 We're taking a look at the comicsology exclusive Marley's Ghost, which is based on a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and adapted by Harvey Kurtzman. Hey guys, welcome back to Comic NTV. We're all geek culture collides, and if you're new to the channel, make sure you can click that subscribe button so you don't miss out on future videos. Today, we're taking a look at the comicsology exclusive Marley's Ghost by Harvey Kurtzman. When I saw this on comicsology, I thought for sure it was a new story, maybe told from another character's perspective, or perhaps even a concept of what happened to Marley after the events of a Christmas Carol. But sadly, this was just a comic book version of the same story that's been told and retold over and over and over. There were maybe one or two new scenes, but nothing really to justify renaming it. The summary comicsology gives, enjoy this new version of Dickens, a Christmas Carol in graphic novel form, Harvey Kurtzman's Marley's Ghost. Marley's Ghost is the post-humus completion of legendary creator Harvey Kurtzman's adaptation of the classic Charles Dickens novel, A Christmas Carol. Kurtzman's ambitious concept for Marley's Ghost began in the 1950s as an early graphic novel, but was never realized. Now, over 60 years later, writers Josh O'Neill and Shannon Wheeler expand upon Kurtzman's extensive adaptation notes, while illustrator Gideon Kindle's outstanding artwork utilizes Kurtzman's breakdowns and stylistic choices to make this long-lost vision a reality, released as a comicsology exclusive on November 8, 2017. So today, this is being recorded on November 8th. I just finished reading the story. I'm home sick today, got the house to myself, so I've had time to think about it. The art is very reminiscent of Norman Rockwell's work, which fits the story. However, there's nothing really that differentiates this version from all the other versions out there. The designs of the characters all the way down to their clothes is almost identical to Walt Disney's A Christmas Carol, which featured many of Disney's popular characters like Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Uncle Scrooge as the characters of the story, even in the Ghost from Christmas Pass scene, where they visit Fezziwig. The character Fezziwig is dressed completely in the exact same clothes as the character in the Disney short film. The only real difference is one scene where the Ghost of Christmas Pass takes Scrooge to visit his first love, Belle, her husband, and their children. It's one scene I haven't seen in the other depictions, but it lasts about two pages. The Ghost of Christmas present isn't really depicted as a giant or as aging rapidly, but still has the same characteristics and clothing as in every other incarnation. But during this chapter, we see the pair visit not only the people in Scrooge's life, but also a coal mine and its workers, a lighthouse, and a fishing ship. The Ghost of Christmas future isn't really a central part of his chapter, unlike with other adaptations. The Spectre doesn't really guide Scrooge on his journey, but rather is the future itself, as it's really just a cloak that engulfs Scrooge, transporting him to different people on the day of Scrooge's death, and doesn't appear again until the end of the story. Something else that's slightly different in this story is during the Ghost of Christmas present chapter. Scrooge begins to change, but is only willing to change one day out of the year and be the same miser he is the rest of the year. Everything else is pretty much word for word exactly how every other interpretation has produced it. Overall, I do really enjoy the story of Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol, which this was exactly. There was really no difference between this and other versions, other than being retitled. It's exactly like someone copying a book word for word, adding a couple of new elements that doesn't really move the story forward or in a different direction, and then calling it something else. It has nothing to do with Marley's Ghost other than the chapter where it visits Scrooge, which is exactly the same as we've seen over and over again. If they wanted to retitle the story but keep everything else exactly the same, they should have just named it Scrooge, or the Spirits of Christmas. Instead, they made it seem like the story was going to be told from Marley's perspective or at the very least tell what became of Marley's Ghost after Scrooge turned his life around. Because of this being a word for word recreation of a story we've heard time and time again with a new title but no new interpretation, I would honestly have to give Marley's Ghost a 3 out of 10 stars. If they would have packaged it as a Christmas Carol or one of the suggestions I made, then sure, it could have ranked higher. But sadly, they didn't do that. Is it worth the $3.99 price tag? Well, it just depends. If you've been wanting a copy of a Christmas Carol but just haven't gotten one yet, or if you've never even seen the movies or read the book, then yes, absolutely. It's in this that I compare it to 1998's Psycho. You know the remake which starred Vince Vaughn as Norman Bates, which was shot for shot exactly the same as the original? Yeah, it's kind of like that. Honestly, I can't say whether I recommend this or not because though I've always enjoyed the story, they packaged this as something new when in fact it really wasn't. I'm Shannon for Comic-Con TV, take care everyone, and in the words of Tiny Tim, Merry Christmas, everyone.