Doesn’t quite have the flare of the movies but fun and amusing. I was hoping for more insight into Jacks past.

Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow's Adventures was a really fun insight in Captain Jack and I hope to see more books like this in the future

I absolutely loved this book! I loved reading about Captain Jack Sparrow as a teenager and I feel like the writer definitely got his personality done. The book was full of action and love and had beautiful artwork.
I can't wait to read more.

Like “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” which were a great inlay and work point for Lucasfilm to learn, using a young Jack Sparrow to engage a younger and new audience can work quite well in the new age when Johnny Depp is seemingly out of the role (despite the fact that he could play him until he is 80). While this reviewer will give a perspective on the manga, the reality is that this idea could easily be one of the new series on the Disney+ service. Going from that point, the story in “Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Adventures Of Jack Sparrow” [Rob Kidd & Kabocha/Disney Manga & TokyoPop/352pgs] is as good if not more linear than what the films were trying to do. Each major story always revolves around an artifact that will seemingly get Jack ahead and yet it is his basic good human nature that always allows him to just get by. This time is it is the Sword Of Cortes and its sheath which can grant three wishes to its possessor that has Jack running around the Caribbean. The story is anchored by Annabella, a bartender girl who lost her mother to a vicious pirate and is on a search to find her again. Jack helps save her when the same vigilante pirates take her hostage. Jack uses her as a distraction against Torrents, a vengeful pirate who seems to hold ungodly power in his quest. Jack, in trying to find a mythic pirate town, outsmarts him only to find a lizard population that seems to want him dead (this part of the story becomes slightly more nonsensical). Granted, upon the escape, the run in with the dark and alluring mermaids makes the journey more dire but ultimately slightly more animated in its perspective. As with some of the movies, the third act gets too visually out of control when it could have remained a bit simpler if it really maintained a presence of mind. That said, it is still very entertaining and keys in with the continuing notion of family which gives it a consistent tone.

B

By Tim Wassberg

This manga is incredibly cute but this is not the Jack I know, While I expected some changes since he was younger and the material needed to be extra kid friendly, Jack's charm is eccentricness is gone. Oh, he's as charming as every but there is nothing to make him special.
Overall, was disappointed because it was connected to a base material. Had this been it's own story it would have been much better.

I wasn't too sure what to think of this manga, but unfortunately, I didn't enjoy it too much. The art was simple and typical manga style which I don't exactly hate, but sometimes I just found it a bit too difficult to see what was going on. I also thought the story went on for a bit too long, it could have definitely been shorter. So yeah, it wasn't my favourite, unfortunately.

'Disney Manga: Pirates of the Caribbean - Jack Sparrow's Adventure' by Rob Kidd with art by Kabocha is a story set in Jack Sparrow's younger years.

A young girl named Arabella starts out the story. She works for her abusive father. Her mother has been captured by a mysterious pirate. When she finds a body on the beach holding a scabbard, that is where her adventure begins. Jack Sparrow knows about the scabbard. It goes along with the sword of Cortes, and it grants the bearer any wish. Arabella hopes it can help her find her mother. Jack just wants it because it's treasure.

It's not a bad story and I liked the art, but it didn't feel a whole lot like a Pirates of the Caribbean story to me. Perhaps young Jack misses the drunken charm of his older self or something. It was still a fun adventure, though.

I received a review copy of this manga from Tokyopop, Diamond Book Distributors, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this manga.

Thank you so much to Disney and TokyoPop for letting me read and review an early copy of this manga.
I'm a big fan of Pirates of the Caribbean. It started a love of pirates for me. The plunder, the treasure, the scoundrels. So I was excited for a manga version of a young Jack Sparrow. I was already familiar with the book series about young Jack Sparrow by Rob Kidd.
This manga was okay. It was fun, fast, the art was pretty good.
It didn't really feel like Pirates of the Caribbean to me though. It just felt like a regular manga that could have been about anyone. It didn't scream Jack Sparrow to me. The Jack Sparrow character didn't feel like the Jack Sparrow I know and love. Unfortunately, this feels like just another way to cash in on the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise via manga form.
Don't get me wrong, it's a fun manga. It's got adventure and treasure hunting, it's just not Pirates of the Caribbean.
It reads more for a younger audience, although there are some art panels that maybe show some questionable parts when it comes to female anatomy.
I thought it was fun and I'm glad I got the chance to read it, but if you're a mega fan of Jack Sparrow, this manga really isn't going to fill that Captain Jack void.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.2/5
Not the Jack Sparrow I Was Expecting

I had a great time reading Jack Sparrows Adventures. This graphic novel had adventure, mystery, amazing sword fights and some truly terrifying foes. It took me a little bit of time to get used to reading it though, from bottom to top instead of what I am normally used to. The illustrations were breath taking and really helped make so many scenes that much more wonderful. If you are a fan of Pirates of the Caribbean then this is a graphic novel you will want to read.

Being a manga book, it is sometimes hard to follow. An explanation at the beginning of the book would do wonders for new readers as to how to read the book. The book is in black and white, and the story moves quickly with fun characters and upbeat adventures. Jack Sparrow, though nothing like the movies, is a starry eyed kid on his way to great adventures. A fun romp all told and recommended.

“You can’t survive in the Caribbean without treasure… and magic.” - Tia Dalma to Jack Sparrow

As someone living in the Caribbean for the last 2+ years while attending school, I can definitely attest to the truth of this statement.

Everything about the Caribbean holds an aura of beauty (go snorkeling off the coast of Grenada), mystery (go scuba diving / exploring shipwrecks in the ocean), history (check out the creation of Chocolate), and just plain MAGIC (EVERYWHERE)!

Honestly, I think I need to make a full disclaimer here and tell anyone reading this, I am a recent convert to the “Uh, can you believe how incredibly amazing islands in the Caribbean are?!?” Up until 2 years ago, I would have uttered some typical, noncommittal New York City response, neither agreeing or disagreeing with that statement. Now I can genuinely say, my response is “OMG! Let’s spend the whole day exploring the Caribbean!”

Okay, so maybe my response wouldn’t be so “fan girl-ish”.

But even before I was a fan of the Caribbean, I was a fan of pirate stories.

Therefore, it should not come as a shock when I reveal that I am a serious fan of Johnny Depp – yes, I mean the actor, let’s be real… he’s incredibly talented and versatile - Captain Jack Sparrow, and the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise. There’s just something about Jack that leaves me in a state where I cannot help but laugh or smile whenever thinking of him, and that was the main reason I looked forward to reading the graphic novel / manga, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Adventures of Jack Sparrow.

Overall, I found Pirates of the Caribbean: The Adventures of Jack Sparrow worthy of 4.1 out of 5 stars.

In terms of drawing, everything from the facial expressions to the fight sequences was fantastic; I give the artwork 4 out of 5 stars. I took off one star because none of the characters seemed to have any sort of ethnic changes – everyone was for lack of a better term Caucasian. I understand that with black and white pictures it’s difficult to demonstrate a difference in race, but I think some simple shading on some of the characters could have gone a long way to help distinguish the difference between ethnicities amongst the people Jack encounters.

The graphic novel also gets 4.5 out of 5 stars for its plot, which was easy to follow with plenty of twists and turns that kept me engaged with every panel. Best of all, the storyline had some great historical fiction weaved into it much like how the Pirates of the Caribbean movies take advantage of various pirate mythologies. The manga utilized Hernán Cortés and weaves in historical references and actions of the Spanish Conquistador. I personally love when good fictional works incorporate history because nothing is ever as insane as real life – pick up a history book sometime and tell me I’m wrong.

I deducted half a star because there is one instance of the graphic novel where it seems like the author threw in mythological creatures simply to drive the plot forward. To be honest, it was completely unnecessary because the storyline would have continued towards the next sequence even without this addition. Additionally, this plot point is never followed up on, which makes me wonder why the author even bothered. However, this was such a minor issue that I could not take off a full star for the faux pas.

In terms of world-building, the manga gets 4 out of 5 stars. Jack's adventures take him to varying locations and the illustrator, Kobacha, did a great job at depicting each of these. On top of that, the author, Rob Kidd, did a good job of incorporating the scene changes, making the progression to each location come off as natural to the storyline. One star was deducted for one or two locations that felt like they "appeared" in front of Jack instead of being properly explained.

On the whole, I fell in love with the different characters, both protagonists and antagonists, in the manga. However, some characters, especially the "villains" of the story did not receive enough panel time and I wish their background was more elaborated - this brought the character development to 4 out of 5 stars.

In terms of reading enjoyability, I gave the manga 4 out of 5 stars.

Alas, not everyone enjoyed The Adventures of Jack Sparrow as much as I did. Many reviews I read repeatedly centered on and critiqued the fact that the characters do not look like they do in the movie franchise, nor are their personalities the same.

I completely disagree with these critiques. There are only 3 characters that overlapped from the movie franchise to this manga and those were Davy Jones, Tia Dalma, and of course, the one and only, Jack Sparrow.

Firstly, The Adventures of Jack Sparrow, is set during the teenage years of Jack Sparrow. No, the character does not look exactly like Johnny Depp portraying Jack Sparrow. And that, that is quite alright, because...puberty. You will not see the classic mustache and beard Depp sports on the cover or inside this graphic novel, but you can explain this and other physical discrepancies away with... puberty. I know I did.

That is the only difference between Captain Jack Sparrow (the adult) and young Jack Sparrow of the manga!

The manga character shares the same lanky frame as the big screen Jack Sparrow - thank goodness because a very muscular Jack Sparrow would have been plain weird. Furthermore, both dress very similarly. They enjoy V-necked shirts, long overcoats, a thick belt over their clothes - is that technically a cumber band underneath their belts? – leather boots, and cloth headbands. I can’t comment on coloring because the manga is in black and white.

But it’s not the clothes or physical characteristics that make Jack, it’s his personality and mannerisms. Even if the illustrator were to depict Jack with a change in outfit - imagine he’s going undercover on another boat - I would always recognize Jack Sparrow.

Captain Jack Sparrow is a rogue, albeit a lovable one, but still a rogue. He uses every opportunity to flirt and push boundaries with women – case in point Elizabeth Swan/Turner from the Pirates of the Caribbean movie franchise and Arabella from the graphic novel. And while I don’t always agree with his antics, he never does anything so untoward that it would be considered disgusting – he’s simply playful.

More importantly, time and again the females he is flirtatious with always seem to play off of Jack’s own mannerisms and eccentricity, making for interesting on-screen chemistry and driving the plot forward within the graphic novel. The female characters in both the movies and the manga even try to take advantage of Jack, which makes for a fun take on just who is the “player” and who is the one being played.

Another aspect to Jack Sparrow, young or old, is that he helps those that need it – a proper pirate would have either killed or dumped overboard anyone not on his crew. Now, I am not saying that he is a hero – if anything he comes off as an antagonist­ in most stories – but he is not an outright villain. So where does that put Jack? Somewhere in the middle, just like any one of us. No one person is all good – okay maybe the Dali Lama is – or all bad, we as human beings tend to have some of both. And that, that is what makes Jack so relatable and interesting, he embodies those traits in us and embraces them.

Lastly, Jack keeps his word, in fact he summarizes it best when he says in the manga:

“Well I am a liar. But right now, I’m telling the truth.” - Jack Sparrow

Sometimes keeping his word takes him a while, but he does get to it eventually. True he uses people, but ultimately, he does the right thing, ensures those he’s using are alright, and he even brings out these individuals own potentials ­– see Elizabeth Turner and Will Turner from the films and Arabella and Fitzwilliam from the graphic novel.

Let’s move on to the two other characters that overlap the manga and the movie franchise, Tia Dalma and Davy Jones.

Tia Dalma from the graphic novel matches the Tia Dalma from the movies – they share dark eyes – probably brown but the graphic novel is in black and white so hard to tell – black hair, black lips, and the iconic spots around the bottom circle of the eyes. Also, both are flirty, playful, dramatic, mystical, smart

Davy Jones pictured in the graphic novel and Davy Jones from the movie look exactly the same, so there’s not much to add there.

In summary what I am saying is I whole heartedly recommend Pirates of the Carribean: The Adventures of Jack Sparrow. If you want to find out the shenanigans Captain Jack Sparrow got up to before he became a pirate captain and obtained the Black Pearl – this is the book for you. It is a great read for fans of pirate stories, manga/graphic novels with decent storylines, plots with historical fiction, and of course fans of Pirates of the Caribbean.