Review of "The Invisible Man," Marvel Classic Comics

Review of

The Invisible Man, Marvel Classic Comics

Five out of five stars

 The early stories of classic science fiction generally followed the myths and legends of humans as they went from hunter/gatherers to small villages to larger towns and cities. Invisible creatures capable of manipulating humans such as leprechauns and fairies are universal and there are instances in folklore where humans are transformed into animals or acquire some of the powers of the creatures of magic. One of the most popular powers that the creatures of magic had was invisibility, so it was natural that a story would be developed where a human acquired the power of invisibility.

 H. G. Wells published the classic story “The Invisible Man” in 1897 and like true science fiction, the unusual events are given some form of (pseudo)scientific explanation. Like the earlier story about King Midas, the acquisition of the power proves to be much less than the boon that the main character thought it would be.

 I am a big fan of using whatever method works to teach all subjects, literature included. Therefore, I applaud the use of comic form to teach about the classic and at times ground-breaking novels. In this case, the creators of this comic have done an excellent job in presenting the story as written by Wells. I of course have no idea how many people have read this comic and then went on to read the novel but am certain that they exist and are numerous.