Reed, Gary. Bram Stoker's Dracula.REED, Gary. Bram Stoker's Dracula. Art by Becky Cloonan. Penguin, Puffin Graphics. 176p. illus, c2006. 0142405728. $9.99. JS A short synopsis of Dracula: real estate agent Jonathan Harker Jonathan Harker is a fictional character and the protagonist in the 1897 novel Dracula by Bram Stoker. In the novel Harker is a recently certified solicitor from Exeter, who is sent by his employer to Transylvania in order to consult a client on a property travels to Transylvania to meet Count Dracula Count Dracula is a fictional character, the titular antagonist of Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. Some aspects of the character may have been inspired by the 15th century Wallachian Prince, Vlad III the Impaler. , who is buying a house in England. Harker notes in his journal that the Count has some strange habits, such as crawling up and down walls like a spider, casting no reflection in mirrors, and resting during the day in an earth-filled coffin. Dracula is a vampire vampire, in folklore, animated corpse that sucks the blood of humans. Belief in vampires has existed from the earliest times and has given rise to an amalgam of legends and superstitions. , and when he gets to England he visits Lucy Westenra Lucy Westenra is a fictional character in the novel Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker. She is the 19-year-old daughter of a wealthy family. Her father is not mentioned in the novel and her elderly mother is simply stated as being Mrs. Westenra. , who forsakes her three mortal suitors to become undead un·dead adj. No longer living but supernaturally animated, as a zombie. . He then turns his attention to Mina Murray, Harker's fiancee, but is foiled by a group led by Professor Van Helsing. Dracula flees back to Transylvania and is slain within sight of his castle. Written in the form of journal entries, Dracula is a tough read for an adult, let alone a child. Reed's adaptation, which is intended for a younger audience, does a good overall job of making Stoker's novel more accessible. Several sequences are cut from the book, with mixed results, The Count's taking of Lucy, which involves a wolf spirited from the zoo, is ridiculous and does not appear here, with good reason. However, we don't witness Lucy rising from the dead, which is a powerful scene. Cloonan's art has its good and bad points. The beginning of the graphic novel is rife with atmosphere and creepy creep·y adj. creep·i·er, creep·i·est Informal 1. Of or producing a sensation of uneasiness or fear, as of things crawling on one's skin: a creepy feeling; a creepy story. 2. shadows, and I like her rendition of the Count as an old man. Some of the women, most notably Lucy Westenra, are drawn spectacularly. However, her men tend to look alike, and at places the art looks rushed. Bram Stoker's Dracula contains violence, and is recommended for vampire-crazy younger readers. George Galuschak, YA Libn., Montvale PL, Montvale, NJ |
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