J.H. Williams III, the iconic artist behind Echolands, The Sandman: Overture, and more, is reinventing another icon for Image Comics: the OG vampire himself, in Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio.
Per the name, the volume is less a graphic novel and more like an “illustrated children’s book, juxtaposing paintings with pages of story,” per a press release provided by Image Comics. The book includes 150 pages of painted illustrations and story passages by Williams III, and will hit just in time for Halloween.
“Since I talk about what inspired this project in the foreword inside the book, I’ll just say that I’m excited to have it come out,” said Williams III. “I don’t think I’ve seen a book quite like this in the modern era. I sought to make it a different kind of thing than what some would expect, an attempt to marry portfolio illustrations with brief passages to create a narrative structure that most art books don’t tend to focus on. Because of it having a single narrative subject, the illustration choices are reflective of that.
“I gave the prose sections a subtle older style, but delivered with a somewhat brisk sensibility. All with a desire to have it call back to classic storybooks that often became annual favorites of the young and old. Every aspect of the book, with the assistance of Image Comics’ Drew Gill, is geared toward that simple but pleasant idea. The result is unique and hopefully satisfying.”
The book will hit comic book stores on October 9, and bookstores on October 22. Check out the full cover, below.
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