“Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner, burn ’em to ashes, then burn the ashes.” For Guy Montag, a career fireman for whom kerosene is perfume, this is not just an official slogan. It is a mantra, a duty, a way of life in a tightly monitored world where thinking is dangerous and books are forbidden. In 1953, Ray Bradbury envisioned one of the world’s most unforgettable dystopian futures, and in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the artist Tim Hamilton translates this frightening modern masterpiece into a gorgeously imagined graphic novel. As could only occur with Bradbury’s full cooperation in this authorized adaptation, Hamilton has created a striking work of art that uniquely captures Montag’s awakening to the evil of government-controlled thought and the inestimable value of philosophy, theology, and literature. Including an original foreword by Ray Bradbury and fully depicting the brilliance and force of his canonic and beloved masterwork, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is an exceptional, haunting work of graphic literature. Tim Hamilton has produced art for The New York Times Book Review, Cicada magazine, King Features, BOOM Studios, Mad Magazine, and ACT-I-VATE. He also adapted Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island into a graphic novel.


Ray Bradbury is a multiple-award-winning novelist, short-story writer, essayist, playwright, screenwriter, and poet. An American Library Association Great Graphic Novel for Teens Nominee
“Monday burn Millay, Wednesday Whitman, Friday Faulkner . . . Burn’em to ashes, then burn the ashes.” For Guy Montag, a career fireman for whom kerosene is perfume, this is not just an official slogan. It is a mantra, a duty, a way of life in a tightly monitored world where thinking is dangerous and books are forbidden. In 1953, Ray Bradbury envisioned one of the world’s most unforgettable dystopian futures, and in Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451, the artist Tim Hamilton translates this frightening modern masterpiece into a gorgeously imagined graphic novel. As could only occur with Bradbury’s full cooperation in this authorized adaptation, Hamilton has created a striking work of art that uniquely captures Montag’s awakening to the evil of government-controlled thought and the inestimable value of philosophy, theology, and literature. Including an original foreword by Ray Bradbury and fully depicting the brilliance and force of his canonic masterwork, Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit 451 is a haunting work of graphic literature. “A new adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic work Fahrenheit 451, with a fascinating and challenging new introduction by the author, is a vivid reminder of the special power of a graphic novel, of the genre’s ability to do things that words alone can’t . . . If you know the novel, you’ll still be thrilled by Tim Hamilton’s artwork in this new version, which combines a comic-book clarity—the panels are simple and straightforward, without the distraction of a lot of visual razzmatazz—with a deep, humane rendering of the novel’s theme.”—Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune "As evidenced by Tim Hamilton's authorized graphic novel, time has not dulled its tart, terrifying resonance. Vibrant and vital, Hamilton’s take on Fahrenheit 451 is far more than an illustrated version of Bradbury's 1953 classic. While its text belongs to Bradbury, Hamilton, a founding member of the online comics collaborative www.activatecomix.com, saturates the story with his own evocative energy and vision. He doesn't use all of Bradbury’s words, instead allowing the story’s inherent visual propulsion to add even more depth and texture to an already-indelible tale. Given this novel's graphic heft, it's strange that there has been only one film production, a 1966 adaptation written and directed by François Truffaut. Then again, perhaps that’s because this is a work that, despite its many images of immolation, is more about provocative ideas than things blowing up. And here, Hamilton never compromises the cerebral for the visceral as he lures readers into a world careening into madness . . . Hamilton's arousing adaptation doesn't just update Bradbury's novel. It primes Fahrenheit 451, long a staple of high school and college reading lists, for rediscovery. Like the greatest works of art, its rugged heart and soul are evergreen; that it is, perhaps, even more relevant today, imbues the book with an unsettling prescience that even Bradbury may never have predicted."—Renee Graham, The Boston Globe  "A new adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s classic work Fahrenheit 451, with a fascinating and challenging new introduction by the author, is a vivid reminder of the special power of a graphic novel, of the genre’s ability to do things that words alone can’t. Believe me, I often question my affection for graphic novels. I loved Superman as a kid, but when it comes to comics, we’re not in Kansas anymore. Graphic novels have become terrifically popular, thanks to fiercely imaginative practitioners like Neil Gaiman, as well as to a growing body of sophisticated theoretical work on the genre by astute writers such as Scott McCloud and Douglas Wolk . . . The new graphic version of Fahrenheit 451 has helped sort out the contents of my soul. And I’m happy to report that I’m in the clear. I am quite certain that I’d be trumpeting the virtues of this work even if graphic novels weren’t on everybody’s hot list . . . If you know the novel, you'll still be thrilled by Tim Hamilton’s artwork in this new version, which combines a comic-book clarity—the panels are simple and straightforward, without the distraction of a lot of visual razzmatazz—with a deep, humane rendering of the novel’s theme . . . Some of my anti-comics correspondents claim that reading a graphic novel is not really 'reading' at all. They're right. It's something else again. In the case of Fahrenheit 451, it's more like a life-changing immersion in ideas, words, echoes, symbols, characters, lines, colors, nightmares—and finally, daybreak."—Julia Keller, Chicago Tribune


“[Hamilton] boasts the tools—and chops—to take on a Bradbury classic that’s already tripped up the greats (like François Truffaut). He turns in a vivid and relevant meditation that will surely become a resurgent favorite of nervous librarians everywhere.”—The Miami Herald


“This searing cautionary tale, in which ‘firemen’ destroy all printed material except magazines and comics, remains one of science fiction’s best-known works. And it is now, perhaps, one of the best graphic novels of 2009 . . . Where the novel felt scalding, the graphic novel feels necessary. It makes this cautionary tale hip to the present generation and updates it by transporting it to a newly vibrant medium. It’s slightly frightening that after more than 55 years, the retelling seems so pertinent.”—Laurel Maury, NP