What an imaginative mash-up of genres. Who else would have thought of mixing Pinocchio with vampires? But then again, who better than a wooden boy to fight monsters that can be killed by wood? This story takes up where the classic story ends, with Geppetto and Pinocchio safely back out of the fish's belly and home again. The happy ending doesn't last though, vampires kill Geppetto and Pinocchio begins a campaign to kill them all off. He has the help of the Azure Fairy, Geppetto's friend Cherry, and a ghostly cricket, but the townspeople won't believe him that there are monsters on the prowl. His adventures have him traveling the countryside while tracking the vampires and he meets up with some old acquaintances along the way. The story is by turns serious, funny, and sad. The four rabbits who are the harbingers of doom show up at very depressing moments, but they are so silly looking that it is an almost uncomfortable juxtaposition of images in those scenes.
Keep in mind that even though it is told in graphic novel format, this is not a story for young children. The monsters are scary, the psychological trauma Pinocchio undergoes is very troubling, and there are some instances of mature language that would not be age-appropriate. For those who enjoy genre mash-ups with horror mixed into other types of tales, then this could be to your taste.
I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley. It was published June 24, 2014.
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