Did you know that Ayn Rand’s Anthem has been adapted into a graphic novel?
If so, did you realize that Rand’s Prometheus-winning ode to individualism, freedom and the rediscovery of the self has actually been adapted twice – with two different graphic novels? (I didn’t.)
The first one was published in 2011; and the second, in 2018. Together, the two versions reflect the continuing appeal and relevance of one of Rand’s earliest works.
Both are interesting to read – and to compare.
Written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in the United Kingdom, the dystopian novella by the Russian-American writer is set in an unspecified future dark age of primitivism and repression where the very concept of individuality has been eliminated.
Poetically and concisely, Rand charts the rediscovery of the self by one individual – who has to learn the concept of “I” in a world of only “we.”
After he achieves greater self-awareness and liberation, a 21-year-old man named Equality 7-2521 tells the story of his life, writing by candlelight in a tunnel under the earth.
His inspiring story of struggle over ignorance and oppression widens into Rand’s celebration of independent thinking, innovation and creativity.
The Atlas Society commissioned and published the 2018 graphic novel adapted by Jennifer Grossman and Dan Parsons.
That edition should not be confused with a previous graphic novel, published in 2011 and adapted by Charles Santino, with artwork by Joe Staton.
Anthem, which has sold nearly 4 million copies over the decades and remains in print, was inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame for Best Classic Fiction in 1987.
Check out the Prometheus Blog appreciation of Anthem.
Read the two Prometheus Blog complementary but different appreciations of Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, inducted into the Prometheus Hall of Fame in 1982. One appreciation essay-review was written by William H. Stoddard; and the other essay-review was written by Michael Grossberg.
IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS:
* Prometheus winners: For the full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees – including the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards – visit the enhanced Prometheus Awards page on the LFS website, which now includes convenient links to all published essay-reviews in our Appreciation series explaining why each of more than 100 past winners since 1979 fits the awards’ distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.
* Read “The Libertarian History of Science Fiction,” an essay in the international magazine Quillette that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.
* Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies (including the recent 2023 ceremony with inspiring and amusing speeches by Prometheus-winning authors Dave Freer and Sarah Hoyt), Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog’s Video page.
* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society’s Facebook page for comments, updates and links to Prometheus Blog posts.
* Join us! To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, join the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf/fantasy fans.
Libertarian futurists believe that culture matters. We understand that the arts and literature can be vital in envisioning a freer and better future – and in some ways can be even more powerful than politics in the long run, by imagining better and more humane visions of the future incorporating peace, prosperity, progress, tolerance, justice, positive social/technological change, and mutual respect for each other’s individual rights and human dignity.
