Dracula: Classic Pop-Up Tales

Universe Publishing brings a new dimension — literally — to Bram Stoker's seminal scare novel with DRACULA: CLASSIC POP-UP TALES. This isn't some kid's book where you pull a tab or spin a wheel on each page to achieve some lame effect that would thrill only the un-potty-trained; this is a full-fledged graphic novel, with each spread containing an elaborate pop-up that impresses. Constructed with obvious complexity by David Hawcock, the pop-ups take you outside Dracula's castle and to a graveyard; open his coffin and see him emerge from the mist; send a dog and a bat straight for your throat; and depict his demise at the point of a stake. Oh, spoiler alert? On both sides of each of the seven spreads, the story unfolds in slim, vertical strips containing further, but smaller pop-ups that continue to bring life to a plot so many know by heart. Claire Bampton does a great job distilling a complex novel into its core, thus amping up its horror angle, rather than its romantic one. All of it is very well illustrated by Anthony Williams, making the lazy, computer-generated font on the word balloons look more awful than it should. Its $29.95 price tag may keep it from getting in the hands of children, so good! They'd just screw it up, anyway. This book is made to be appreciated, on par with Sam Ita's 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA and MOBY-DICK pop-up books, constructed for the big kids in a young ones' format. —Rod Lott Buy it at Amazon.