True confession: Most of the time, I think of graphic novels as geared toward kids thru young adults. Less so for adults. (Not that that stops me from reading and re-reading Great Books such as Herge's _Tintin_ series.)

John Hendrix's excellent book _The Mythmakers_ is making me rethink that target audience.

Indeed, adults may get as much--if not more--from this read as kids. It is beautifully illustrated, yes--and also text heavy, and I do think kids may lose interest and/or miss some of the nuances. On the flip side, I think it illustrates those nuances in ways that make them palatable to adults, too--a middle ground between the academic and the palatable. (Ironically, and to keep the Tintin references going, that's one thing I loved about Tintin--they were comics that happened to include a lot of history. I was often shocked to realize something Herge included, actually happened or was based on a historical event.)

This read refreshed my memory on Tolkien's and Lewis's lives as individuals as well as friends, and taught me a great deal about the phases their friendship went through. No, the book isn't exhaustive--few books are--but it provides an excellent starting point and includes plenty of references for additional reading (just my style).

I can't wait to revisit the book when it releases; the NetGalley eARC was black and white, and the sample/preview on Amazon of the published book looks absolutely fantastic in full color!

I received an eARC of the book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

Tolkien and Lewis transformed English literature, their wildly successful series made fantasy a respectable and esteemed genre for both children and adults. Hendrix graphic biography focuses on exactly how their deep friendship both inspired and enabled Tolkien and Lewis’s radical creative leaps. Combining playful illustration, deep research and thoughtful erudition, the biography also embodies the joy, charm and psychological heft present in the two author’s best-known stories. Black and white graphite full-page and panel illustrations with text bubbles convey the vast majority of information. Occasional pages of text are lightened with spot illustrations. A cartoon wizard and lion narrate, initially following an inventively illustrated quest-like path that deftly provides both biographical and historical context while framing more realistic panels showing events in the authors’ lives. Readers smitten with the stories in book or film form will be delighted with cool anecdotes, what inspired Tolkien’s terrifying spider, why a wardrobe. Interested readers will come away with a solid grounding in how fantasy delivers meaning and its relationship to fairy tales, myths, legends, and religion. Back matter includes an author’s note, endnotes, bibliography, and index. Thanks to Abrams and NetGalley for a review copy in return for an unbiased review.

"From New York Times bestselling, award-winning creator John Hendrix comes The Mythmakers, a graphic novel biography of two literary lions - C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien - following the remarkable story of their friendship and creative fellowship, and how each came to write their masterworks.

Through narrative and comic panels, Hendrix chronicles Lewis and Tolkien's near-idyllic childhoods, then moves on to both men's horrific tour of the trenches of World War I to their first meeting at Oxford in 1929, and then the foreshadowing, action, and aftermath of World War II. He reveals the shared story of their friendship, in all its ups and downs, that gave them confidence to venture beyond academic concerns (fantasy wasn't considered suitable for adult reading, but the domain of children), shaped major story/theme ideas, and shifted their ideas about the potential of mythology and faith.

The Mythmakers also shows the camaraderie and the importance of the social/literary circle of friends called the Inklings, and how the friendship of these two great men fell apart and came together again. Hendrix concludes describing how the writings of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien had re-enchanted the 20th century, after two World Wars. In writing aimed at scholars, adults, and young people, these two tweedy academics altered the course of storytelling and embraced the concept that fantasy writing for an adult audience was an accepted form of literature.

The format is similar to The Faithful Spy: prose interspersed with images and narrative comics. The narration is often conversations between a knowledgeable wizard and a comical lion. Through brisk conversation between these two friends, they explain some of the bigger ideas in an approachable and entertaining way. Throughout the story, there are "gateways" that lead readers to the back matter where certain themes, such as how myth/fantasy evolved or the art of world-building, are discussed more fully. This device keeps the main story flowing quickly and smoothly for those readers not interested in the more academic ideas behind the narrative. Among the ideas covered in the narrative and back matter:
- Tolkien's world-building
- The "Theology of Creation" linking their faith to their writings
- The meaning of real friendship
- Notions of modernity and mythology
- The value of fantasy
- The power of a creative community
- An exploration of the different kinds of storytelling in Narnia and The Lord of the Rings, both relying on "the Myth" as a storytelling device, but differing in the use of allegory vs. symbolism
- The creative differences of Lewis and Tolkien: the high standards of Tolkien's fiction and the faster and more immediate approach of Lewis's
- Logos vs. Mythos: Lewis created from images, Tolkien created from language
- The mixing of mythologies

Also included are an author's note, endnotes, bibliography and index."

That's a LOT for 224 pages to deliver...

I love graphic novel adaptations of nonfiction concepts, I think it adds a level of access for those people that are overwhelmed by too much text on a page. With that said, I did feel this book often had too much happening on pages, I felt like I needed to reread some pages to make sure that I got everything. The language alternated between being aimed at a younger audience and seeming too advanced for the same group, this would be good for a confident young reader but could scare away one that wasn't as secure in their skills. But, this visual addition for the connection between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien may make this more accessible for people that would never think to pick up a chapter book on the same topic.

A beautiful and moving tribute to Tolkien and Lewis's friendship and the mutual influences they had on each other's works. I found the sections with the wizard/lion characters dragged on at times, and I was more interested in the biographical sections than the meta-analysis, but it was a really engaging and reader-friendly introduction for someone unfamiliar with the contexts of these beloved works.

I have read other works by Hendrix in the past and really admire his artwork. When it comes to The Mythmakers, I admit I perhaps had incorrect expectations with what I was reading. At times I was confused as to who the target audience is or what it was trying to accomplish. The drawings were wonderful as always, but the content was very dense, perhaps too much and I had difficulty following it at times.

The Mythmakers documents the lives of C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien and their friendship and eventual falling out. Across two World Wars, their family life and their writing, we get to learn a lot about these two authors in a mixed media format.
While this is pitched as a graphic novel, it contains more than just the regular panel-style format. There’s lots of pages of text and information which makes this a longer read than expected.
There is a note that the final copy will be in full colour - which I think can only add to this biographical tale.
There was also the added element of the “portals” aka formatted in a similar way to the “choose your own adventure” novels, where you could skip to different parts of the book to discover extra information about these men’s journeys and inspirations.

This biography was greatly influenced by Christianity, as were both C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien themselves. While I knew this was a part of their lives, I didn’t expect it to be such a focus or the conversation of a lot of this story. I wouldn’t have picked this up if I knew.

I expected a more fun and lighthearted biographical retelling of their lives, but this was heavily influenced by history and factual information rather than a fun twist on the lives of these two men.

As someone who has only read from C.S. Lewis, it was definitely not necessary to have read from either of these two authors to read this.

Overall, if these two authors are someone you are excited to learn more about and like the idea of a mixed-media format; give this a go.

Thank you to the Publishers and Netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy (ARC).

I was so looking forward to this graphic novel and I thought the concept was amazing! It was definitely whimsical and magical. That being said, it is very text-heavy. I didn’t feel like picking it back up every time I put it down. I felt myself getting lost between plot lines.

Thank you ABRAMS Kids, Fanfare, and NetGalley for the advanced electronic review copy of this book. This book is a mix of narrative and comic panels, not a straight graphic novel and is a great way to explore biographies of the two prolific fantasy writers — J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis. It is geared toward younger audience with a Lion representing Lewis and a Wizard representing Tolkien. However, the language used might be a bit beyond the target audience. There’s a lot of information and terminology, especially in the first half of the book, as well as notes on research and sources at the end. I can recommend this book to any C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien lover.

3.5 stars rounding up - a lovely introduction to the lives of two men to whom much is still owed in contemporary fantasy. Hendrix brings each to life and provides a small element of closure, imagining what these two once friends final conversation could have been.

I found this graphic wildly intriguing and it was such a fascinating read. The format was so easy to follow and the art added got the story. I also love how I felt as if I got a full history but it didn’t seem to drag. The ONLY thing I wish was slightly different was the extra doors that you could read up on. While I loved the idea of it reading it digitally made it SO difficult to try to read. I do think I would have enjoyed those sections as I read, going back after I had read the rest of the way through really wasn’t enjoyable. But I would have loved it if I was reading a print version.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me review this book. I enjoyed the graphic novel aspect mixed in along with it reading like a regular book. I like that the main characters-a wizard and lion was a play on Tolkien and Lewis. It was nice getting a more in-depth look at the mens’ lives.

I enjoyed this. It did have bits there were more book than illustration, but everything was so informative. I learned a bunch of things I didn’t know so I loved that aspect of the research the author did. The illustrations were GORGEOUS! I loved learning but the illustrations were my favorite part of this. It took each author’s work and made it even more beautiful.

The Mythmakers is part biography, part literary study. It follows the early lives and friendship and ultimate distancing between C. S. Lewis and J. R. R. Tolkien. Tolkien and Lewis were close friends for a good portion of their lives, and had an incredible impact on each other and the literature they are most known for. The book is 80% graphic novel but it does have some prose chapters interspersed, which I think was helpful because the book covers a lot of ground. For me, the strongest parts of the story were the biographical sections, featuring The Inklings and other friends of Tolkien and Lewis. I liked the segments with the Lion and the Wizard less, I'm not sure the information on genres and classifications of literature really added to the story. The art was very well done, even in the black and white rendering for the advanced copy. There is a decent amount of discussion of religious topics, as this was important to Lewis, Tolkien and also the author, but I don't think this would deter a reader who isn't a Christian. Overall I would recommend this to anyone who is a fan of either of these authors and their works.

This is a fairly detailed biographical look at the lives of C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien, how they became writers and how their lives intertwined into a long-lasting friendship.

Not having previously known much about the authors, this was highly educational for me. Their lives during the war were particularly interesting as well as the dreamy moments they spent in front of a roaring fire having intellectual discussions with other literary figures.
I found myself completely absorbed in their stories and I was honestly a little heart broken when it came to an end. Their friendship was a beautiful one and I was sad it didn't end particularly well.

This book is marketed towards children but I really enjoyed it as an adult. I'd even go so far as to say it might be a challenging read for younger audiences. Additionally, this book is categorised as a graphic novel, but it is very text heavy. The book goes back and forth between comic panels and full pages of text.

It should be noted that Christianity and religion are both very strongly touched upon in this book, having been central points to both of these authors lives.

Thank you NetGalley and ABRAMS Kids for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I loved the mix of narrative and graphic novel the author has used. It is an effective way of telling the story of Lewis and Tolkien’s life, friendship and writings.
I have previously read Lord of the Rings and also The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe but not the others in the Narnia series. This has made me want to go and read the rest.

A wonderful biographical account of the friendship and collegial relationship between C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien.

I loved this graphic novel about my two favorite Oxonians, and the creativity shown in this goes beyond the format and is evident in the text and the imagined scenes of dialogue between the two men.

I loved the comic panels rendering our heroes as a wizard and a lion, as well as the explorations of the many sources from which these two writers drew inspiration for their work.

I read pretty much anything I can get my hands on that covers Lewis and Tolkien and if you do as well you won’t really find any new information here, but the unique presentation is so terrific that you won’t mind at all. And if you’re newer to the biographical information and lit crit on their work, this would be a lovely place to start.

A new book from the author of The Faithful Spy. This nonfiction books tells the story of the friendship between JRR Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. It gives background on myths and fairy tales, in addition to their lives before they met at Oxford. Given that their relationship fractured near the end of their lives, I loved their final conversation imagined by the author. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the digital ARC!

I think this is an excellent way to tell Tolkien and Lewis' stories. I'm not a huge biography reader, so it helped to have comic panels and art throughout to better digest the content. I also thought it was an interesting concept to explore deeper topics by way of "portals" to different pages. Part of me wished this had been a straight graphic novel, but it definitely is more along the lines of a novel written in prose with added illustrations. I recognize this book may be the perfect format for some people, and it did make the experience of reading a biographical text more enjoyable. However, I found myself to be bored and never wanting to return to the book once I put it down. That's why I ultimately decided to DNF (did not finish) this one. In spite of that, I could absolutely recommend it to people interested in Tolkien and Lewis' stories told in this format.

I absolutely loved this book and truly believe it will be a hit with children when it's published.
This book tells the history of C. S Lewis and J. R. R Tolkien, as well as giving information, in such a fun way. The pictures in this graphic novel are perfect for children to enjoy the content.
Its a massive hit for me and I'll definitely be buying a copy!