Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic pirate adventure tale “Treasure Island” comes to life as a graphic novel by artist Tim Hamilton. Hamilton faithfully recreates the pacing and suspense of the original story, along with the well-remembered characters and much of the original dialogue, for an audience at the middle school level.

As in the original, an aging “Captain” Billy Bones settles in at the old Admiral Benbow Inn, where young Jim Hawkins helps him keep a “weather eye” out for a seafaring man with one leg. Trouble arrives in the form of the Captain’s old shipmates Black Dog and Old Pew. Hawkins escapes with an old map, which his friends Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesay identify as the treasure map of the fearsome pirate Captain Flint.

Hawkins accompanies an expedition to find the treasure, sailing on the “Hispaniola” as cabin boy. Once at “Treasure Island,” Hawkins and his friends will face a mutiny, pirates, and the mysteries of the island itself while in search of buried treasure.

Hamilton’s artwork is dramatically rendered in black and white, with lots of shadows and a variety of sight angles that heighten the suspense of the story. Included is a “making of” feature showing some of Hamilton’s storyboard sketches and live models. This reviewer wishes the graphic novel had been printed in a full-size book, not the small paperback on offer here. However, “Treasure Island: The Graphic Novel” is highly recommended for young audiences and for parents hoping to coax their children into reading the original story.
Rating: 4 / 5

Treasure Island is my favorite book. I look for things like this graphic novel variation. First the art is great. It captures the feel of the story. It’s dark and erie. The story is well paced and stays true to the original source material. The characters come alive before the reader’s eye’s. This is great reading for youths or adults.
Rating: 5 / 5