Stocking Stuffer: Pinocchio Vampire Slayer
Comics have a strange standing on the gift-giving spectrum; The field touches upon every imaginable genre, yet your lucky gift recipient will likely fail to appreciate the gesture if they approach the book with the biases that most people hold about illustrated books. Your best bet here is to play it safe and try to appeal to their interests, easing them into a story that you know they'll like.
One book that's a fair mashup of everything good in comics and sure to please somebody on your list is SLG's Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer. Got a sister who's bitten by the vampire bandwagon? High-concept literary type who'll appreciate an original spin on traditional storytelling? Or is your little nephew a sadistic elementary school nightmare, and you're afraid that he's too "impressionable" for Klarion's suggestion of Incognito? (Buy him both to really get back at his parents for last year's Mangroomer gift!) Bottom line, Pinocchio VS holds a niche that's appropriate for everybody.
Newcomer author Van Jensen uses a simple concept; taking the boy with an endless supply of nose and turning him into a walking wooden stake factory. The story is faithful to its background as a bleak childhood fable, working off the original fairytale where there was no happy I'm-a-real-boy-now ending. Those acquainted with only the Disney interpretation needn't worry, as there's a humorous recap in the prologue that really sets you up for dark comedy that you'll find in its continuation. The art has a dark, wood-cut look to it that couldn't suit the story better, and the story is a consistent balance of inspired ageless humor, throwbacks to the original story, and vampire-slaying action that's hard to put down. My only problem came with the ending, which was evidently written for an intended sequel. But if you're buying this for someone who doesn't keep up with the comics scene, you'll only be encouraging them to read something else to fill the void while they wait. So if you're looking to corrupt someone this holiday season, Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer is a perfect fit for any reader this year.
Rubber Justice
Posted to Preview on 8 December 2009
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