Adams wants to ensure a faithfulness, so squeezes in more of Fitzgerald’s original dialogue, which means Coelho’s art is accompanied by blocks of text stating what he shows, and often compromised by crowding the page. Ultimately this plays into why this adaptation isn’t all it might be.

Coelho’s approach differs greatly from Morton’s loose wistfulness, but is equally valid. His scenery and trappings are detailed, and his people have the stiff formality of inherited wealth, but are cartoon representations elegantly achieved and vividly coloured. Some choices are interesting, such as the casting of a Clark Gable type as Gatsby, and whether by coincidence or design, the hair colour of every major character differs from the 2020 graphic novel. However, Fitzgerald is a master of understatement, and where Coelho fails is by accentuating big moments the way he might for an action comic.

If you just want the drama, Adams and Coelho provide a perfectly serviceable adaptation with very good art for the most part. However, if you want The Great Gatsby’s undercurrents they’re missing from a graphic novel where breathing space is absent.