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The Illustrated Dracula (Penguin Illustrated Classics)
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| List Price: | $21.95 |
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Product Description
One of today’s hottest comic book artists illustrates the original tale of blood lust, fear, and desire
In 1897, Bram Stoker wrote Dracula, launching a literary sensation. In this new illustrated edition, Jae Lee, one of the most talked-about artists for Marvel comics, reawakens Count Dracula. Critics and fans alike praise Lee for his mastery of complex emotion and, in this book, forty illustrations present Dracula as never seen before. Jae Lee’s legions of fans will flock to this horror classic, and The Illustrated Dracula will also bring a new generation of young readers to the book.
Product Details
- Amazon Sales Rank: #253136 in Books
- Published on: 2006-09-21
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Binding: Paperback
- 400 pages
Editorial Reviews
Review
I love Jae Lee’s work, and I think this is going to be a dynamite partnership. Frankly, I can’t wait. -- Stephen King, on his work with Lee for the Dark Tower series
Review
I love Jae Lee’s work, and I think this is going to be a dynamite partnership. Frankly, I can’t wait. (Stephen King, on his work with Lee for the Dark Tower series)
About the Author
Jae Lee became the youngest professional comic book artist ever to work for a major comic book company and quickly gained recognition for his dark, Gothic style. He has received the Eisner Award, the most prestigious award in comics, and has exhibited at the Society of Illustrators Museum in New York. In addition to producing his own series, Hellshock, Lee has worked with Marvel on The Inhumans, Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, Uncanny X-Men, and more.
Customer Reviews
The Art of Dracula
I know that the detail about this book says its for junior level reading, but I'm 20 and absolutely love it. I'm not going to take the time to tell you about the story itself, seeing as it IS Dracula through and through. The illustrations in this book are amazing. True, there aren't a million of them (and more would be fantastic), but the artist's renditions of Dracula are like none I've ever seen. The mood of the novel is reflected perfectly within the paintings. The point: BUY THIS COPY OF DRACULA! and bring it home...FOREVER! MUAHAHAHAHAHA!
Illustrated, illuminated
"Dracula" was not the first vampire novel, nor was it Bram Stoker's first book. But after years of research, Stoker managed to craft the ultimate vampire novel, which has spawned countless movies, spinoffs, and books -- and here, his immortal story is enhanced by the creepy, jagged art of Jae Lee.
Real estate agent Jonathan Harker arrives in Transylvania, to arrange a London house sale to Count Dracula. But as the days go by, Harker witnesses increasingly horrific events, leading him to believe that Dracula is not actually human. His fiancee Mina arrives in Transylvania, and finds that he has been feverish. Meanwhile the count has vanished.
And soon afterwards, strange things happen: a ship piloted by a dead man crashes on the shore, after a mysterious thing killed the crew. A lunatic talks about "Him" coming. And Mina's pal Lucy dies of mysterious blood loss, only to come back as an undead seductress. Dracula has arrived in England -- and he's not going to be stopped easily.
"Dracula" is the grandaddy is Lestat and Jean-Claude, but that isn't the sole reason why it is a classic. It's also incredibly atmospheric, and very well-written. Not only is it very freaky, in an ornate Victorian style, but it is also full of restrained, quiet horror and creepy eroticism. What's more, it's shaped the portrayal of vampires in movies and books, even to this day.
Despite already knowing what's going on for the first half of the book, it's actually kind of creepy to see these people whose lives are being disrupted by Dracula, but don't know about vampires. It's a bit tempting to yell "It's a vampire, you idiots!" every now and then, but you can't really blame them. Then the second half kicks in, with accented professor Van Helsing taking our heroes on a quest to save Mina from Dracula.
And along the way, while our heroes try to figure stuff out, Stoker spins up all these creepy hints of Dracula's arrival. Though he wrote in the late 19th-century manner, very verbose and a bit stuffy, his skill shines through. The book is crammed with intense, evocative language, with moments like Dracula creeping down a wall, or the dead captain found tied to the wheel. Once read, they stick in your mind throughout the book.
It's also a credit to Stoker that he keeps his characters from seeming like idiots or freaks, which they could have easily seemed like. Instead, he puts little moments of humanity in them, like Van Helsing admitting that his wife is in an asylum. Even the letters and diaries are written in different styles; for example, Seward's is restrained and analytical, while Mina's is exuberant and bright.
Jae Lee has done work for other creepy, grimy stories like Stephen King's "Dark Tower" series. And those shadowy, sharp-edged pictures are well-suited for this story; a few are in muted colours, but most are black-and-white. Lee creates chilling portraits of the looming vampire, his brides, ships in the mist, and Renfield eating a giant beetle; the most shocking is a bloody-mouthed Lucy clutching a baby.
Intelligent, frightening and very well-written, "Dracula" is the well-deserved godfather of all modern vampire books and movies -- and arguably among the best.
