A review by panels2pages
Kindred: A Graphic Novel Adaptation by Octavia E. Butler

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I suspect the emotional weight and turmoil of Dana finding herself stuck in slavery-era America is rich and devastating in the prose version of this book. The graphic novel adaptation carried an emotional weight, but the pacing left me feeling disconnected to a lot of the characters. I didn't feel the consequences of certain characters being affected the way they were (and I'm trying to avoid spoilers here) because within a few panels the outcomes were revealed and Dana was forced to move on. Not enough time was given for me to feel the despair or injustice of those moments, and so they were easier to move past than they probably should have been. So much happened "off-screen" and was revealed later to Dana (and us as readers). So the blow was dampened, in a sense. 

That said, it didn't affect the power of the story too much, in that this is still a powerful, four-star read worth your time. But graphic novel may not have been the best way to consume this one--I'd love to read the prose novel to compare.