Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer @ SLG

[ENGLISH] SLG tells us: You might think you know how Pinocchio’s story ends: As a reward for his loyalty and heart, the Blue Fairy changes him into a real boy and he and Geppetto live happily every after. But Van Jensen and Dusty Higgins will ask readers to re-think their conception of the little wooden boy in their new graphic novel from SLG Publishing, Pinnochio, Vampire Slayer, due out in September 2009.

Drawing inspiration from the original story by Carlo Collodi, in which Pinocchio remains a wooden puppet at the end, Jensen and Higgins imagined a dark continuation to Pinocchio’s story. Vampires overrun the peaceful town of Nasolungo, and the only one who is willing to fight them (and even believe that they exist) is Pinocchio, who has discovered that his growing nose comes in handy for impaling the undead. While avenging the death of his slain father, Pinocchio discovers the vampires have a deeper agenda than the mere sucking of blood.

Jensen and Higgins manage to craft a grim story story without being too heavy-handed — it is, after all, the story of a wooden boy killing vampires — with moments of grim humor that reflect how the book was created. « What started out as a simple joke about Pinocchio shanking vampires with his nose grew into a book filled with drama and pathos, » said Jensen, who is the writer on Pinocchio, adding, « Yep, drama and pathos… and Pinocchio using his nose to shank vampires. Lots and lots of vampires. »

Artist Dusty Higgins, who created Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, sets the tone with heavily shadowed pages matched with delightfully designed characters, such as the heavily mustachioed Cherry, the carpenter who creates a crossbow he dubs « The Monsteriminator » to help Pinocchio fight the vampires. Still, Higgins notes, « We approached the story as if perhaps Pinocchio wasn’t meant to live happily ever after. Maybe because of his ‘abilities’ he was actually meant to slay vampires. With a continual supply of wooden stakes and no flesh or blood to worry about, he’s the really the perfect weapon against the undead bloodsucking menace. »

Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer is a 128-page graphic novel and will be in stores in September 2009. It can be pre-ordered in comic book stores now with the order code JUL090644. A video trailer is available for viewing at SLG Publishing’s website, www.slgcomic.com.