Watership Down: The Graphic Novel adapted from Richard Adams' original work by James Sturm (text) and Joe Sutphin (art)

Published by Ten Speed Graphic on October 17, 2023

The novel Watership Down is a celebrated anthropomorphic adventure novel that was written by Richard Adams and first published in 1972. While the original book is classified as a children’s novel, it has long earned the praise of adult readers. This graphic adaptation captures the magic of the original work in a simplified form that makes the story accessible to children who haven’t mastered the ability to read. The story isn’t dumbed down so adults can enjoy it just as much as kids, either as a reminder of a book they read years ago or as a quick introduction to the original. A note of caution, however. Some parents might deem the art inappropriate for very young children as some of the scenes of rabbits biting and clawing each other are a bit bloody.

Weighing in at 385 pages, the graphic version adapts Adams’ novel without losing essential elements of the story. The primary characters are rabbits, although a bird and mouse play critical roles. Humans are largely represented through machinery or weapons.

Fiver is an ordinary rabbit, apart from his inconsistent ability to foretell the future. He has a vision of a disaster that will wipe out the warren if the rabbits do not flee. When the chief rabbit refuses to take Fiver’s warning seriously, Hazel leads a group of dissident male rabbits in an escape from the chief rabbit’s authority. Their best storyteller joins the group, telling stories of cunning rabbits that inspire the dissidents to be sneaky and cautious, even when the chief rabbit sends one of his rabbit goons to bring them back. The rabbits defy the goon and embark on a long journey.

The graphic novel makes judicious choices about aspects of the original text that deserve to be highlighted. For example, the graphic novel emphasizes the role that legends and storytelling play in helping a culture maintain an identity and preserve its values. The rabbits repeatedly turn to tales of courage and sacrifice in rabbit kingdoms of the past to guide their responses to current problems.

I see the story is an ode to freedom and a warning about the dangers of authoritarianism. In an early example of that theme, the dissident rabbits encounter a group of rabbits who offer safety in a large and comfortable warren, but those rabbits are willing to sacrifice some of their number in exchange for food and protection from predators that humans provide to them. Leaders who tell their followers that strong rulers will keep them safe by sacrificing the less worthy are common across the world. We’ve seen too many of them in the US.

Moving on, Hazel saves a mouse from a kestrel, an act of interspecies decency that will later be repaid. As the journey continues, Hazel helps a wounded bird who also repays his kindness. The rabbits learn that when they work together and accept the friendship of diverse members of the animal kingdom, they can overcome stronger foes. Even a cat can be chased away by rabbits working in concert.

The rabbit goon eventually reappears. He confirms the calamity that Fiver predicted. Humans, they discover, will callously kill rabbits, not just because rabbits ruin gardens but because rabbit warrens stand in the way of property development. The rabbits do not understand the strange ways of humans. That’s not surprising. Neither do humans.

Being male rabbits, the dissidents decide they need female rabbits to help them live their best lives, so they try to free captive does from a farm. I recall some feminist criticism of the novel as male-rabbit-centric because female rabbits don’t have much of a role except as breeders. I don’t recall females being mistreated (they certainly aren’t in the graphic novel) but I suppose readers who are sensitive to how female rabbits were portrayed in 1972 should be warned of those concerns. To me, this is a book that happens to be about male rabbits. I don’t think that demeans female rabbits.

The attempt to free the female rabbits requires a sacrifice, followed by a daring rescue. Other rabbits, hoping to recruit females, are taken prisoner by another group of rabbits who are governed by an authoritarian leader. More stories of daring and self-sacrifice ensue. The ending is touching.

Although I was in my twenties when I read Watership Down, I recall being very concerned about the fate of the rabbits. The graphic novel prompted those feelings to resurface. While the story might be less epic than The Odyssey, Adams told a compelling adventure story that touches upon adult themes in a classic tradition.

The art would be appealing even to kids who can’t yet read. Like real rabbits, some rabbits have a similar appearance, others are quite distinctive. Their facial expressions do not emulate humans, yet the artist made their emotions clear. The pastoral settings through which the rabbits roam — some pages are nothing but grassy fields beneath blue skies — convey a sense of tranquility that gives way to the violence of rabbits running from foxes or fighting each other. The purpose of a graphic version of a text novel is to create art that helps readers interpret the story. This one succeeds admirably.

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