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Review: Dracula #1

The original (and best) vampire story retold by two comics legends.

No Caption Provided
It's Bram Stoker's Dracula. The odds are very good you know this story.

The Good

Seeing comics legend Dick Giordano's work get some deluxe modern color treatment is reason enough to pick this up. You can plainly see why his work has influenced a generation of artists. Just top notch storytelling, angles, shadows, lighting and mood. Roy Thomas says in his afterword that he and Giordano sought to make this the most faithful adaptation of the novel ever, so I'm not sure how much of the writing was uniquely his or how much was taken directly from the novel, but I was enthralled never-the-less. After reading so much contemporary writing, it was a welcome novelty to read captions and dialogue with such a refined and more poetic quality. This is a dense read and it takes more time than usual to get through, but the images it evokes in your mind are much more potent and evocative than the most cinematic comic on the shelves these days. Seriously, read this and you'll see how thrilling it is to get back to the source of this legendary tale that's inspired countless imitators. You see all the hallmarks that you're familiar with from all the movies, but there's much greater weight and mood to them here since you get to really understand the context.

The Bad

Obviously, there have been a thousand adaptions of Dracula, so there's a question as to what sets this apart from the nine hundred and ninety-nine others. I think I answered that above, though.

The Verdict - 4.5/5

It might be easy to pass this up, but I really encourage you to pick this up and sink your teeth into it. I can't say how welcome a change of pace it was to read a comic with some really literary weight and heft to it - - something that takes a little more effort and attention to get into. Buy this for Giordano's classic art and for Thomas' wonderfully poetic styling.

5 Comments

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_Sub-Zero_

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Edited By _Sub-Zero_

Finally

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Krakoa

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Edited By Krakoa
@greenenvy said:
" Now this is what I call a true vampire story and not that true blood or twilight crap in this generation today.  "
It's a shame what's happened to vampires. Potentially good material like this probably gets passed because Twilight has made everyone develop a cringe reflex with bloodsuckers.
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FoxxFireArt

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Edited By FoxxFireArt

I'm sure your review is quite trustworthy, but I am well beyond burned out with vampire material.
This obviously seems like preparation in that Death of Dracula story that is coming.

Just please let Marvel get this vampire gimmick over with quickly so we can get back to normal. I'm kind of pleased in a way that X-Men is first in this carnival show. It will make it over that much sooner.

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greenenvy

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Edited By greenenvy

Now this is what I call a true vampire story and not that true blood or twilight crap in this generation today. 

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ComicCrazy

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Edited By ComicCrazy

Hmmm sounds ok.