Nosferatu The Untold Origin – review

Author: Louis J Pecsi

Artwork: Louis J Pecsi

First published: 2009

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: In the year 1922, Nosferatu graced the silver screen with his shadowy specter. He was a creature of total mystery and no known origin until now. "Nosferatu the Untold Origin" begins with the 15th century crusader, Count Orlok, who must burn at the stake the powerful witch, Elsa, for her refusal to worship the God of Rome. As Elsa's flesh is consumed by the flames, she finalizes her curse by uttering the word "Nosferatu". Count Orlok is transformed into Nosferatu the Vampyre, a terrifying creature that bares little semblance to anything human. An epic adventure that spans over 400 years awaits Orlok, as he is plunged into the nocturnal world. Illustrated with over 300 full color paintings, this visually exciting graphic novel will change the reader's perception of vampyres.

The review: I have mixed feelings about this graphic novel but, before I explain, I want to address the Blurb’s assertion that “He was a creature of total mystery and no known origin”. Those who know the film know this is not entirely true. Just as we get a hint in Dracula that the Count’s vampiric origin ties back to the Scolomance, so Murnau’s film suggests that Orlock is “Belial’s seed”. Whilst this statement doesn’t give anything more than a hint, it does suggest that he is of demonic origin.

detail

That is not covered in this, instead he is made a Count who is then cursed for burning a witch at the stake and the curse transforms him into the vampire. Vlad Ţepeş does appear in the book, a fellow vampire (though the vampirism is different, he maintains his human form and has transformative powers etc). Though out with the film, I rather liked the curse…. Conversely, I thought adding Ţepeş in was unnecessary. The plot goes on beyond the origin story and into the path trod by Murnau, but is liberal with the changes: the story shifts to the 1900s, the action shifts to London, Hutter (sporting a very German name, given the location change) is killed in the castle, Ellen’s sacrifice is prompted by the spirit of the so-called Lady in White – who she looks like (but is not a reincarnation of, given the spirit is still extant) but was a good seer in the mortal Orlok’s castle. As it has the changes it also includes Van Helsing incarcerated in Seward’s asylum for murdering Count Dracula (more revisionism). I have to say Hutter seems a little too money orientated – though the 2024 Nosferatu contain some degree of money motivation for Hutter, the underlying motivation is love, but money becomes a principle point in Fisher’s Nosferatu (as well as Hutter being a rake) and also to a lesser degree in the Re-Animated version. I assume the author here is American (he changes the British currency of sterling to dollars) and so I can’t help but wonder if the financial motivations being highlighted in the story, from multiple sources, is culturally driven.

The artwork can be a little simplistic in the foreground detail, but I loved many of the backgrounds and colour usage. The story, as well as revisionist, suffers from poor prose – I believe that Pecsi would have benefitted from collaborating with someone who could write prose that were as evocative as his backgrounds can be. The book suffers due to this and my enthusiasm for the backgrounds and artistic atmosphere, as well as the more interesting story ideas, are hamstrung by the clumsy prose and unnecessary revisionism. 4 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK