Writer: Van JensenArtist: Dusty Higgins
Original Graphic Novel
This book is just too cool. After vampires kill Gepetto, Pinocchio takes up vampire hunting. It's one of those genius high concepts that draws me right in. From the sound of it, the concept spawned from a joke; doesn't it seem like some of the best ideas come from personal jokes?
Disney has no influence on this one. This book is set up as kind of a direct sequel to the original story. Keep in mind that such is a story where Pinocchio kind of squished the cricket as soon as he met him. It really is amazing just how much Disney managed to clean up stories for their films; Peter Pan's another striking example.
For the first graphic novel of his career, Van Jensen writes the hell out of this book. There's plenty of humor, from subtle to loud, silly to grim. Everything works. The book has action, horror, suspense and humor. We also see Pinocchio staking vampires with his nose. What more could you ask for?
This is obviously kind of a short review - maybe my shortest - but that's partly because there's little discussion necessary. This book is just great, from the writing to the art. If I went on for too long this review would just boil down to a couple hundred different ways to say "go buy this book". So I'll just cut to the chase and tell you to just buy this book.
I have no idea if there are any immediate plans for a sequel, but I sure as hell hope so.
The Score: 8.5 out of 10
If you don't pick this book up, I have no choice but to conclude that you hate fun.
"Pinocchio staking vampires with his nose"...? Sold. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is really one of those ideas that seems so far out there at first, but then you realize it makes so much sense it's uncanny.
ReplyDeleteI mean, Pinocchio has the potential to be the greatest vampire slayer of all time. Endless stakes! All he has to do is lie! Which is, of course, played for comedy in this book. This one got some genuine chuckles and smiles out of me.