Top Vampire Story: Dracula The Graphic Novel: Original Text

Title: Dracula The Graphic Novel: Original Text
Author: Jason Cobler
Pages: 144
Released: February 2012
Genre: Horror

This is not your run of the mill graphic novel, and I was amazed at what a great job they did taking the original text of the classic vampire tale and adapting it to this format. Having edited and published adaptations of the original Sherlock Holmes books back in my comic book days – I know this is a huge undertaking. The desire to be true to the original text, and yet bring a powerful new element to it, can be daunting. In this case, they have pulled it off magnificently.

Jason Cobler has taken Bram Stoker’s story and chosen just the right passages to make the story move like the master did. You cannot simply illustrate a story in this medium, you have to give it new life while remaining true to the original intent. Editor Clive Bryant has done a great job pulling this together and the artist team of Staz Johnson and James Offredi are completely up to the task.

If you haven’t read the book, well this is the perfect introduction to the classic tale that is the grandfather of all modern vampire stories. The art is in an almost old-fashion illustrative style that totally suits the book, and yet has just enough of a modern feel to keep it from feeling too out of touch with today’s storytelling.