The Man Who Laughs #[nn]

Mark Stafford's cover art for this 2014 SelfMadeHero graphic novel adaptation of Victor Hugo's The Man Who Laughs makes an immediate, unsettling impression — a close-up of a young man's face grotesquely disfigured into a permanent, wide-toothed grin dominates the entire image, rendered in a richly textured style that blends horror and dark beauty. The hand-lettered title curls across his face like a scar, reinforcing the visceral, carnival-of-misery atmosphere that Hugo's source novel is so well known for. David Hine and Mark Stafford bring a confident, gothic sensibility to this adaptation that feels both faithful to its literary roots and distinctly alive on the page.