[BOOK REVIEW] Pinocchio Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater by Van Jensen

Title:  Pinocchio Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater



Author:  Van Jensen



Artist:  Dusty Higgins

Genre:  Horror / Comedy / Folktale / Retelling / Action

Year Published:  2010

Year Read: 12/18/2014

Series: Pinocchio Vampire Slayer #2

Publisher: SLG Publishing



Source:  Purchased



Content Rating:  Ages 10+ (Some Language and Violence)

Introduction:

After I had finished reading “Pinocchio Vampire Slayer,” I was so interested in the premise of this graphic novel that I just had to pick up the second volume to this series and man was “Pinocchio Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater” even better than the first volume!

What is this story about?

After the tragic events of the first volume where Pinocchio accidentally kills Gepetto, who was turned into a vampire at that point, Pinocchio along with the Blue Fairy, Master Cherry who has been turned into a vampire at this point and Carlotta, continue to slay vampires.  Meanwhile, Pinocchio meets up with a group of puppets who he had met up with when he first met Fire Eater and they help Pinocchio fight off the vampires. Unfortunately, later on Master Cherry’s vampirism starts overtaking him and he tries to kill Pinocchio and Pinocchio is forced to kill Cherry.  This act then enrages the Blue Fairy and she ends up turning Pinocchio back into a real boy, which ends up killing herself.  Even though Pinocchio now has time to spend with Carlotta, his love interest, he is powerless against the vampire threat without the use of his nose as a stake.

Can Pinocchio still defeat the vampires as a real boy?

What I loved about this story:

Van Jensen’s writing: Van Jensen’s writing is as usual highly creative and witty to read as Pinocchio’s adventures as a vampire slayer continues and I must say that this volume is just as action packed and emotional as the first volume!  I loved the way that Van Jensen continues to develop Pinocchio’s character as we can see just how much Gepetto’s death has affected Pinocchio and why slaying vampires is so personal to him.  I also loved the scenes where Pinocchio tries to have a relationship with Carlotta after he turns into a real boy since we are able to see a much softer side to Pinocchio’s personality and it was great seeing Pinocchio be happy during his life since we rarely see that side of him in the first volume.  I also loved the fact that Van Jensen focused more on the character development of each character as I actually felt the pain and sorrow that Pinocchio had felt when the vampires had taken away most of his family and also his hostility towards Master Cherry being a vampire now, despite the fact that the Blue Fairy found a way to control his vampire nature.  I also loved the fact that Van Jensen introduced the other puppets that Pinocchio had met when he had met Fire Eater as it brings in so much familiarity with the original source material and he manages to tie those characters into this story neatly by having them defeat the vampires like Pinocchio!

Dusty Higgins’ artwork:  Dusty Higgins’ artwork truly fits with the dark and gritty mood of this story, while containing the comedic touches to the story whenever the characters are making witty comments about the situations they are in.  I also loved the way that Dusty Higgins drew the vampires as they truly do look frightening and they really bring in the terrifying nature of the situation that Pinocchio is in!

What made me feel uncomfortable about this story:

The only thing that annoyed me a bit in this graphic novel was that the artwork was sometimes hard to understand as the characters’ actions looked a bit too scratchy and blurry and it was a bit hard to see what kind of actions they are doing throughout this graphic novel such as whether or not they are actually slashing the vampires on certain parts of their bodies.

Final Thoughts:

Overall, “Pinocchio Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater” is an even more fantastic follow up to the first volume and I am definitely ready to check out the third volume of this series!