Witness the rise and fall of a Hollywood movie icon in Lugosi. If you thought you knew the whole story from Tim Burton's Ed Wood bio-pic, guess again! Creator Shadmi Koren dives right into Lugosi's early life in Romania, disappointing his high-brow successful parents with wild dreams of becoming an actor to becoming one of Budapest's greatest actors, only to flee for his life for his failed support of the Communist party.
An exiled Bela will take the stage in London as Dracula, gaining notoriety before immigrating to the United States in hopes of becoming a star. Unfortunately, his thick accent and lack of mastery of the English language makes roles on Broadway few and far between. But when Bela moves to California to try his hand at Hollywood, the actor will be reunited with Count Dracula, beginning a lifelong connection with the Lord of Vampires that will wrongly typecast Lugosi as just another schlock horror movie actor.
Shadmi Koren's artwork was fantastic. I felt like both Lugosi and cinematic rival Boris Karloff were alive and well right in front of me. I learned so much about early Hollywood horror and my respect for Ed Wood, based on how above and beyond he would go for his friends and family, has increased exponentially. And I was already a fan of his! Though I felt at times that Koren's personal commentary took over for what was supposed to be a passive narrative voice, I want to read more of his works- especially his graphic novel account of the life of Twilight Zone creator Rod Serling!
Want to capture the Halloween spirit of things without being too scared? The life and times of Bela Lugosi is one way to capture the magic of the season without having to sleep with the lights on!
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
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