Graphic novel artist to end ‘Fear and Loathing’ tour, fittingly, in Vegas

Perhaps no other novel is so deeply associated with Las Vegas than Hunter S. Thompson's "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," which captures the city viewed through incensed sensibilities and lots of drugs, illustrated by Ralph Steadman. To try to follow in those footsteps, a person would have to be crazy — or maybe just Canadian. Troy Little has done just that, adapting Thompson's book into a 176-page graphic novel published by Top Shelf Productions.

"I'm my own worst critic," Little said. "If I'd heard someone was doing a comic adaptation of Thompson, I'd be skeptical."

The result is a very different look at the work that captures the feel of the story and leaves much of Thompson's original prose intact.

"I wanted to keep the spirit of it," Little said. "I love the book so much. I've spent a year working on this, and it wasn't just a job. This was something I knew I had to do right."

The original story follows Thompson and his attorney to Las Vegas in 1971 where counterculture looks aghast at establishment in a city with its own strange rules. The story is semi-fictional, originally presented in two parts in Rolling Stone magazine as "A savage journey into the heart of the American Dream," with Thompson supposedly chronicling a long week in the city, initially to cover an off-road race and later to infiltrate a district attorneys convention. In reality, the events took place months apart, and some of the events portrayed were either highly exaggerated or outright fantasies. Steadman's illustrations fit the mood of the book, with wild caricatures of humanity portrayed in scratchy, splattered inks.

"It was daunting. I'm a huge fan of Steadman's work, and he was a huge influence on me," Little said. "I wish I could draw like him, but I can't, so I didn't try. I didn't want it to look like a bad knockoff of his work."

The illustrations in Little's book are still exaggerated but grounded in dimensionality. The action is portrayed as wild and rabid but clean and easy-to-read. It isn't surprising to discover that his day job has been drawing storyboards for animation in Canada.

Initially, Little managed to compress the story into about 140 pages, but that expanded to about 160 pages of story and art as he added back in some of his favorite parts, which might not have advanced the story as much but that he felt were vital for capturing Thompson's humor and fleshing out the setting.

"The things that didn't make it in were a lot of the asides or sequences where Hunter went into imaginary scenarios, and it interrupted the flow of the graphic novel," Little said.

Little is set to end his first promotional tour for the book in Las Vegas this week, beginning by renting a red convertible and driving from the Polo Lounge in Los Angeles to Las Vegas, as Thompson and his attorney did in the book. Top Shelf Productions Vice President of Marketing Dirk Wood is set to fill the lawyer's role on the ride and visit to Las Vegas.

"We're planning on recreating as much of the trip as we can," Little said. "I realize a lot has changed since the book was written, but I'm looking forward to seeing the place."

One reason he may be eager to get here is that they've already had snow at his home on Prince Edward Island. It's hard to imagine a place that is less like Las Vegas.

"It's a pretty small island," Little said. "You can practically throw a stone in any direction and hit water."

He plans to do book signings at Maximum Comics: from 4 to 7 p.m. Nov. 12 at Store 2, 520 S. Marks St., in Henderson, and from noon to 3 p.m. Nov. 13 at Store 3, 7950 W. Tropical Parkway.

"I'm really looking forward to having him at our stores," said Jay Bosworth, owner of all three stores. "I'm also hoping to come along on as much of his tour of the city and show him everything I can. We plan to hit a lot of the older properties and give them a feel of what the city was like back in the '70s."

Little is also set to sign at 7 p.m. Nov. 13 at Barnes & Noble, 2191 N. Rainbow Blvd., and finish off the night with Bosworth at Flex Cocktail Lounge, 4371 W. Charleston Blvd., for the gay nightclub's monthly comic and karaoke night.

"He really did a great job capturing the feel of the book for a different medium," Bosworth said.

Little hasn't decided what his next project will be, as he's still very focused on promoting the book. He may tackle another adaption of another author's work, or he may work on a slice-of-life story.

"The main thing I'm hoping for is to make comics my main job and do less of the storyboard work," Little said. "From the reception I'm getting on the book so far, it looks like that might just be what happens."

— To reach East Valley View reporter F. Andrew Taylor, email ataylor@viewnews.com or call 702-380-4532.