Classics Illustrated Deluxe #11: The Sea-Wolf (Classics Illustrated Deluxe Graphic Novels) by Jack London, adapted by Riff Reb's Grades 3-9 144 pages Papercutz April 2014 Paperback     With noirish glee, Riff Reb’s adaptation of Jack London’s The Sea-Wolf for the Papercutz series of illustrated classics hits all the right notes. Other reimagined classics in this series include Frankenstein, Treasure Island, Oliver Twist, and more. London’s story is a tense adventure on the high seas with grisly characters who come into grotesque focus within Reb’s sharp illustrations. Each chapter has a different color motif washed over intense scenes of shipwrecks, hand-to-hand combat, and the scarred faces of ugly seamen. The story follows a young, wealthy gentleman caught up in a shipwreck and rescued by the wrong crew. He is pulled aboard the ship of Captain Wolf Larsen—an impressive physical specimen on the deepest downward spiral this side of Ahab. Larsen takes his new shipmate on as an indentured servant of sorts, and thus begins London’s tale. Reb’s hits on all the highlights of the story, but his illustrations steal the show. Wolf Larsen is drawn with such relish and gleaming intensity that it is difficult not to feel as impressed and overtaken as his crew views him. His teeth blaze with malice. A few in-between chapter illustrations—a full-page portrait of Wolf and a series of seascapes—steam with grit and grandeur. Reb’s milks every contorted face and moonlit wave for maximum effect. London often straddled the line between adult and young adult storytelling, and Reb’s balances that line with an adaption both young adults and adults can appreciate.     web reviews   Zane Ewton/2014 for curled up with a good kid's book   For grown-up fiction, nonfiction and speculative fiction book reviews, visit our sister site Curled Up With a Good Book (www.curledup.com)