A part of my job, as a reviewer, is certainly to tell you if I enjoyed a book, and if I'd recommend it to someone else to read. Another part is for me to say if I thought the book was worth the price tag it carried, in this case, a fairly hefty $4.99 for the middle issue of this five-issue mini-series. While these two responsibilities aren't necessarily at odds, I'm having trouble placing this book on a scale that properly takes both into account.
I'll start with the story, I guess. Dracula has gone through many adaptations, and many reimagings, depending on the person telling the story. In this version, however, Morre & Reppion stay significantly more faithful than most have to the original Bram Stoker version, even going so far as to credit him as the writer. In the back, they even mention how brilliant some of the original story is, and how it's lost by our modern desires for thrills and horror. This was written in a time when what was "horror" was much more unseen than seen, something that doesn't exactly translate to comics.
However, there are some very good moments in this book. My favorite being the actual slaying of Lucy, and how difficult it truly must have been. In the story, her slayer is told, "Do not falter," which seems like an empty warning, till we see just what it actually entails. Were it me, I would have faltered, no doubt.
There's a certain unevenness to the art, probably caused by the book switching creative teams since issues 1 & 2, and trying to mimic as best they can the original painted look of the series. The art team does a decent job, but you can tell the differences, almost as if they aren't comfortable with having to ape someone else's style, instead of taking it on their own. I wonder if they would have been better served not trying to match the originals, and just going with it. In all, a good rendition of a quality book.
So, with that said, I have to bring up what I was thinking as I read it. "Wow, this book is a long read!" With 40 pages (32 of story) and lots of typed out story to read, both in newspaper and journal clippings, and in simply long exposition, you really do get quite a bit for your $5. At the end of the book, we're treated to a 2-page wrap up by the authors, where they talk about Stoker's original story, and get shown a little of what their script looks like. This is the kind of stuff that, if not included in the trade, would make the monthlies worth buying.
On the whole, the book was good, if uneven, but provides significant value against others. There's a chance it'll be better in repackaged format, but there's enough here that it's worth your fiver. |
