Orlando: A Graphic Novel Biography

Jules Scheele has adapted Virginia Woolf’s novel into Orlando: A Graphic Novel Biography, out now from Avery Hill Publishing, with art assists by Garry Mac. I have never read the novel, but the foreword by Dickon Edwards calls it “a queer and trans classic.” All I know of the character comes from the publicity around the 1992 film starring Tilda Swinton. So I was eager to read the comic version. Orlando, as a young man, dreams of adventure and is taken off to court by the aging queen, due to his youth and beauty. He sleeps with many until his heart is captured by a Russian princess, who turns out to be unfaithful. He retreats to a life of solitude, reading and writing, before traveling the world as an ambassador. Then comes the event for which, if someone knows the work, it is known: Orlando becomes a woman. She is still adventurous, still a writer, still a generous (and wide-ranging) lover. She also seems to have gained a certain immortality. Colorfully attractive, this version is full of adventure. The visuals aid a great deal in understanding how Orlando is still themselves. Particularly in the final section, where Orlando ponders life and meaning, the images show the symbolism ...