(September 16, 2024) Cormac McCarthy’s novel The Road was one of the author’s most personal and acclaimed books. The story of a nameless father and son trying to survive with their humanity intact in a post apocalyptic wasteland, where Earth’s natural resources have been diminished and some survivors are left to raise others for meat, The Road is one of Cormac McCarthy’s bleakest and most prescient novels. Dedicated to his son, McCarthy’s novel received the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the James Tait Black Memorial Prize for Fiction and was nominated for the National Book Critics Circle Award, before being adapted into an acclaimed film directed by John Hillcoat. This fall, The Road is once again being adapted, this time as a startling and evocative graphic novel from internationally renowned cartoonist Manu Larcenet.
Manu Larcenet sent a letter to Cormac McCarthy asking for his permission to adapt The Road. He wrote:
I loved The Road for the atmosphere it creates. Most likely because I enjoy drawing the snow, the chilling winds, the dark clouds, the sizzling rain, tangles and snags, rust, and the damp and the humidity. I draw violence and kindness, wild animals, dirty skin, pits, and stagnant water. I enjoy the contrast between the characters and their environment, and as conceited as it may sound, I feel like I’m up to the task.
If I am so bold as to ask you to draw your Road, it is not to rewrite anything, or change the feel of the story. I have no other ambitions but to draw your words. The magical part of being an illustrator is to find a silent line to draw with every word. These lines could support yours without distorting them. At least, that’s the goal if this project should come to fruition.
I’m coming off years of writing that wore me down, and I want nothing more than to draw! For almost six months now, I’ve been reading your book again and again, almost living in it. I’m starting to see how I could tackle the challenge of following the guidelines you set without feeling trapped by them. On top of that, I’ve been racking my brain to avoid any reference to the movie adaptation.
I usually write my own comics, one of which (Blast) shares common themes with your book. But I didn’t write The Road; I really wish I had! I sincerely thank you for allowing me to put my pencil down where your pen went.
The request was personally approved by McCarthy, and the adaptation would be one of the last books he worked on in his career. The adaptation took several years and the result is an astoundingly beautiful adaptation of a haunting tale of human perseverance and familial love. The graphic novel adaptation was published in France this spring and sold over 60,000 copies in the first three weeks.
Here’s what people are saying about the graphic novel adaptation of The Road:
“A stunning narrative accomplishment; visually austere, dark, and beautifully human.
Sheer perfection.”―Bill Sienkiewicz, Eisner Hall of Fame artist
“A stunning work of art.”―BOING BOING
“Superb. A suitably dark graphic treatment of McCarthy’s postapocalyptic masterpiece.”―Kirkus Reviews
“Manu Larcenet’s illustrations bring to life the haunting tale of survival in a post-apocalyptic world with depth and emotion. This truly is an extremely well done adaptation and should be experienced by all.”—CAPES AND TIGHTS
Abrams ComicArts will publish THE ROAD Graphic Novel Adaptation by Manu Larcenet on September 17, 2024.
ABOUT THE WRITER: Cormac McCarthy (1933–2023) was a playwright and novelist hailed by many, including Stephen King and literary critic Harold Bloom, as one of the major American novelists of our time. McCarthy’s multiple bestselling and award-winning works over the course of his 57-year career include The Orchard Keeper, Outer Dark, Child of God, Suttree, Blood Meridian, All the Pretty Horses, The Crossing, Cities of the Plain, No Country for Old Men, The Road, The Passenger, and Stella Maris. Many of his novels have been adapted into blockbuster films, including The Road.
ABOUT THE CARTOONIST: Manu Larcenet was born in 1969. In 2003, he became known for the magnificent Le Combat ordinaire (Ordinary Victories; 2003–2008), for which he won the 2004 prize for best album at Angoulême. In the meantime, Larcenet signed significant titles such as Le Retour à la terre (Back to Basics; 2002–2019) and Blast (2009–2014): four dense, dark albums stuffed to the brim with overflowing humanity and fascinating savagery. In 2015, he tackled his first adaptation—Rapport de Brodeck, a novel by Philippe Claudel. With Thérapie de groupe (2020), Larcenet laid himself bare in a rich exploration of rare depth, with often heartbreaking truth and surprising humor. In 2023, Manu Larcenet received the Gotlib Prize at the Paris Book Festival. He lives and works in France.
