“Dracula” by Bram Stoker and Illustrated by Becky Cloonan

Dracula by Bram Stoker and illustrated by Becky Cloonan is the classic tale with a new feel to it thanks to Becky Cloonan’s marvelously illustrated graphics in the novel. Bram Stoker’s Dracula was originally published in 1897, and is still a favorite of many even today. If you enjoy vampire tales, be sure to check out this classic story.

Book Description

“Prince of the Night. Lord of the Damned. King of Vampires. He is Dracula, the most well-known vampire in the world—and this new illustrated edition of Bram Stoker’s classic tale of terror offers Dracula as you have never seen him before. Brought to life through the stunning visual artistry of Eisner Award-winning illustrator Becky Cloonan (Demo, American Virgin, Victor Von Doom), this new graphically compelling novel offers a spellbinding, edition of the book that launched the world’s enduring fascination with vampires: Bram Stoker’s complete and unabridged Dracula. Illuminated and accentuated by the visionary hand of one of America’s most gifted illustrators, Dracula is perfect for fans of the ghastly and paranormal, and unmissable for fans of True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, and Tim Burton’s macabre new film, Dark Shadows (release May 11, 2012) starring Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham-Carter, Michelle Pfeiffer, Eva Green, and Jackie Earle Haley.” – Dracula

My Thoughts

Dracula is a book I’ve wanted to read for a long time, but one of those classics that I just never got around to reading. It is written as a large volume of diary entries and letters, which I found interesting at first, but couldn’t really enjoy as much as I had hoped. That being said, I did like this edition of the book. The illustrations helped bring the book to life and gave it even more suspense.

It does have an excellently crafted story about Jonathan Harker seeing horrific things while staying with Count Dracula. He writes to his fiancé Mina and she eventually finds him “feverish” and her best friend Lucy suddenly dies from blood loss, only to become an undead seductress. Many times I wondered how they couldn’t know vampires were at play here, but in this novel, they just didn’t know about vampires. Van Helsing enters into the novel about halfway through to help save them, which helped the story become more exciting.

Overall, I am glad that I finally read Dracula. It is one of the first “big” vampire stories and paved the way for some of my favorite vampire tales, so I am very thankful that Bram Stoker wrote this novel. It is not one of my favorite vampire books, but I appreciate it for what it is: a classic. I recommend this for everyone who enjoys vampire stories.

* Thank you to the publisher of Dracula, Harper Design, for providing me with a copy of this book for review. All opinions expressed are my own.