Pinocchio Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theatre – review

Created by: Van Jensen & Dusty Higgins

First published: 2010

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: Pinocchio is back, continuing his quest to rid the world of vampires. Still haunted by Geppetto’s death and in an uneasy alliance with an undead friend, Pinocchio is in danger of letting his anger consume him.

Fortunately, the actors of the Great Puppet Theatre arrive on the scene to aid their brother-in-wood. Soon, they’re journeying across Italy to the sea in a high-stakes pursuit of the source of the vampire scourge.

The review: This is the sequel to the strangely compelling Pinocchio Vampire Slayer, which saw a modern retelling of the Carlo Collodi original story, where the living puppet used his expanding nose as stakes for the undead. We get a recap of the first graphic in the form of a puppet show performed by the Great Puppet Theatre.

detail - and sparkles

As the story starts we meet Carlotta who is searching for Pinocchio but gets herself in trouble in an inn. She is saved by the members of the Great Puppet Theatre – like Pinocchio all living puppets whose Master, Fire eater, has been killed by vampires and who are searching for their brother-in-wood.

Pinocchio, himself, is searching for the master vampire with the help of fairy, the ghost cricket and Master Cherry – himself now undead but holding his dark desires in check with a magic amulet. It becomes very clear, however, that Pinocchio does not trust him…

 I enjoyed the first volume but I think the graphic really came into its own in this episode. The tensions that were drawn between the companions were excellently done and the story hung together nicely whilst spreading its vista into a much clearer overall arc.

The artwork was excellent, shifting in styles when called for. The black and white worked in its favour throughout. There was even a sparkly vampire joke that both worked and was original. All in all this elevated the series for me. 7.5 out of 10.