Cormac McCarthy’s grim Pulitzer Prize-winning post-apocalyptic novel “The Road” was previously adapted for film in 2009, starring Viggo Mortensen and directed by John Hillcoat. Now the story is getting a renewed artistic interpretation in a hardcover graphic novel adaptation from French cartoonist Manu Larcenet, published in the United States by Abrams.

“The Road” features a father and son traveling through a dark dystopia, with the father looking to teach his son the lessons he’ll need to survive in a world where other survivors have become disconnected from their humanity. The original novel’s minimalist prose makes it a striking fit for the graphic novel world, with artwork taking the lead in telling playwright and novelist McCarthy’s tale.

Larcenet made a personal appeal to McCarthy to allow him to adapt “The Road.” Praising its atmosphere, Larcenet wrote, “I enjoy drawing the snow, the chilling winds, the dark clouds, the sizzling rain,...