This book has been published in Spanish as the first of a series combining written essays and illustrations from graphic artists for a comprehensive view of literature's classic works. Moby-Dick leads the parade (after a full year of preparation) to be followed by Treasure Island. There is no editor as such in charge of the compilation. Contributors (among them writers well-known outside Spain such as Arturo Pérez Reverte, Fernando Savater and Antonio Muñoz Molina) apparently agree with the copublishers (a group of dedicated specialists and well-known artists under the name of Asociación Cultural Graphiclassic) on the general lines to follow, with the publisher, Ilarión Ediciones, collaborative input. If the present first result is any indication, success will surely smile on this brave and appealing project.

The literary and graphic study of Moby-Dick is a joy to read and examine. The short essays are to the point and informative. The illustrations complement the written work (most are original commissions, but famous artists like Rockwell Kent are also included). There are appreciations of the work, its time, Melville, his contemporaries, first editions and translations in languages other than English with special emphasis, of course, on Spanish, the adaptations of the theme into movies and the comics medium, besides in-depth analyses, for instance, of Ishmael and Captain Ahab. The world of whaling and the maritime culture of the time are also studied. Full-length editions and abridged or summarised ones (purportly to make the reading easier for younger readers) are mentioned.

There are extensive notes and references for the 27 separate chapters written and/or drawn by a team of as many contributors. A so called Post-Scriptum chapter adds curious facts and trivia. For instance, a note is made that Melville never wrote which leg did Ahab lose in his duel with the whale, yet all illustrators apparently agree that it was the left one. ( )