Stieg Larsson’s books are some of the most popular in recent memory, and this led not only to more than one movie, but a graphic novel adaptation coming from DC’s Vertigo line. The main character is Mikael Blomkvist, a journalist who’s been hired for some detective work. Wealthy businessman Henrik Vanger wants to know what happened to his niece Harriet, who has been missing for years. It’s a cold case, but due to the circumstances of her disappearance, there are only so many people who could have been involved. That means there’s a decent chance, in spite of everything, that it still could be solved.

While Mikael is the main character and has plenty of page time, it’s Lisbeth Salander, “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” who of course gets the book’s title and steals the show. She becomes an invaluable ally to Mikael, and her quick wits and strong personality easily win over the reader. She’s excellent at digging up information and Mikael seeks her out for help on this case.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo graphic novel adaptation is split up in two volumes, and this is the second and concluding book. (Don’t worry — Lisbeth will continue to live on in graphic novel form with the graphic adaptation of the other two books in her trilogy.) This second volume of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is where Mikael goes to Lisbeth for help and the mystery of Harriet’s disappearance is finally solved. The original novel is a fair size, and writer Denise Mina does a good job of streamlining the story to get it to fit in the form of two graphic novels. Sometimes adapting a novel into a graphic novel can leave the story feeling choppy; however, Mina’s adaptation flows well. A person could read this without having read the novel.

In addition to this, someone who’s already a fan of the novel could enjoy this adaptation for its quick pace and its artwork. All pictures are in full color and a story with this much action fits well in comic book form. The story of Lisbeth Salander strikes a chord with so many people that it made her novels bestsellers and brought her mystery-solving ability to the big screen. Her appeal carries over into the graphic novel format, because Lisbeth is as smart and aggressive as ever.