Denise Mina Does Stieg Larsson as Graphic Novel

Denise Mina fans may not be aware that she has a history (and a future) in comics as well as crime. She worked with illustrator Leonardo Manco on Hellblazer, and she’ll be working with him again to adapt the three Stieg Larsson novels—The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire, and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest—into a series of six comic books for DC Comics, with the first one due in March.

Says Mina of the project,

“The estate has given me free rein and I can change what I want … I think they think that enough people have read the books, and anyway, Larsson really loved comics,” she said. “I’m not changing that much [but] I think for most women there are problematic aspects of the story … Lisbeth Salander is just a brilliant character. She is the main event for me. But she is a survivor of sexual abuse and I think every so often [Larsson] doesn’t realise how frightened she is most of the time. I wanted to put those bits in.”

“I don’t think she would spend so much time on her make-up [as she does in the book],” said Mina. “I think she wants to be invisible. I think she looks odd because she can’t help it. She looks odd and very cool. And she’s not going out with a woman because she can’t find a man. I think she likes women and feels more comfortable with them. The gay relationship is very much an aside in the book—she’s so fucked up she’s going out with a girl—but I think the girlfriend is the main event.”

Thanks to the Guardian for this exciting news!