The Phantom of the Opera is here!, in graphic novel form, visualizing the spectacle of the Broaway musical! It is a hardcover graphic novel from Titan Comics based on the libretto by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Charles Hart, and Richard Stilgoe. The musical is based on the 1910 novel by Gaston Leroux. It opened on Broadway in 1988, won the Tony Award for Best Musical that year, and is the longest running show with performances going on today! There was a film adaptation in 2004 that had Gerard Butler as the Phantom and Emmy Rossum as Christine. It is adapted by Cavan Scott writes Star Wars: The High Republic for Marvel Comics. The artist and colorist, José María Belroy, who worked on Rivers of London: Monday, Monday for Titan Comics.
We have Beroy’s cover which has the Phantom with his half-mask having his hands puppeteer-like over his ingenue, Christine. There is also the Phantom paddeling Christine in his boat through a mysterious green mist. We see the red curtain in the title page and then the Phantom’s glove pulls back the curtain before we get to the story. It is “Paris, 1905”, a rainy day with the setting sun clouds turning orange to the grey of the street. The rain has the Parisians take cover with umbrellas as a carriage charges from the public auction at the Paris Opéra house. It later becomes the Palais Garnier. We hear the auctioneer selling off items until he gets to Lot 665 where we see a balcony view of the auction. The auctioneer is center stage with a few people in the audience.
He describes it as a musical box with monkey playing cymbals. We see the music box in color that was found in “the Vaults of the Theater.” It is sold to the elderly Victomte de Chagny. He remarks that the music box is like she describes it. The auctioneer continues with Lot 666, the chandelier that figures into the incident of the Phantom of the Opera. It is fitted with electric light and raises to the ceiling revealing the opera house in its heyday in full color! This was epic to see in the musical. We go back 30 years to 1881, on stage is a production of the fictional Hannibal opera. Belroy captures the spectacle and his characters are simple, almost cartoony, but expressive. Three men interrupt the rehearsal including the lead, Signor Piangi, a heavy set singer dressed in the finery of the Carthaginian general.
Also, the strict ballet mistress, Madame Giry. The men move to the side of the stage as the ballet dancers perform. One of the gentlemen asks about one dancer, Meg, the daughter of Madame Giry. The ballet mistress hits her cane startling another dancer, Christine Daaé. The bearded gentleman asks if she is related to the violinist and the man in the fur-lined coat says she is his daughter. There is a pause so the elderly man in the coat walks out, he is the former owner of the theater. He introduces everyone to Monsieur Firmin and Monsieur Andre. The lead soprano, Carlotta, is greeted by them. The plump diva starts to sing for them and we see in the rafters hands working the stage ropes! The curtain crashes down on the stage scattering everyone. The last owner is angry at the chief of the flies, a burly Buquet who says he wasn’t there and blames the ghost.
Carlotta and Piangi angrily leave the stage. Madame Giry presents the new owners with a message from the opera ghost. She tells them that he demans his seat in Box Five to be left for him and to be paid twenty thousand francs. It also notes that their new patron, Vicomte de Cagny, could help with the payment. Giry points out Carlotta’s understudy, Christine, and that she has been well trained. Christine, in a series of panels, starts out singing shyly, and then gets the confidence to burst out in song. This shifts to the full audience applauding her including in a box to the side, the young, dashing, Vicomte de Cagny who also recognizes her. Later, we see Christine with her roses as Meg catches up to her and asks her secret. We see in closeup of the Phantom in his half-mask, impressive. Meg asks about her tutor and Christine replies that her father had told her about an angel and believes he is her tutor.
Giry sends her daughter away to practice and gives her a note. We see Christine read about “Little Lotte.” She is surprised by Raoul de Cagny and asks her to go with him to supper. Christine says her father is dead, but the Angel of Music is strict. Raoul runs off to get his hat and Christine hears the angry voice of the Phantom! His anger blows out the candles fading the room’s red into blue. Then, we see the Phantom’s compelling voice drawing Christine with mist and a bright mirror. Next, we see a full page of the Phantom revealed in the mirror with Christine reflected in it! He takes her hand, in closeup, and Raoul tries to open the door, he bursts in and finds that the note is blank. We see behind the mirror, a corridor lit by skeletons holding blue flame. A splash page has the Phantom taking Christine down steps in an almost M.C. Relativity layout. He sings to her the signature song, “Music of the Night.” This is an impressive adaptation of the musical and story, a tale of obsession, romance, and supernatural terror!
Five Masks out of Five!
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