Expecting Great Things from John Stokes

(with thanks to Jon Haward): Classical Comics, the British publisher adapting classic works of fiction into comics for both schools and general readers, has just published some pages form its latest project, Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, on its web site.

Adapted by Jen Green, the art for the project is the work of former Marvel UK and IPC artist John Stokes, whose perhaps most memorable credits for downthetubes readers include Black Knight for Hulk Weekly, Fishboy for Buster, Future Shocks for 2000AD, the comic strip adaptation of the film Time Bandits, Doctor Who strips and much more.

Jon Haward, who has been working for Classical Comics as both artist and art director, is delighted with John's work. "I'm really happy for John," he enthuses, "and publisher Clive Bryant, as I think this book has winner stamped all over it."

Stokes' work, coloured by Jason Cardy, brings Dickens' powerful tale of Pip, Miss Havisham, and the spiteful Estella to glorious life, his attention to detail without losing sight of the need for strong storytelling in plenty of evidence from these sample pages.

As a tale described as "one of the greatest works of literary history," John and the Classcial Comics team have certainly done it justice in graphic novel form.

• Great Expectations, which will be available in Original Text and Quicktext formats, will be published in March. Order it from amazon.co.uk

• John Stokes' Profile on Lambiek