Is The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien just a graphic novel/illustrated book or a regular novel?

Question

I got my first Lord of The Rings book last week. Haven't read it yet. Anyway, people have told me to read The Hobbit first so I can get a little better understanding of The Lord of The Rings triology. They tell me it's a prequel, but I just wanna get in the story already. Then I did some research. ...

Answer 1

There is a graphic novel version of “The Hobbit”, adapted from Tolkien’s work. It is written by Chuck Dixon and illustrated by David T. Wenzel. (See http://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/David_T._... and http://www.amazon.com/HOBBIT-GRAPHIC-J-R... . )

The original version by Tolkien should be found in almost any bookstore or public library. (See http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-J-R-R-Tolki... .) The more expensive editions also contain some illustrations by Tolkien himself, but the text is identical. (See http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-70th-Anniversary-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0618968636/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260194717&sr=1-1 .) An edition with illustrations by Alan Lee is also available. (See http://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-There-Back-Again/dp/026110330X/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1260194843&sr=1-6 .)

“The Hobbit” was written before “The Lord of the Rings” and so was not written as a prequel. Rather “The Lord of the Rings” was written as a sequel to “The Hobbit”.

I do recommend reading “The Hobbit” before “The Lord of Rings”.

Answer 2

It is an actual novel. And yes, reading The Hobbit first will give you a better understanding of The Lord of the Rings.

Answer 3

No because the book would be classified as fictional and wouldn't be proclaimed to be holy. The type of writing in The Hobbit is a different style than which was written in the bible. Had there been no cult to support the religion of there being hobbits in the world, the world would not believe in hobbits. It's called influence.

Answer 4

It's a regular novel that is also available in Graphic and Illustrated. Your friends are right, though, you really should start with the Hobbit, and I would recommend you bought the full novel. It doesn't scrimp on any detail :-)
oh, yeah, it's a great read in itself anyway, so you shouldn't get too bored before you start the main story

Answer 5

The Hobbit is a stand-alone novel, not a graphic novel. You don't have to read it first, but many people do.

Answer 6

"The Hobbit" is a much shorter novel by the same author which is geared more towards children, but you will probably find it helpful. Tolkien did make several drawings for his stories, but they are not usually included with his books.

Answer 7

It's a normal novel.
They didn't have graphic novels back in the 1930's.

Happy reading, by the way. :) Glad to see you wanna get into the story; I love the Lord of the Rings.

Answer 8

It's a novel. You should be able to find it at pretty much any bookstore, new or used.

Answer 9

Do they have brains where you come from?

No, it's not a/an illustrated/graphic novel - it was written 70 years ago, for God's sake!