The Silver Eyes: An AFK Book (Five Nights at Freddys Graphic Novel #1) by Scott Cawthon

The Silver Eyes: An AFK Book (Five Nights at Freddys Graphic Novel #1) Reviews

• 
  Enter the Phantom

  This is how NOT to do a graphic novel adaptation.
  
  
  The Silver Eyes story is a complex one, and if you’re going to turn it into a graphic novel, you need to be prepared to handle the complexities of the story, and do a lot of explaining through art and visual exposition. Nothing of the sort happens here. Instead, we get a watered-down, bite-size version of the original story. It’s The Silver Eyes: Saturday Morning Cartoon! edition.
  
  Character information is next to nonexistent. We know that they’re childhood friends and Charlie’s dad owned the restaurant. That’s about it. There is no additional information given on any of the other characters and why they’re important, so most of them just feel shoehorned in for no reason other than to fill out the cast. Characters either read like caricatures (Carlton is a wise guy! Jessica is a pretty blonde!) or flat extras (Lamar is black. John is a guy).
  
  The art is abysmal. The anatomy is terrible, the colour palette is far too bright and saturated, and the character designs look like something out of a bad webcomic. Something about it, I don’t know exactly what, put me in mind of CTRL+ALT+DEL, which is absolutely never a good sign.
  Jessica looks like the villain in a “not like other girls” meme, with lots of pink lipstick, huge earrings, and outfits that use the same bright pink no matter what lighting she’s standing in. John has no defining features whatsoever—he’s just a brown-haired guy with a brown jacket. The only character whose design feels like an actual design is William/Dave, whose design I admittedly really liked, even if there are some points where his design is inconsistent or just a bit much (Why is he so thin everywhere else but his silhouette is built like a linebacker in the police car? Why does he still look insane in the peaceful photograph of him and Henry?). The problem is that this makes the other characters seem even more flat and uninspired in comparison.
  There is no emotion conveyed in most of the art whatsoever. No emotional lighting, no memorable facial expressions, and lots of clunky attempts at showing emotion, such as large, bright blue tears and sweat droplets. The technical aspect of the art is awful, too—character’s colours don’t change to match lighting, shadows move orientation from one panel to the next. There’s even some places where important transitional panels are just cut altogether, making the reader guess what went on between these panels (Charlie hears a loud thud and is then hugging Marla, who I’m guessing had knocked on a door and Charlie opened it; Charlie slams a door in a room she’s never shown approaching or entering; etc.).
  A world like that of FNaF’s could have fantastic graphic novel art, with lots of mood lighting and clever perspective changes. It’s a horror story with haunted robots. Do something creative with the fantastic world you’ve been given! Glitching words, creepy effects making use of the metal in the animatronics...I’ve seen so many clever things done by artists in the fandom, and it’s an absolute shame that in a professionally illustrated, official graphic novel, not a single creative opportunity was taken. Panels move along with no sense of creativity or artistry. When it comes to art, it’s one of the laziest graphic novels I’ve ever read.
  
  It also seems that there was an attempt to tone the story down in order to market it to a younger audience, and this attempt didn’t go well at all.
  Unfortunately, it’s a problem FNaF fans are all too familiar with, with ten-year olds on YouTube watching playthroughs and then becoming obsessed with a franchise they don’t understand and aren’t ready for. This has been much to the detriment of the older fans (and original audience), who now have to sit through things like this.
  This was published under Scholastic’s Graphix label, and unlike the original Silver Eyes novel trilogy, there is no content warning, meaning that things had to be toned down, since it was being marketed to younger fans. This is a real problem, because it means we’ve lost out on what could have been a great graphic novel that makes use of the horror genre in a new and creative way for the original audience of FNaF.
  Instead, we get bright red, sparsely used, Monty Python-esque blood and awkward attempts to lighten the tone of a horror story about murdered children. For example, unlike the original novel, it isn’t made clear that the animatronics are haunted by the spirits of the kids who died in them, so you’re just left confused as to why they’re haunted. Michael/Golden Freddy is the only one that’s explained, and even then it’s very softly. These attempts at making the story kid-friendly are made even more awkward by the points in the story that were kept from the original book, such as William/Dave’s graphic explanation of death-by-springlocks, and Clay’s mentioning how he saw the blood streaks left by Michael’s body. It feels like they couldn’t quite decide whether to keep the original tone or make it a kiddie comic, so they just did both.
  
  We need a new FNaF graphic novel, one that’s actually marketed to people who can appreciate it. This watered-down, bland attempt was just laughable. But laughable in the way where you’re not really laughing, you’re cringing and wishing PewDiePie had never uploaded a playthrough.
• 
  Amethyst

  Update: After reading the actual novel that this book was based on I will change the rating from 3 stars to 2. Considering how much information was in the book, I feel like this graphic novel failed at delivering the story properly.
• 
  Ry Thompson

  The book was down right creepy BUT SUPER GOOD Dave/willam afton supoosedly the nightgaurd is the creepest character his facial expreesions will send shivers down you spine and when he shows you his scars from the suit witch wasent shown in the games but was a good feture same with the animatronics trying to keep the others safe from willam. super good book would highly reccamend
• 
  Olivia Ambrose

  *I have an ARC of this book*
  
  I like to think I'm pretty familiar with the lore of FNAF (Thanks Game Theory!), but I'd never read the books. But when I got the chance to read an ARC of the graphic novel of Silver Eyes, I was curious. I do think it suffered a little bit from not being the completed version because 98% of the drawings are still rough drafts and not finished or colored so I had a little trouble figuring out which character was which sometimes. But it was fun to read. I think it's also a book that I'm glad I read in graphic novel form. I think I would have lost interest and given up if it hadn't been. I probably won't read the rest of the books, but since I got this one for free, I wasn't going to turn the opportunity down.
• 
  Daria

  Nie będę się tu rozwodzić na temat samej fabuły. Odsyłam do recenzji normalnej książki.
  
  Jestem ogólnie zadowolona. Może nie w 100% usatysfakcjonowana, ale zadowolona, mimo że pewnie wymienię tu więcej wad niż zalet. Są lepsze i gorsze ujęcia, ale postacie wypadają całkiem nieźle, animatroniki chyba najładniej. Nawet okładka w rzeczywistości wygląda dużo lepiej niż na zdjęciach. No i jestem bardzo pozytywnie zaskoczona wyglądem naszego głównego antagonisty, bo wypada znacznie lepiej niż sugerują opisy. Również miny Jasona to absolutne złoto i bardzo do niego pasują, tutaj wydaje się być sympatyczniejszy niż w normalnej książce. Właściwie większość postaci wypada jakoś sympatyczniej w porównaniu z oryginałem.
  
  Problem w tym, że niektóre sceny są skrócone albo w ogóle niepokazane. Rozumiem, że nie wszystko może jest sens wstawiać, ale brakuje jednej z, tak sądzę, ważniejszych scen, gdzie w normalnej książce jest przedstawiona wówczas charakterystyka antagonisty. W graficznej wersji liczyłam wówczas na sporo ujęć z tego fragmentu, bo jak najbardziej można było to zrobić, a tymczasem w ogóle tego nie ma. Ba, nie zauważyłam też, żeby w graficznej wersji chociaż raz padło jego prawdzie imię(!). Osoby, które zaczęły poznawać całą fabułę od tej strony, a nie od zwykłej wersji TSE, mogą się czuć lekko zagubione i wydaje mi się, że nie do końca ogarną, co tu się właściwie dzieje. Ale ja nigdy dotąd nie czytałam powieści graficznych, może taka ich specyfika.
  
  Trochę brakowało mi też większych emocji, niektóre sceny były dużo szybsze niż zakładałam, że będą, nie było przez to napięcia. I uważam, że za mało były wyeksponowane uczucia i przeżycia bohaterów związane z jakimiś, najczęściej traumatycznymi, wydarzeniami.
  
  Sam styl graficzny to bardzo już subiektywna opinia. Te ‘’szarpane” krawędzie czasem rzucały mi się w oczy i nie do końca odpowiadały. Brakowało mi tu też takiego ‘’mroczniejszego” oświetlenia, całość jest dość jasna i trochę zabija klimat.
  
  Osobiście uważam, że jeśli jesteście kolekcjonerami, to warto ją kupić, ale jeśli ktoś dopiero pierwszy raz chce zapoznać się z historią książkowej trylogii, to ze względu na ucięte sceny i pewne braki dość istotnych fragmentów, raczej należy to traktować jako uzupełnienie dla normalnej książki, a nie na odwrót.
  
• 
  CrazedCryptid

  A quick read, it only makes sense if you are familiar with FNAF. It gets a five because Charlie/Charlotte/The puppet/The marionette is my favorite character.
• 
  Marco

  Short graphic novel based on the full novel. Almost too short but good for a recap of what happened in a short read. Read the novel for the full story. Illustrations are great at showing potentially confusing characters/events
• 
  Jen

  After sleeping on it, going to 2 stars. Too violent, not enough answers and I just didn’t enjoy it. Original review down below.
  
  Super creepy and I’m not sure I quite understand about the kids who were killed and how the missing twin ties into everything and who killed the father and I’m left with more questions then answers. 3, I’m confused, stars.
• 
  Stephanie

  I really think this story lends itself better to the graphic novel format. A lot of the problems I had with the novel were missing from this adaptation. While I wasn’t in love with the art style, this was still a quick, spooky read.
• 
  Mari Johnston

  This was a really garbage adaptation.
• 
  Aimee

  I enjoyed this as an introduction to the Five Nights At Freddy's series (which until recently I thought was only a game!) Will definitely be picking up more of the graphic novels in the series in the future. Sufficiently creepy, spooky and twisty to keep the reader in suspense. My only criticism would be the language the teenagers use is very proper and formal, doesn't really feel right for the group of friends. But that wasn't enough to put me off.
• 
  Chelsea

  I debated on whether I should finish reading the novel trilogy before tackling the graphic novel interpretations or not...but I'm glad I didn't wait. The original story is still fresh in my mind and I'm thankful because SO MANY details were cut from this interpretation! That's fairly common when taking a text aqnd transferring it to comic form, but like...there was important things cut. Also, the very little characterization to be had in the source material is watered down even further here.
  
  The artwork was so ugly too but it kind of worked to build up the creep factor. Looking at you, Dave. Unlike most FNAF material, especially given the visual media that this is...there was no extra hidden bits to be had here.
  
  Skippable for sure.
• 
  Alishkarki

  Love fanf so it was amazing
• 
  Savannah

  This book was ok, uh not my best choice but you know I needed something to read in this time
• 
  Emmy

  Not horrible, but not great, either. The art was just okay. You get the impression the artist does a lot of FNAF fan art (the animatronics looked amazing), but the rest of the people just looked kinda weird especially Dave. What got me was when they showed pictures of him with Henry, and he looked like a complete nutcase, even though it was supposed to be a nice, normal picture).
  
  If you liked the original
  The Silver Eyes book, you might enjoy this one. However, I do not recommend starting with the graphic novel, since I think it'll give you a poor impression of the book.
  
  UPDATE: 11/28/2022
  Enjoyed this more the second time around. Updating my review from ★★ to ★★★.
• 
  ellen

  This is more of a complimentary graphic novel to the original book rather than a standalone. A lot of information is missing for anyone who picks up the graphic novel if they've never read the book. I had to read a summary of the original book to understand the backstory and all character relationships. I enjoyed the artwork, but this graphic novel was lacking in story development and was very confusing in understanding the plot.
• 
  mckenna ʕ •ᴥ•ʔ

  i didnt enjoy the character design but the way the animatronics were drawn was done very well, it was nice to revisit the silver eyes as its been years since i read the first book!
• 
  Sandy

  Let me start this review with a disclaimer about my lack of knowledge of the Five Nights at Freddy's world. Prior to reading this, I'd only read
  Lally's Game, which didn't really discuss Freddy Fazbear's Pizza all that much.
  
  Anyhow, this graphic novel is set 10 years after the murders that occurred at Freddy Fazbear's Pizza, the restaurant that belonged to Charlie's father. Charlie and her friends decided to break into the abandoned restaurant. Unfortunately for them, something sinister has resided in the restaurant since the murders took place. And the animatronic mascots of the restaurants that Charlie and her friends grew up with have become very, very macabre. Think Ronald McDonald and the rest of the McDonald's gang, but multitudes creepier.
  
  I noticed that many other reviewers gave low ratings to this book, due to its misrepresentation of the Five Nights at Freddy's world. As stated earlier, my review is entirely based off of this book alone.
• 
  CompletelyBooked

  I never read any of the FNAF books before, but when I saw the ARC of this, I decided to give it a shot. I love reading all the theories about FNAF and this game series has such a complex storyline, I figured it would be hard to translate into a book.
  Obviously I don’t know how the actual book did with telling the story of Freddy Fazbears, but the graphic novel was a little hard to follow. That could have something to do with only the first chapter being inked and colored so far, but I liked the art style. There were a few parts where I was confused about what was happening, or how a scene was supposed to connect to the main plot, but I still enjoyed reading it. It felt like reading a fanfic someone wrote when they were 13 or 14: not exactly the best, but still enjoyable.
• 
  Sopademiso

  Mi sobrino me prestó este cómic de uno de sus videojuegos favoritos. Tiene una colección entera de libros en inglés y los debora, (me fascina lo que llega a hacer el interés en un tema concreto, yo a su edad no sabía ni el verbo "to be") . Me dio curiosidad así que le he echado un vistazo. Las ilustraciones no están mal, aunque a veces me han fallado algunas expresiones faciales o viñetas algo mal ordenadas para mi gusto. La historia, pues una clásica terror de adolescentes, con sus sustos y misterios. Al parecer este cómic es una adaptación de un libro más extenso, por lo que va a toda mecha para contarte la historia. Me ha faltado mucho más detalle en la trama para poder entender bien todo. Ha sido una lectura entretenida pero no la recomiendo a nadie que no tenga ni idea del videojuego.
• 
  Rachael Fryman

  Six word summary: Freaky Chucky Cheese-esque murder "bots" attack!
  
  Loved: I was pleasantly surprised by this one if I'm being absolutely honest! While I feel like the graphic novel format was kind of just eh for this story, I am intrigued by the plot and plan to pick up the novel version eventually!
  
  Recommend for: Fans of Five Nights and scary MG/YA books!
  
  Reminds me of: Scream (TV show, Season 1) meets a Chucky Cheese
  
  Verdict: Stay tuned for novelization verdict!
• 
  Sarah Hanratty

  This was just a crap fest. The art was okay, it the storyline was just bad. I only read it because my Son loves this stupid line and I wanted to read it to make sure it was okay for him to read. I don’t think it was the best, but I allowed him to read it and him being 11 loved it. I’m glad he was reading, but sad it was this tripe.
• 
  JustZika

  Pretty alright. Decently written, the characters are kinda boring though. It also might be confusing to outsiders since this book is more of an au and less of a direct adaptation. It was kinda just okay. Adds interesting concepts for theorys.
• 
  Natalya

  2.5
  
  Very middle of the road with some very mild creepiness. It went by too quickly and glossed over all the impoartant details that the novel had. It could have taken more time to focus on those details for this adaptation. The art style was OK, but not my favorite.
• 
  Fny

  What is this art really… so B…. I had to see what the fuzz was about. All the kids wanna read this one right now… and I don’t know. It was ok. I haven’t played the games or so…. Maybe it’s funnier to read the book version of this… (2,5⭐️).
• 
  Lyn

  I picked this up purely to say I'd read it.
  I love Charlie's story arc in the games but this was so hard to follow- I also just don't read graphic novels too well so I guess this was good practice for that
• 
  Ace

  It’s a good book but at the end that make the anima Tronics seem enseent
• 
  Riley

  when I saw dave already had a springlock failure I was suprised