Cold Mountain (Graphic Novel): The Legend of Han Shan and Shih Te, the Original Dharma Bums

The ink drawings were wonderful. The story line had some gaps in it which made it hard to follow in a few places. Some places were puzzling as to what was happening. The overall story was good: A man tried to find his place in upper society but failed due to a deformity. Then he tried a simple life on a farm, but was not good at that. So he gave it all up and retreated to the mountain wilderness with a friend. The friend had no chance in life, so he was fine with living away from people. Eventually, the upper class society sought Han out because he was a poet. He became revered, but did not accept any of that.

Beautifully illustrated and the story is well done. I don't have much experience in the graphic genre but had read about Sean Michael Wilson and the critics were spot on in their favorable reviews

May have missed elements of Han Shan's story & poetry

Good artwork, but very weak on the story. I have read a lot of the poetry of Han Shan (Cold Mountain) and Shih Te. This graphic novel was a disappointment because the Han Shan and Shih Te presented here don't give me the feeling of the men who wrote the poetry. Instead the author seems to make up a story without deeply entering into the essence of the lives of the poets as revealed in their poetry.

fine