While the film has some gothic elements it is not indebted to the gothic entirely but the comic book is. On the other hand, the entire novel has a distinct gothic feel. Mignola can not detail every object in a room or scene. Part of this is simply an issue of labor. Another problem is the overreliance on shadows for storytelling.

But when Mignola draws other versions – Dracula as a bat or a bunch of rats – the power is drained from the imagery. While most of the art by Mignola is powerful only a few representations of Dracula can match the film’s power.įor instance, when Dracula transforms into a wolf or werewolf we can see the power of the vampire and its threat. Yet as viewers know of the Coppola film, dramatic tension in the film is through stylization and visual effects. The majority of the plot is lifted from the film. Passages of dialogue go on endlessly and needlessly to match how dialogue was said in the film. Certain pages try to match how the film was framed. The problem is that the comic is essentially attempting to condense and transpose the film into a comic rather literally. All together, the story is fine and the art, generally, excellent.

Unfortunately, I am not sure why this is such a favored item. The novel collects the four issues and includes sketches of how Mignola laid out several pagesas well as some material not included in the original comics. While I was vaguely aware of the comic, I was unaware of how popular it is among Mignola fans and Mignola has endorsed the reprint. Written by Roy Thomas and drawn by Mike Mignola, the graphic novel is apparently a must-have for Mignola fans searching back issues for his interpretation of Dracula. IDW has reissued Bram Stoker’s Dracula, originally a four-issue comic book mini-series based on the 1992 Coppola film. A doctor, Van Helsing, who hunts vampires discovers Dracula’s plant to kidnap Mina and he gathers several men to fight for her life and soul. Dracula decides to come to London and discovers a woman, Mina, who resembles a lover of his from centuries past. This graphic novel follows the 1992 film adaptation of Francis Ford Coppola of Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

Christian Jimenez reviews Bram Stoker’s Dracula…

Bram Stoker's Dracula by Roy Thomas