Writer Matt Wagner (Grendel, Mage) and artist Kelley Jones (Batman: Red Rain, The Sandman) are sinking their fangs into a new chapter in their Dracula graphic novel series based on Bram Stoker’s classic 1897 novel.
Dracula: Book III – The Count will launch on Kickstater in the coming weeks, and we have an exclusive look at the first two colored preview pages below.
Wagner and Jones are once again joined for this 120-page hardcover edition by colorist José Villarrubia and letterer Rob Leigh.
“Anyone who’s familiar with Stoker’s original novel knows that once the action shifts to England, the title character is basically all-but unseen for the remainder of the narrative,” says Wagner. “A sinister, charismatic and scheming vampire lord set loose on the streets of London… and it’s so frustrating because we never get to see him! Well, he’s definitely up to something most foul, and now Kelley and I are finally unveiling what he was doing during that terrifying period. We’ll see him exploring and planning to exploit his new home, this grand and modern British Empire, a vast realm on which, it was said, the sun never set.”
“From our very first discussions of this project, this was the part I thought would be the trickiest to pull off,” explains Jones. “But it was also the part I was looking forward to the most! What Matt does so beautifully is to combine literary and historical accuracy with an utterly compelling story that keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. Every time I read one of his scripts, I find myself so fully engaged in how the story unfolds… I almost forget that I’m the one who gets to draw this incredible tale!”
“One of the distinctive aspects of Stoker’s original novel is that it’s epistolary… told exclusively in the form of journal entries, letters of correspondence and news articles,” added Wagner. “The only voice missing from these various narrations is the most crucial one of all… Dracula himself! So our version of these events is narrated by Dracula himself… from inside the mind of an unrepentant monster.
Wagner continues, “As Kelley said, this volume was the most challenging in regards to accuracy as the events of the original novel are well-recorded, analyzed and annotated. And Kelley has absolutely brought his A+ game to this narrative. If you thought his work of Books I & II was spectacular, wait’ll you see how he brings Dracula to life (er…undeath) on the foggy streets of Victorian London! I’ll say it again… this is the story that Kelley Jones was born to draw! And I’m the lucky bastard who got to write it!”
After breaking into Kickstarter’s all-time most successful graphic novel campaigns, Dracula: Book I: The Impaler was published last year by Dark Horse Comics. It will be followed by Dracula: Book II – The Brides on November 18.
The post First Look at ‘Dracula: Book III – The Count’ Graphic Novel from Matt Wagner & Kelley Jones [Exclusive] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.
