Customer Reviews

Dracula: A Classic Pop-Up Tale (Graphic Pops)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a nice book that remains true to its comic book/graphic novel format, using appropriately murky colors. The pop-ups are fairly nice; of special note is the fierce dog in the third spread which would give small children the heebie-jeebies. The story line fairly accurately follows the original Dracula. The book gets four stars because some of the pop-ups do not open all the way, giving the characters depicted a somewhat humorous appearance, an example being the Dracula figure in the sixth spread. The little pop-up of the dog coming through the window in the small page on the left of the third spread hangs up and will not close without assistance. The book is a keeper for my pop-up collection because of its unique appearance and subject matter.

When I saw this title pop-up in my recommended list,I knew I had to get it because it combines two of my interests - pop-ups and "Dracula" (one of my all-time favorite Gothic horror novels). The pop-ups are wonderfully done, a combination of well-crafted paper engineering and 3-D scenes. The story itself remains faithful to the original classic by Bram Stoker, though the story itself has been condensed to cover only the main details (since this is a graphic novel combined with a pop-up). All the spreads cover two pages - the first has a pop-up of Dracula's castle in Transylvania, and there are folded in panels on both sides that open to reveal more of the story (conveyed in a series of illustrated panels in color); the second spread reveals a pop-up of Jonathan Harker uncovering Dracula's lair; the third spread (also one of the creepiest) is a pop-up of Dracula in the guise of a wolf aboard the Demeter; the fourth pop-up is a building, and one of the windows reveals Lucy crying at her mother's bedside (Lucy's mother dies of fright when she sees the wolf at her daughter's bedside) and there is a giant bat hovering over the building; the fifth pop-up is a graveyard scene with Lucy carrying an infant victim; the sixth pop-up is one of Mina being visited by Dracula, and the final pop-up is the scene where Dracula is staked through the heart.

Though I love this pop-up book, it could have been better. Firstly, like another reviewer mentions, some of the pop-up figures do not open fully and do end up looking less scary than intended. Secondly, the side story panels (to the left and right) of the pop-up on each two-page spread are laid out in a somewhat confusing manner. It was only after some re-reading that I figured out that the side panels are to be read from the back to the front and not vice versa. Just a minor glitch but it still impacted the flow of my reading, hence only 4*. On the whole, I'd still recommend this to collectors of pop-up books, particularly those who are also fans of the horror classic. I have a couple of different editions of "Dracula", including some illustrated versions (like the one by Gorey) and this adds to my collection. I hope they come up with pop-ups of other horror classics like those based on Poe's works and also Shelley's Frankenstein.

Note: Due to some of the disturbing images, this may not be appropriate for young children.

We went on a pop-up book buying spree recently. I LOVED this one the most, but my 9 and 5 year old didn't make it through the entire book. They were too freaked out. I think this book hits a weird market ... people young enough to want a pop-up book, but old enough not to poop themselves with the images in the book. Overall though, the pop-ups were great, the pages were well designed, and the entire Dracula story was told. I think we'll just save it until October and try it again on the kids. Either that, or my wife and I will just read ourselves!

As a collector of inexpensive pop-up books this one is lovely. As a collector of Vampire items, this is such a great addition to my collection. I gave one as a gift and purchased one for my daughter. Very well made and the popups are very appealing and seem quite durable; the story is told well in this version also.

This pop-up book is awesome!! The pop-ups themselves are very intricate, and I love that every page has a small sidebar with an additional pop-up. The art reminds me of a graphic novel; it gives the story so much more weight and excitement. This is a perfect coffee table book, and I am going to buy more of these!

SIMPLY EXCELLENT!!!! Beautifully rendered in every detail. I highly recommend as a gift for any "vampire addict" you may know. I don't believe this was ever intended as a gift for children. Who would read a small child Dracula anyway? If Classic literature or pop-ups are your thing, you'll be glad you bought this one....

Possibly the coolest book ever. I highly recommend purchasing if you like Dracula, graphic novels, and/or pop-up books. Amazingly well drawn illustrations and really cool pop-ups. Each of the sides from the main pop-up has panes telling the story which include smaller pop-ups too. The cemetary comes alive. Not suitable for children.