Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, and the Great Puppet Theater

by Dusty Higgins and Van Jensen, 167 pages

After the dramatic conclusion of the first volume, Pinocchio has wandered off with his current "family" to stake vampires with even more of a vengeance than before. But when his old enemies get their claws on his potential sweetheart, he also enlists the help of his old "family," what's left of a theatre troupe of living wooden puppets like himself, to get her back and find the mastermind behind the entire vampire plot.

More losses are in store for our stringless friend, but I don't think that will ultimately work in his opponents' favor, as it can only stoke the flames of his resolve to take them out, regardless of his physical form. As with the first volume, this one effectively combines jokes and drama and action with inky, scratchy, screentoned art to make an atmospheric, entertaining whole. I can't wait to see Pinocchio kick some evil boss patootie when the final book comes out.

Pinocchio: Vampire Slayer

by Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins, 130 pages

Other reviews here have summed up this short graphic novel's plot (and they must have been pretty persuasive, 'cause I couldn't not put this book on hold after reading them--thanks, guys!), but basically all you need to know is that broody Pinocchio, driven by a personal vendetta, purposely spouts mouthy lies to make his wooden nose grow so he can break it off and stake vampires with it. Which he does. A lot.

Sounds silly--and it is--but it's also pretty cool. And funny. And involving. I'm sad it's so short! And I'm glad to know there are / will be two sequels. I laughed so much at the beginning that I had to go back and read the helpful summation of the original Pinocchio story out loud to my bemused brother, flashing the book at him so he could see the pictures while he was trying to make dinner. Despite being distracted by food preparation and open flames, he laughed, too. :P Dark humor, dark drama, and silliness in pleasing proportions.