Interestingly, the book traces Beowulf's life in just two events, in both cases dealing with monsters that are troubling his friends or his people. In the first half, he is full of vigor, confidence and agility and is able to easily take on monsters at will. In the second half, though regal, he is old and doubts if he will return alive from the dragon's lair. Interestingly, while the first half is resplendent in color, the second is illustrated in grim, gray tones. Compare these images of Beowulf from the two stages of his life in the book...
The story comes full cycle with the death of Beowulf and the homage paid to him by his people. On a grim note, the story-teller who has been reciting the saga of Beowulf also forsees the end of Beowulf's people - the Geats. The Geats were people who supposedly occupied the lower half of Sweden and were either killed or driven from their homeland by the Swedes. Many claim that the Wuffing dynasty of Denmark was set up by fleeing Geats, but nothing is known for sure.
Hinds' storytelling style is really interesting...he is able to make us aware of the fickle nature of life using the story of the rise and fall of even a great, mythical warrior. He evokes wonder and pity for the same character by judicious use of imagery that will stay with us long after we have put down the book.
The story of Beowulf has seen numerous adaptations and is supposedly set to appear on film, to be directed by Robert Zemeckis. Then there was Michael Crichton's Eaters of the Dead"/"The 13th Warrior, which was a farcical take on the Beowulf mythology. But I find Hinds' graphic novel adaptation to be one of the best so far...
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