Dracula h/c back

Ben Templesmith’s DRACULA has to be one of the best-selling illustrated prose books we’ve ever had at Page 45 (second only to Bernie Wrightson’s FRANKENSTEIN probably), and rightly so given his terror-inducing talent for ferocious, fanged faces. I did wonder therefore how the mighty Becky Cloonan could possibly top it, but top it she has by going for a more subtly gothic, almost romantic approach, which immediately put me in mind of the 1992 Francis Ford Coppola film adaptation starring Gary Oldman as the Count with a heart. Yes, there are fangs but what Becky brings through so strongly is the passion and the drama of Bram Stoker’s epic story, whereas Templesmith’s version is simply straight horror – not that there is anything wrong with that. The style she displays is clearly Becky’s own, but the depth of line, colour palette and grasp of period certainly wouldn’t look amiss in BALTIMORE or WITCHFINDER, and makes me think she’d be a brilliant choice for a Mignola book actually.

Another significant difference between this version and Templesmith’s is whereas in that version the illustrations are full, single pages which each preface a new chapter, here Becky has gone for a variety of illustrations, vertically as well as horizontally aligned, interspersed throughout the text to dramatise specific scenes or moments, and it’s an inspired idea which works superbly well. It’s difficult to pick a favourite illustration, and whilst the gently embossed cover itself is a strong contender and amply demonstrates the quality of illustration you’ll find within, I think the image of Miss Lucy with the wild garlic flowers in her hair just about steals it for me.