Universal Monsters Calvacade of Horror

by Terry Austin, Dan Vado, Tony Harris (Illustrator)

'Universal Monsters' provides an introduction to the world famous monsters of Universal Studios - with new artwork and classic stories given a twist by some famous comic authors.

Genres: Horror, Graphic Novels, Vampires

208 pages, Paperback

First published January 17, 2006

Reviews

[Lora · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great ride down that dreary spooky lane of monster movie memorabilia for those of us who grew up on this stuff. There are four stories in this great little book- Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. These are all based upon old movie versions of the stories, not any books. Not at all! The colors offer great mood, the different artists' styles add a toothsome variety of sanguine flavor, the characters and stories hold up and just like the old movies you still remember, they don't exactly make a lot of sense sometimes. But that's the deep and secretive joy of both movies and graphic novels! This is about story telling, folks, not logic.
I especially appreciate this book because I went into the local Half Price Books with a naive list of over thirty books to look up. I enthusiastically and carefully made strategies in my head of how to choose which books to take home that day, while agonizing over the fantasy that one day I might never have to make a choice like that again, and take them all home! Lo and behold, I crossed one book after another off my list. They were not to be found within that store. Really? Even this one? Even that one? Meanwhile, my husband, who had no list whatsoever, and hadn't even wanted to come in the first place, kept showing me 'cool' books in the history section. He couldn't decide which ones to keep and which to put back! His arms bulged with map books and narratives and historical accounts. It was disgusting. My list, completely crossed off and crumpled in my fist, seemed to laugh at me. Not a one was in that store! Well, I wandered over to the graphic novel section in hopes that there might be something that appealed to the graphic novel picky reader within me: and there this book was. My favorite movies, my favorite junk book format, my hero to save me from that stupid deceitful list of apparently obscure nobodies and other classics. I will be forever grateful that this novel was there that day, and that I now own it. Whodathunkit? Saved by monsters! They oughta make a movie...oh, nevermind.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another one of those rare finds at the public library. I was glad to find it.

Here is what I wrote about it in my blog back in March, 2007:

"This is a collection of graphic adaptations of classic monster movies. It features The Mummy, Frankenstein, Dracula, and Creature from the Black Lagoon. If you have seen the movies, you will appreciate reading these. If not, it may be a good introduction, and it may make you want to seek out the movies. Overall, it was a pleasant and entertaining read that I would definitely recommend. Different artists worked on each story, so just for the art this would be a good selection."

[Stephen Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

These stories are not based on the novels, but on the universal studio movies. The art work is phenomenal and provide a unique guide down memory lane. Kudos! Thanks you for the loan Franklin Public Library.

[Bandit · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very entertaining graphic adaptations of the universal classic monster films. Different artists for different stories. Recommended.

[Yosef Shapiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic novel collection has good adaptations of the classic horror films.