After my very favourable reaction to their Sherlock Holmes miniseries, I went looking for other work by the writing (and husband-and-wife) team of Leah Moore and John Reppion. Fortunately, it didn't take me long to find something. It's been somewhat delayed in its publication, but so far the first 2 issues of the 5-part Complete Dracula adaptation have come out, and I picked them up a week or two ago. As with the Holmes venture, this is one of the best interpretations of this classic character that I've ever encountered. The pair researched the original Bram Stoker novel extensively, including corresponding with some of the current leading authorities on the work. Their choices in what portions to include and how to present them are absolutely wonderful, to the point where I almost feel like I'm re-reading the book - but this time with beautiful artwork!
It's a much denser read than I'm used to with comics these days (a typical comic takes about 5 minutes to read, whereas these usually take three times that long), but in a thrilling way. I find myself flipping back and forth between the pages, connecting dots and recognizing payoffs that I didn't pick up on at first. I'm also experiencing the same sense of dread and vicarious concern that always hung over me whenever I'd read Bram Stoker's novel but which rarely associated itself with any of the other presentations of the material that I've encountered. It's really quite an impressive adaptation of a book that entirely too few people have ever read.
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