The Hobbit: A Graphic Novel. Thoughts about an «illustrated fantasy» between the Twentieth Century and the 2000s

Abstract

Between the mid-twentieth century and the early 2000s, many artists have depicted Middle-earth through paintings and drawings. J.R.R. Tolkien himself has accompanied and embellished his books with artistic works that could describe the places and characters that arose from his imagination. Even in the field of comic art, high quality books have been produced and published and, in some cases, real innovative reinterpretations of Tolkien’s works. This essay will focus only on The Hobbit: A Graphic Novel (in italian: Lo Hobbit a fumetti) and, in particular, on the way in which one of the most important characters of Middle-earth is represented in it, namely: Gollum.