Bram Stoker's Dracula by Roy Thomas, Mike Mignola, and John Nyberg: a review

This graphic novel caught my eye immediately because Dracula and its many adaptations own my heart.

To be clear, this isn’t an adaptation of the 1897 novel by Bram Stoker, this is an adaptation of the 1993 film by Francis Ford Coppola.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Roy Thomas, Mike Mignola, and John Nyberg follows the exact plot of the 1993 film meaning that while many of the plot beats of the original novel are followed, there are adaptational edits. The biggest change being the Mina Harker romantic connection to Dracula which I think does trace back to the film. Francis Ford Coppola, explain yourself.

Unfortunately, like the film, this suffers from being rather too fast-paced, losing the steady build up that Bram Stoker’s novel has. I kind of want to see if there is a graphic novel adaptation of the original that keeps that same pacing.

I’m on the fence as to whether or not this art style is for me. Don’t get me wrong, it’s objectively good, and I certainly loved some of the panels, but there was something missing for me, and it wasn’t fully drawing me in. The thing is, I already know I like the story, and I imagine that’s the case for most people who are going to read this. Therefore, it really is going to be the art that’s meant to keep people engaged, and for me that wasn’t always the case.

On what I suppose is a similar note, the handwritten elements are often incredibly difficult to read, and it’s not like these are just little extra titbits (sidenote: I definitely thought this was “tidbits” but apparently that’s only American and Canadian). They’re often integral to the story, and it’s a shame that I struggled to get to grips with them.

Overall, I was actually kind of disappointed with this adaptation. The story is what it is. If you like the film, you’ll like this, but for me, there just wasn’t that spark that I look for in anything tied to Dracula. I feel like it’s missing something in terms of excitement. I think I’ll certainly be on the lookout for better graphic novels tied to this property.