Powerpoint of comparisons between 4 adapations of Neverwhere

1. Graphic Novel
Characters
Richard Mayhew is a stressed working man who is being controlled by his girlfriend as she pushes him to do things and listen
to what she tells him to do. He is gentle caring person who wants to help Door when he sees her lying in the middle of the
street bleeding out.
Jessica is Richard’s girlfriend and she cares about impressing her boss so much that she bosses around her boyfriend and
keeps giving him agro. Gary is Richards work mate.
Door is the girl with strange mystically powers who is being hunted by Mr Vandemar and Mr Croup. She is frightened because
her family had the same powers and they were murdered.
Mr Vandemar is tall, balky and has a strongly aggressive personality.
Mr Croup is short, slim and has a sinister look to his character.
The Marquis De Carabas has a hidden face and a slight humorous personality in response to Richard.
Locations: The graphic novel is set in a 1990’s London. London City is shown a lot more in the graphic novel that what was
shown in the TV series. The graphic novel shows an image from outside Richards window which shows him working, alongside
an image of the city. The underground is a lot brighter in the graphic novel so that the detail can be seen in the area that the
story is set in. The inside of Richards apartment is portrayed as being bigger in the graphic novel whereas it is really small in
the TV series. The streets are similar in the graphic novel to the TV series as well as the back alleys. The rooftop shows a
similar image in the graphic novel where Richard is on the ladder but in the TV series he exits a door to a metal railing on the
edge of a tall building.
Props: Bladed weapons are used by the random guy who attacks Doors as well as Mr Vandemar and Mr Croup. Phone devices
are used by Richard and Mr Vandemar. Richard uses a spear in his nightmare in the graphic novel. Jewelry such as the ring that
Door gives to Richard to pass onto Carabas. Carabas also has a cane in the graphic novel but not in the other adaptations.
Costume: Outfits for all of the characters but Richard and Jessica are unique and match the personality of the wearer. Face
paint for Door’s character as she has a key tattoo or paint mark on her right eye.
Narrative Flow: The narrative provides a lot of information within the text as well as the large amount of drawings which show
images of what is happening in the story. The narrative shows more violent scenes in the graphic novel and an exaggeration on
specific story plots such as Richards nightmare. In the graphic novel the artist could create a mythical horrifying creature
whereas in the TV series this was restricted due to the low budget the show had. This means that the TV show could not
afford CGI which could create a mythical beast so they used sounds, shadows and an animal like a wolf to portray the beast.

2. TV Series
Characters
Richard Mayhew has the same character as the graphic novel and the artist did not change much about his character when
they were writing it up as they stayed with the original TV series character.
Jessica also has the same character in the graphic novel which was not changed from the original TV series.
Door is the same character in the graphic novel as well and her personality has dramatically changed from the TV series. The
main change she has was the clothes she wears.
Mr Vandemar is tall and quite large in the TV series but he was made bigger in the graphic novel as if the artist swapped the
width body size of the two characters Mr V and Mr C.
Mr Croup is short and fat in the TV series but he was portrayed as a short and slim character in the graphic novel.
The Marquis De Carabas is portrayed by a black man with flat blonde hair on the top front side of his head and black
dreadlocks at the back. This character was drastically changed from the TV series as the graphic novel portrayed him as a
character without a face.
Locations: The TV series is set in a 1990’s London. The city is not really shown in the TV series apart from the streets, back
alleys and the rooftops in a few scenes. The underground shots in the TV series were very dark and difficult to view due to the
low budget that was put into making the series. Richard’s apartment was small and cramped in the TV series whereas it had a
lot more space in the graphic novel. The streets are fairly similar in both the TV series and graphic novel as well as the back
alley which showed a lot of rubbish and cardboard boxes. The rooftop scene in the TV series is different from what the graphic
novel portrayed it to be; Richard walks out a door and into a metal railing which was on the edge of a tall building whereas the
graphic novel showed this when Richard was still climbing up a ladder.
Props: Bladed weapons are used by the random guy who attacks Doors as well as Mr Vandemar and Mr Croup. Phone devices
are used by Richard and Mr Vandemar. Jewelry such as the ring that Door gives to Richard to pass onto Carabas.
Costume: A lot of the characters in the TV series well normal and dull clothes. Richard and Jessica wear their working clothes
and Mr Vandemar and Mr Croup wear clothes similar to that of a butcher. Door was wearing casual clothes that were tatty
because of her being chased by Mr V and Mr C aswell as being stabbed a few times or having another persons blood on her
clothes.
Narrative Flow: TV series shows a specific amount of information due to the restrictions of showing features on the screen.
This involves the amount of violence they could show or which was exaggerated and adapted into the graphic novel. The lack
of violence between the characters changes the narrative slightly; a good example of this is how Mr Vandemar and Mr Coup do
not attack Richard in his apartment or threaten him whereas they do so in the graphic novel.

3. Novel
Characters
Richard Mayhew has a similar character to the graphic novel and TV series but the novel tends to explain a lot of detail about
how the characters visually look and other features that were not used in the TV series and graphic novel. The novel also
explains small details such as how Richards character has small troll dolls on his desk at work which Jessica surprisingly lets
him keep. Richard and Jessicas sex life is also mentioned in the novel which is completely ignored in the other adaptations.
Jessica has the same character as the TV series and graphic novel and not much has changed.
Door has the same character as the TV series and graphic novel and not much has changed.
Mr Vandemar has the same character as the TV series and graphic novel and not much has changed. The novel also explains in
detail how Mr Vandemar and Mr Coup look visually such as their eyes, height, clothing and jewelry.
Mr Croup has the same character as the TV series and graphic novel and not much has changed but the novel explains small
details about the appearance of the character having lank orange hair.
Mr Ross is the name of the thug who door kills at the start of the story; he is not named in the other adaptations nor does he
have a background story. The novel explains more in detail about this character in comparison to the other adaptations.
The Marquis De Carabas I have not read the part of the novel which includes this character.
Locations: The novel explains a lot of detail about the features from the adaptations to give a feeling about how the story is
going along as well as what environment the story is set in. The novel focuses on the detail about the city rather than Richards
office but it also goes into depth about the state of Richards apartment.
Props: The knife that is used by Mr Vandemar and Mr Croup.
Costume: Door wears a leather jacket in the novel. Other characters clothing is not explained in detail.
Narrative Flow: The narrative in the novel is exactly the same as the TV series and graphic novel; only it adds a lot of detail to
the characters and locations to give the reader a visual of how the story would look on screen or with images.

4. Radio Show
Characters
Richard Mayhew has the same character from the TV series and is voiced by a different actor but sounds exactly a like.
Jessica has the same character from the TV series and is voiced by a different actor but sounds exactly a like.
Mr Vandemar has the same character from the TV series and is voiced by a different actor which sounds more aggressive and
suits his personality. His character is aggressive in the Radio show in comparison to the TV series but he is not violent; for
example he does not attack Richard in any way.
Mr Croup has the same character from the TV series and is voiced by a different actor which portrays the character as an
intelligent villian.
The Marquis De Carabas has the same character from the TV series and is voiced by a different actor but sounds exactly a like.
Locations: London above and London Below. Richards Apartment. London pavements.
Costume: No visual appearance or detail in the Radio show.
Narrative Flow: The radio show has a different introduction of Mr Vandemar and Mr Croup killing a person and talking about
500 years in the future of London. Right after this introduction Richard leaves work and just outside the building he comes
across a gypsy who tells Richards fortune which relates to him meeting door and going to a London that is not normal. The
gypsy then tells Richard he is a nice person and that he has a good heart which should take him far, but it normally does not.
The rest of the narrative follows in the path of the TV series by using the text and sound from the original series.