Pinocchio Vampire Slayer by Van Jensen & Dusty Higgins

[Spez]

When I read the words "Pinocchio Vampire Slayer" the first thought that came to mind was "That sounds pretty awesome. Why didn't anyone else think of that?" Fortunately, the book doesn't disappoint and lives up to the brilliant idea.

This graphic novel takes place directly after the original story of Pinocchio written by Carlo Collodi. If you haven't read Collodi's fairy tale (There was a lot less singing and dancing in his version.) that's OK. The authors put together a quick and rather humorous summary to get you up to speed. Writer Van Jensen weaves the tale of a wooden boy without a father. Geppetto has been killed right in front of him by some mysterious demons, his body taken into the darkness. Now Pinocchio fights these creatures of the night alongside the Blue Fairy and Master Cherry. That cricket is around too only now he's a ghost because Pinocchio killed him in the original story.

There seems to be a case of The Boy Who Cried Wolf in this quaint little village though. Pinocchio kills these beings and their bodies turn to dust. The bodies of their victims also disappear so he never has the proof he needs to convince the townspeople of the danger they're in. That doesn't stop him though. He's a ruthless killing machine when it comes to these bloodsuckers. What better way to deal with vampires then with a boy made of wood? The wood that Pinocchio is made of is special though. It appears to be the only thing that can harm the creatures. He can jump into a group of them, tell a few lies and he's got some instant stakes that he can plunge into the hearts of any vampires that may be stupid enough to still be nearby.



The art of Pinocchio Vampire Slayer fits the story very well. Artist Dusty Higgins' work is dark and gritty with characters that have clearly seen better days, Pinocchio especially. Presented in simple black and white, I first thought that they should have gone the Sin City route and splashed some red into the mix to highlight blood and make it really jump off the page. Then I remembered that the main character is basically a talking log that doesn't bleed and he fights vampires that turn to dust so obviously they made a good call.

My only complaints about the book come from the writing. While the overall story is very good and imaginative, there are certain bits of dialogue that just feel cheesy. For example, Pinocchio jumps into battle and needs a quick lie. He yells "Your mother had a mustache!" to one of the vampires and nothing happens. Oh! I get it! His mother actually DID have a mustache! HAR HAR! There are a few other lines like that that pop up, especially from Master Cherry, but aside from those, the writing is pretty solid. Jensen actually uses the nose idea in some interesting ways like showing how Pinocchio actually feels about himself.

Pinocchio Vampire Slayer is a pretty quick read. The cover price is $10.95, but it's selling on Amazon for less than $9 which is where I picked it up. I think that it's definitely worth that price point. Plus if you pick it up, you're supporting these independent creators. I hope that they get the chance to continue the story as they hinted at a larger story arc towards the end of this book. I'm not sure where they will go with it or if it will have anything to do with any other characters from the fairy tale mythos a la Fables. I don't think they'd have to pull in from any other stories though because their Pinocchio is a cool enough character to get the job done.

[Alien Redrum]

I might swing by a local comic book store and see if they have this. It seems like a brilliant idea and (more or less) well executed.

[Spez]

:up:

I might swing by a local comic book store and see if they have this. It seems like a brilliant idea and (more or less) well executed.

As much as I like to support local comic book shops, they might not have the book. It's a small release from an independent publisher and if they did order any copies, they would have ordered 3 or 4 at the most. The book came out a few months ago so there's a good chance they're gone. Try calling them first if you really want to go, otherwise pick it up on Amazon.

[Spez]

Sequel Announced!