Dracula the Graphic Novel Quick Text

by Jason Cobley (Adapter), Bram Stoker (Creator)

The classic novel brought to life in full color
The entire Bram Stoker story, faithfully adapted into a glorious library bound graphic novel. The classic gothic horror story, presented in a totally engaging way through the immensely powerful illustrations, while staying true to the original prose novel by utilizing authentic text and dialogue. Designed to encourage readers to enjoy classical literature, titles in the Classical Comics range stay true to the original vision of the authors. They also offer alternative text versions to cater for different readership levels. This title has been moderately and sympathetically abridged from the original text to fit within the graphic novel format.


Bram Stoker
Classical Comics
02/14/2012
152
Binding Hardcover
1.20lbs
9.70h x 6.60w x 0.60d
9781907127458
Young Adult


Review Citation(s):
Booklist 06/01/2012 pg. 63

About the Author
Bram Stoker was born in Dublin, Ireland, and is best known for being the author of Dracula . Jason Cobley is an English teacher in the East of England. He is also a proficient comic book writer. Staz Johnson is best known for his work on 2000AD in the UK. He lives in Sheffield. James Offredi colored A Christmas Carol for Classical Comics, as well as being a regular artist on Doctor Who . Clive Bryant is the founder of Classical Comics.

Genres: Horror, Graphic Novels, Vampires, Classics, Comics, Fantasy, Gothic

149 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1913

Reviews

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Halloween approaches this graphic novel of Bram Stoker's Dracula is a fine read. The artwork is very good & the text, although edited, is straight out of Stoker's original story. It's fast paced & a great way to enjoy an old classsic.
And on the subject of classics, I think it's time to revisit Dracula (1958) starring those great Hammer actors Christopher Lee & Peter Cushing.

[Alyson Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in original text & it happily passed an hour and a half 😊 Dracula is a favourite of mine, and this didn't disappoint.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this but you really do need to have read the story previously to be able to follow it.

Obviously they've had to cherry pick the best bits to put in with the pics and I can see how this could lead to confusion (looking at other reviews this seems to be the case)...

...but for those who already know and love the story then this is a great read!

It brought back all my love for all things Dracula... I'm now going to re-watch the film (the 1993 version with Gary Oldman) and season one of the Dracula series with Jonathan Ryhs Meyers.

[taylor ⛅️ ann wright · Rating 4 out of 5]

The art in here was fantastic!
I've never read Dracula before and this was a great introduction!
I look forward to reading the actual book in the future.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

WWOOOOOOOOOWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THAT WAS A TRULY AWESOME READ!!!!!!!!! BETTER THAN I EXPECTED!!! I LOVE GRAPHIC NOVELS AND COMIC BOOKS, AND BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA JUST HAPPENS TO BE MY FAVORITE BOOK!!!!!!!! SO I GOT TWO TREATS PUT TOGETHER, KIND OF LIKE A REESE'S PEANUT BUTTER CUP!!!!!!!!!!

I WISH I COULD HAVE GIVEN THIS THING TEN FUCKING STARS IT'S SO DAMNED GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



EVEN IF YOU DON'T LIKE READING COMIC BOOKS & GRAPHIC NOVELS...BUT ENJOY READING THE ORIGINAL NOVEL BY BRAM STOKER...THEN YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



*Okay....SPOILER WARNING. Usually, when I put spoilers in a review I use that HTML formatting thing that lets you hide spoilers. But I'm choosing not to do that this time because I feel that the "spoilers" that will be in here will not be too "spoilery". So it's not going to be too much of a big deal so I would like you to continue reading this, but if you are really concerned about it then...be careful I suppose.*

Okay, this is a graphic novel adaptation of Dracula put out by a company called "CLASSICAL COMICS LTD.". They have also taken books like Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, the classic works of Shakespeare (which are not books, but are actually supposed to be referred to as plays), Charles Dickens, and even Charlotte Bronte and adapted them all into graphic novels. They are basically meant to be used by teachers as teaching aids, and the idea is most likely to get kids to enjoy reading (you know...cause kids love comic books. I wish these were around when I was a kid.....LOL). I FUCKING LOVED IT!!!

Well, they did a beautiful job with this. I guess what really attracted me to it (other than the fact that it's "Dracula The Graphic Novel") was that it is primarily illustrated by Staz Johnson. I have been a fan of his for a long time, he's done some awesome stuff for DC comics. I loved his Catwoman run. So I just began to salivate when I first saw that he was doing Dracula!

And he did do a spectacular job of penciling and inking it. Of course, the colorist and letterer did bang-up jobs too, and how could I forget to praise Jason Cobley for taking Bram Stoker's original text and scripting it. My hats off to him!!!

Okay, despite my several paragraphs of ranting and raving....it's good but not perfect. The last graphic novel adaption of Dracula I read was by Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano. They also tried to remain faithful as possible to the original material and were able to fit more of that into their version because they had more pages to work with. This one was limited to 144 pages....but it is still awesome.

Keep in mind that I have read Bram Stoker's novel five times in my life, so I'm going to be a bit nit-picky with this.

There is an afterward which gives you a short bio of Bram Stoker, list of films based off the book, and a thing about how this whole thing was put together. Now they said that Staz Johnson wanted the characters, Count Dracula in particular, to look like the way Stoker described them and not base them off any of the Hollywood interpretations. Which they did. However, certain liberties were taken, some of which obviously came from the films. For instance, Lucy Westerna does not have red hair in the book, that comes from some of the movie versions. The part towards the end where they find a guy that had his throat ripped out by Dracula, they show Dracula do that in half man/ half wolf (almost werewolf) form...and that obviously came from the 1992 film, Bram Stoker's Dracula directed by Francis Ford Copolla where he had Count Dracula transform into an actual wolfman instead of a large wolf. Towards the very end when they chase Dracula back to Transylvania (which I always thought was the most exciting part), they find him in a wooden cube-like box which he bursts out of at sundown, much like in Copolla's movie. That's not exactly how it goes down in the book. Also, after Dracula is killed and turns to dust, a large pinky ring hits the dust covered ground very much like what happens at the end of Horror of Dracula with Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee.

Yeah, I suppose when trying to be faithful to the original material, a few creative liberties can be taken. Like after Drac attacks Mina and the band of vampire hunters burst in they have Van Helsing use a crucifix instead of a Eucharist wafer to drive him away, and they have Quincey Morris firing two western style six-shooters at the Count, having no effect on him of course before he flees the room. Oh yeah, and why not have Quincey Morris punch out a gypsy with brass knuckles...that's badass!

Again, maybe I shouldn't be too nit-picky. I loved how Staz Johnson drew this thing and laid out the pages. That's the most important part. I think one of the problems with Dracula and reasons it's been done over and over again on screen is because it's a hard story to translate visually. One thing I did like, is how they inserted the newspaper clippings from the book into the panels in certain pages with the action overlapping them so that they become part of the page layout. Johnson really did make Count Dracula look like the way I pictured him when I first read the book, or as close as you can get him at least.

Besides the Roy Thomas and Dick Giordano version, this has been done a few more times. Once in the eighties by a Spanish artist in beautifully painted pages. There is a kiddish, animation style version. Most recently by Dynamite Comics and also by Ben Templesmith who was the artist on 30 Days of Night. And last time I was in Barnes & Noble...there was another one.

I have not read any of those yet, but I highly recommend this one. Like I said.... EVEN IF YOU DON'T READ GRAPHIC NOVELS BUT ARE A FAN OF DRACULA, THEN YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!!!!!!

[Craig Maxwell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't think I've ever been so bored reading a graphic novel, from a story that's completely all over the place, so the utter confusion as to what the over arching storyline or point of the plot is.

Perhaps reading the actual novel would be a lot better, well it can't be worse than this, extremely disappointing.

[Mathilde Paulsen · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a pale echo of the original novel, I'm sad to say. I don't think the story translates well into a graphic novel format. Additionally, I had issues with the language. I didn't realize this was the "quick text" edition until I looked closer after finishing the book, but I hated the language from beginning to end. It felt like all the character and soul of the story had been sucked out and replaced by more efficient, but empty, words. The shortened version also meant that it became incredibly difficult to follow the story. If I hadn't known Dracula from before, I wouldn't have understood most of this graphic novel. If you want to read this, definitely go for the one with the full, original text, this one was not worth the read.

[Frederike · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you'd like to read Dracula quickly this version works rather well, for the graphics help you through the story while the text is original

[Amélie Pfister · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dracula is lowkey BUFF tho

[Lee]

I've read the full text of Dracula before, but it's been a while, and while I'm reading through Dracula via Dracula Daily with some friends right now, I thought this would also be fun in the meantime. I really appreciate how the adapters of this got Dracula's physical appearance correct, even down to his hairy palms??

[Cecilia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helt klart det bästa klassiska seriealbumet jag har läst hittills! Så spännande att äntligen få läsa Dracula (även om det är seriealbum) och det får mig uppskatta den här versionen så mycket mer, för jag tror inte att jag skulle ha tålamod att läsa originalet av Bram Stroker.

Read my full review at Book Obsession

[Nithusa · Rating 1 out of 5]

No offence to vampire lovers but this book was BORING. I'd rather have someone tell me the story.

[Georgina · Rating 3 out of 5]

16.01.20 3.5 STARS

I actually really enjoyed this short comic book adaptation of Bram Stoker's classic Dracula! Although I have to admit, while I DO infact have the original hardback book on my shelf, I actually have never read it... It has been on my list for a long time, but it's just so heavy going that I never picked up. I will though, in the future... I promise.

ANYWAY back to the graphic novel version. I have seen some reviews that say they weren't a fan of the artwork, whereas I personally thought it fitted the story perfectly! It was so well drawn and the colours were very moody and dark, but let's be honest, Dracula is a particularly dark vampire centered novel. So I especially thought all of the blue hues and darker tones that were used suited exactly what was happening. I for one especially loved one of the scenes towards the end with Van Helsing and Mina (there are a lot of characters to get your head around but it does click eventually who everyone is) in the forest. It was stunning and the colours were beautiful.

I will say it can be hard to follow in places, but that I think would also be true of the actual novel as it is simply the way it is written. Yet they clearly had to pick the bet parts out in order to create this comic adaptation, otherwise it would have been ridiculously long! The whole point of a graphic novel though is that the story can be told through the pictures as well, so you really don't need as many words. That being said, there's still a lot of words in this particular graphic novel and it took me a little longer than expected to read through.

Also, I absolutely love that they have multiple copies! This one is the "original text" version, so everything that is copied over is exactly how it was written in the original. They also do a "quick text" and a "modern text" version if you prefer something a little easier to read, which I think is just plain AWESOME! There are many other books that they have adapted too, including Frankenstein and Wuthering Heights - both of which I have read so I will definitely be adding these versions to my bookshelf soon.

All in all I thought it was a really solid adaptation and they had as much detail as they possibly could without making it much too long or wordy. The creativity of the drawings and how they portrayed the story all on their own was beautifully well done. I would recommend this if you are a fan of graphic novels in general and would like to read this chilling classic.

[Christine Whittington · Rating 4 out of 5]

This graphic edition of Bram Stoker's "Dracula," like other titles published the Classical Comics imprint, is designed to be appealing to students, thus getting them to read classic literature. It was enjoyable to experience Dracula in yet another medium, having read the novel several times, listened to the audiobook at least twice, and seen a half-dozen or more film versions. Although few of the characters were as I pictured them while reading the book and the appearance of some was not consistent throughout the book (Mina especially) the drawing and inking was effective and some plates, such as the last with Castle Dracula in the sunset, were evocative and dramatic. Because the series is educational, there is a section at the back that explains and illustrates the work of script adaptation, drawing, inking, coloring, and lettering. This is the "original text" version; there is also a "quick text version" with "quick modern English for a fast-paced read" in case you would want such a thing. (Not me--I love Stoker's langauge.)

[Madalina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great job, great editing, relevant and artistically worked illustrations. Unfortunately, I couldn't give this book 5 stars for a reason that has nothing to do with the work upon the novel itself; the reason is related with one of the notes at the end, namely that it was "reported" that Vlad the Impaler, after having his victims executed, ate from their flesh. At least for the sake of self esteem, if not for the sake of truth, the author of this note should have mentioned the source that says so. Vague as it might have been, it would have been better than nothing. One cannot accuse a historical figure of things that have not been historically proved or whose source is not mentioned. Otherwise yes, it is a very well-cared for graphic edition. Apart from the text and illustrations, at the end we have an informative and concise presentation of Bram Stoker's life and work, a note on the "Dracula" films and a layout of the graphic novel creation process. It all seems to be very well done, spare for certain notes at the end.

[Pre Metoyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I believe it was a fascinating book of history and horror into 1 book. All the stories about Dracula makes this book different. Since they have him knowing English in some stories but in the book they show that he used a humongous library to learn "The English/British" tongue to speak their language. They also had Vampire Priest Hunters that hunted and took down 3 Vampiric Sisters and hunted another down in a crate from their search and hunt to kill all the Vampires in the area so the whole town will be safe.

[Rachelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok... I admit it. I am totally a vampire person. I love reading about vampires (and werewolves). This book has been one of my favorites since I was in Jr High. This time however, I picked up the Graphic Novel just to see how it was in comparison.

Verdict: It was pretty good! It really brought some parts of it to life, others not so much, but over all it was very well done in my opinion. The one I picked up was in the "Original Text". You can also find this same graphic novel in "Quick Text" and in "Plain Text"(which is standard english).

[Dominic Sedillo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent art. Excellent adaptation. It’s practically word for word, which is very impressive.

The there are scenes that are rendered that are horrifying and dreadful to the imagination when reading the original novel and are equally horrifying and dreadful as illustrated by the artist* (*most notably: the voyage of the Demeter, Lucy’s be heading, Renfield battling Dracula and the Count against the Van Helsing’s fellowship.

I highly recommend. Easily the second best of the three graphic novel adaptations of “Dracula” that I’ve read.

[Nicke Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love that this publisher prints these classic novels in both original text or quick text so that the reader can choose according to their taste. I love this story so much, the world, the characters, the atmosphere! To see the story brought to life in drawings was just amazing and allowed me to delve into the story again! I borrowed my copy from my library but you bet I’m buying my own copy to keep!

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disclaimer: This book is very far from my usual reads and personal taste...

I read this book b/c someone else I knew was reading it and I thought it could be a lighter way to experience the classic horror novel (I generally avoid horror). Overall, I have a suspicion that I would have appreciated the original better. Personally, the shortened text left me feeling like I was missing vital, helpful details.
I can appreciate this book for what it is and what it's trying to do, but the book was not for me.

[Mike Meier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very true to the book. The story, as told in the original book, is from diary entries and a series of letters between the characters. There is a lot of teasing details that tell the story. The Graphic novel doesn't/can't do quite so much of that so it gets more to the point. The art is very well done and fits the tone of the book. I really liked that, for the version I read, the text/dialogue was exactly the same as in the book (and not a modernized version - which is also available).

[Katy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What great fun it was to see a classic in this way. It was faithful to the novel and didn’t sacrifice too much, instead bringing it to life with the visuals. This is one where someone wouldn’t need to have read the book to understand what was happening. Great for me as I’m just beginning my foray into the world of graphic novels!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad 'modern language' adaptation of the novel. I think this might be a little different from the actual novel, but do not quote me on that considering it's been a few years since I read it. Rather enjoyable nonetheless!

[Leslie Benham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Many books are helped by graphic novel format. It can allow new readers to access the material. This story is nearly there. I feel the format rushed the story a bit. Beyond that the art was amazing and you do get all of the plot. Overall, would read again.

[Rick Powell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great graphic novel adaptation. The original text follows the illustrations smoothly. Perfect for any Dracula fan!

[Zach · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty cool graphic novel version of the original novel. Really liked the artwork too.

[Steven · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not perfect, but a great adaption of the novel.

[Carrie-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

A really great way to enjoy one of the classics, which so much entertainment is inspired by.

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I will never read the original classic.

[Andrew Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice short read to prepare for the Halloween season.