Dracula

by John Green (Adapted by), Bram Stoker

Readers will be spellbound by this graphic novel version of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The granddaddy of all the modern vampire stories, the immortal tale unfolds in a gripping journey into the past that recounts a Victorian-era struggle against ancient evil. Original illustrations add an extra allure to this easy-to-read edition.
This Dover Graphic Novel Classic offers readers ages 8 and up an exciting introduction to a time-honored tale. Expertly abridged and packed with dramatic illustrations, this version offers a streamlined narrative that retains all of the storytelling essentials.

Genres: Graphic Novels, Classics, Horror, Retellings, Vampires

48 pages, Paperback

Published November 19, 2014

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

London-based illustrator John Green has created artwork for most of the major U.K. publishers and since 1983 has authored more than 140 Dover titles, including many of our bestsellers. Titles ranging from Ballet Class to Horses of the World reflect his amazing versatility and detailed research.

Reviews

[Mauoijenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

*NetGalley book to review*

Awesome graphic novel of the classic Dracula.
I enjoyed reading this story once again in this new format.
Very cool graphics and great detail.
It's one of the better classics I've seen done.
Excellent read for any Dracula fan.

[Theediscerning · Rating 2 out of 5]

Showing if not anything else the sheer folly of adapting Dracula for audiences 8 and up, this book is of course a very bloodless variant of the Bram Stoker novel. It certainly reads snappily, especially when the original idea for the book, published in 2009 as a colour-it-yourself edition, devotes itself to far too many splash pages and not enough story. But the adaptation doesn't help in that – too many people are just 'he', and there's no word of Mina and Jonathan returning (they just reappear, and it's only the captions that tell us who we're looking at anyway by this stage). So while teachers and school librarians will have nothing to fear of a young reader struggling to get a grip on all the characters here and what and where they are, fans will be disappointed that – even by using original Stoker words and dialogue (allegedly) – the book conveys so little of the brilliance of the real thing.

[TK · Rating 2 out of 5]

While i knew it would be abridged i had really hoped for better. Biggest problem to the adaption is that there is absolutely no flow between panels. Sadly this makes the story very hard to follow and less interesting in general. To add to the dislike, I also wasn't overly crazy about the illustrations either as i little idea as to which character was which. I've no doubt that there are better adaption already written to enjoy, this sadly isn't one of them.
arc from NetGalley

[Jessie H. · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was kind of meh. I wanted to like it more than I did. The story didn't flow smoothly. It really needed to be more than 48 pages. I would have been confused if I wasn't familiar with the original work.

*I received an eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

[Amanda [Novel Addiction] · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 - very disappointing.

See the full review on October 17, 2014 on glowsnoveladdiction.blogspot.com

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[Susi · Rating 2 out of 5]

2 stars, since it was ok, but not stellar.

"Dracula" is one of my all-time favourite books, so I was curious how the story would be adapted, first of all for the format of a graphic novel, and second of all for younger readers. What really stood out for me was the book's faithfulness to the original’s plot. Many adaptations I've come across either overdrew the character of Dracula, or added so much of their own bits and pieces that the feel of the original was completely lost. This book got it just right and thereby closed the gap between over exaggerated pop-culture adaptations and the original Dracula.

Sometimes, however, there was a considerable lack of coherence between panels and I wonder whether I'd be able to follow the plot if I hadn't already been familiar with the original. I understand that because of the format and the target audience, some scenes had to be left out, but a few more pages with additional panels for a smoother flow of the story wouldn't have hurt.

I also liked that the black-and-white illustrations leave room to be coloured-in later, but some of the characters weren't distinct enough for my taste. Especially Mina and Lucy looked very similar, their only visible difference being their hairstyle.

All in all, it might be a good way to spark young readers’ interest in the original version of Dracula, but it's not what I'd call an entirely well-rounded adaptation.

I received an electronic copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley.

[Jillyn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was so disappointing. I had high hopes for it. I love Dracula, in fact it's my favorite book. I also love graphic novels/adaptations. So I thought that bringing them both together was a recipe for success. Sadly, that wasn't the case at all.

What bothered me most was the artwork. I have absolutely no issue with a graphic novel being done in black and white, especially when it lends itself to the theme, which it does here with the classic horror story. My issue here was with wasted space- way, way too much of it. There was too much white empty space to the point it was distracting, and not to mention wasteful of paper.

And as for the story? Well, it left a lot to be desired. The panels were fragmented and disjointed. If I weren't so familiar with the plot of the classic story already, I feel that I would have been left frustrated and confused by what was happening. Don't read this unless you already know the story, would be my general advice.

It gets two stars because I love Dracula, but little else.

Thanks to Netgalley and Dover Publications for my copy in exchange for my honest review. This review can also be found on my blog, Bitches n Prose.

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Dracula (Dover Graphic Novel Classics)' is a faithful adaptation of the novel told in graphic novel format. As a bonus, all the art is presented black and white so that it can be colored.

It's all here. The creepy castle and creepier Count Dracula. The Harkners, Van Helsing and Renfield. The dark and tragic death. The race to the castle to stop the Count and save one of his victims. There are things left out, of course, because it's only 48 pages long, but for about $4, you get a good adaptation and some great art you can color.

Of the three of these I've recently read, this one, due to the nature of the story, is a bit on the darker side. Most people will know of these stories, but just know these are not children's adaptations of the stories, so shop accordingly. But of the three I've read, this one had some great pictures to color. Dracula's three concubines. A graveyard in a church. A train. The adaptation and art by John Green has been great in all these, but I especially liked this one.

I received a review copy of this graphic novel from Dover Publications and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this graphic novel.

[Bryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ok, I know that this is intended for a much younger audience. And I know that this far less than what most would consider a condensed reading. That being said I wouldn't buy and I wouldn't sell it. The core of the Dracula novel is that it is a Victorian Gothic story. The drawings are pseudo-Hollywood camp. The interaction between characters is ridiculous and the reasons for Dracula to even come to London are never revealed. It is almost as if Dover Classics was just trying to turn a buck on an out of copyright classic. Additionally the digital copy is difficult to read because of the lack of coloring or shading. The cover says it all and most of the pages have a gross misuse of white margins. At 44 pages it could have been re-framed and cut to place in more panels and pushed the story into deeper development and still met the page restrictions.

Frankenstein is the other book in the Dover series that I reviewed and it is only slightly better.

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dracula is not a easy novel to abridge, especially when one is trying to compact it to the size of a graphic novel and at the same time aiming it at a middle-grade audience, and to be honest, I can't say this version, adapted and illustrated by John Green, succeeds all that well.

One problem is that transitions are often awkward and abrupt. For instance, we cut from a panel telling us that Jonathan realizes “his only chance of escape was to scale the castle wall,” which sets the reader up for several expectations of what’s to follow: we expect to see Jonathan still in the castle trying to get out and we expect to see him climbing Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...

[Elle Markov · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dover's adaptation of the classic novel Dracula is an entertaining child-friendly graphic novel. The story is shortened to a length of about 50 pages.

In this book, we follow the unholy abomination that is the undead Count Dracula as he goes about wreaking havoc and sucking blood. The story isn't too graphic at all, so it's child friendly.

Personally I felt the story could have been better, I felt that a lot was cut out from the story so some places seemed a bit non-sequential. I've read a few of Dover Classics Graphic Novels and I found this one wasn't as strong.

Overall, it was descent, especially since the target audience is children; so I say read.

Rating 3 out of 5
Read@Book

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a free copy from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a solid graphic novel, adapted from Bram Stoker's classic novel "Dracula", which is one of my favourite classics. While the original book is pretty long, the graphic novel is really short with only 48 pages, which is probably due to the fact that the book contains many letters and lengthy descriptions that can hardly be adapted into a graphic novel. It does tell the story of Dracula pretty well though, and especially the art style was really amazing.

[Andréa · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is abridged to fit the length, the format, and the intended audience of children 8 and up, but it retains the meat of the story. I love the clean artwork that makes the images easy to understand but also enables them to be colored in by the reader. What a great way to further immerse yourself in the story, express your creativity, or practice for a career in comics!

Note: I received a digital galley of this book through NetGalley.

[Dolores · Rating 3 out of 5]

A graphic retelling aimed at younger readers. I have very mixed feelings about this one. It makes Dracula accessible to younger and challenged readers, but it was by necessity, very condensed. It made for a jerky read that I found frustrating at times, and that I don't know would inspire readers to pick up the original. And, I guess I would prefer that younger readers just waited until they were older and read the original.

[Nikki in Niagara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended for ages 8 and up this is a small graphic adaptation of the great vampire novel illustrated with black and white drawings which the introduction suggests be coloured. Of course reducing Dracula to a 50 page graphic novel leaves out many details of the story but the author does a very good job of putting the basic framework together while keeping the story exciting and not missing any major plot points. There are better versions out there but for $3.99 it's certainly worthwhile.

[Abhinav · Rating 2 out of 5]

Despite having good illustrations, the storyline is too concise making the plot slightly incomprehensible to the casual reader. Clarity is traded for brevity. However, individual panels are truly interesting. This is a commendable effort for making this classic more enjoyable for inspiring young beginners in reading books.

I thank Netgalley for a reviewer ecopy of this book.

[Rachelle (ReaderRachelle) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am really enjoying these graphic novel adaptions of the classics. They are great for a refresher or high school student who's having trouble reading the original text.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

[Rosie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Adding my review soon.

[Audrey · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars

[Theresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

dracula by john green is an easy introduction to the original work of Bram Stoker... with detailed black and write drawing s.

[Gabrielle Link · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was kind of good, it did make the book Dracula a lot shorter.


This is a book I got from NetGalley. For a review!

[GONZA · Rating 2 out of 5]

As a graphic novel about Dracula I have to say I was a little bit disappointed because it is also an adaptation for kids, so not really my cup of tea.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY FOR THE PREVIEW!

[Ross Armstrong · Rating 3 out of 5]

Passable graphic novel adaptation designed to be a coloring book.