Hunter S. Thompson's Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Top Shelf) Review

Hunter S. Thompson’s Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

Top Shelf

Nov 11, 2015 Web Exclusive By Cody Ray Shafer

At this point, Hunter S. Thompson’s drug-fueled excursions are a sort of American mythology on their own. Troy Little’s graphic adaptation of his seminal 1971 book Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas portrays Dr. Thompson as cartoonish and larger than life, which isn’t much of a leap from the source.

There are, naturally, plenty of ink-splattered homages to Thompson’s friend and collaborator Ralph Steadman’s famous work, but the art is not dependent on Steadman’s grotesque style. Instead, Little’s illustrations are friendly and colorful, a perfect juxtaposition to the dangerously reckless gonzo narrative. Similarly, perspectives are reminiscent of Terry Gilliam’s film, without directly knocking off that adaptation.

Fans of either the novel or film, or of Thompson in general, will appreciate this homage to his legacy, crafted as though comic panels were where this story was destined all along. It is a delightful read, cherishing each hallucinatory detail of the original book. (www.topshelfcomix.com)

Author rating: 7/10

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FlameWolf
November 13th 2015
6:21am

I somehow doubt Hunter would have been okay with this… I watched a documentary with him and he threw a fit over the mere mention of the possibility of an animated scene being in the movie. He got so irrationally angry that the people suggesting it decided to leave. He didn’t want his greatest work reduced to a cartoon. And this is what the graphic novel has done essentially. I dunno, this seems a bit of a slap to the face to both Steadman and Thompson…

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