Matt Wagner and Kelly Jones are comic book royalty. Wagner burst onto the scene by writing and drawing Grendel, an epic that spanned centuries and is one of THE most important comics in the entire medium. He then followed that up with the fantasy book Mage. He was the writer of the long-running and award-winning DC/Vertigo book, Sandman Mystery Theater. He’s also penned multiple award-winning and fan-favorite Batman tales and has written comics based on pulp heroes like The Shadow, Green Hornet, and Zorro. Artist Kelly Jones gained attention with his haunting depictions of DC’s Deadman, which led to a career drawing for DC/Vertigo’s Sandman, Batman: Red Rain (where Bats meets Dracula!), and a legendary stint drawing the Batman/Detective Comics covers for the epic Knightfall, followed by a three-year run drawing the actual Batman book. These two comic powerhouses have been teaming up for their very own take on Dracula, with two books already under their cape. Those two volumes have already taken the comics world by storm, with fans from horror legends like director John Carpenter, who said “Dracula is a preeminent character in the horror hall of fame…this book is a horror lover’s delight” and comics writer Scott Snyder saying “As someone who has read a lot of Dracula takes, believe me when l tell you that this stands up with some of the very best ever. A new favorite of mine.” Now, on the eve of getting ready to launch the Kickstarter campaign for the final volume of their epic version, Dracula Book III: The Count (you can back the book here), Wagner and Jones took some time to allow us here at Monkeys Fighting Robots to take a stab at asking them a few questions. Check it out and make sure to click the link above and support the book!
MFR: Matt, I know Dracula is a well-known character, but for those folks who have not yet read your incarnation, can you give us a brief synopsis of what your story is about?
Matt Wagner: Well, I’ve maintained from the beginning of this project that Dracula is the most famous literary character of all time. There’s almost no place on Earth that you can mention the name and most everyone won’t immediately know who you’re talking about and at least the rudimentary elements of his character and myth—he’s the most fearsome and powerful vampire that’s ever un-lived! He’s also the character most adapted into film and other media more than any other…with Sherlock Holmes running second. And ever since the original 1987 incarnation of Bram Stoker’s classic novel, every adaptation has been altered or amended to suit the needs and tastes of those creators who followed in Stoker’s wake. I had wanted to try my hand at adding to the vast mythology surrounding Dracula for many years, and yet I just couldn’t find a fresh or unique take on the character, which at this point has been (pun intended) done to death (un-death?). And then the concept came to me…telling the stories around the story contained in the original novel. Dracula’s portrayal in the novel is somewhat oblique; he’s often portrayed as more of a spectral presence rather than an onstage villain. And the book itself is full of tantalizing hints and clues as to his history and actions that aren’t fully depicted in the narrative.
So, this series aims to tell the stories hidden in the shadows of Stoker’s original tale…while still remaining absolutely strict to the canon of the novel’s specifics. Almost every adaptation of the novel claims to be “the most faithful” and yet, really, none of them are; this is mainly a result of the fact that a novel isn’t a film and isn’t a comic—certainly, changes are always necessary for translation. But by not doing a direct adaptation, this version is able to maintain and expand upon the canon. And, of course, a huge factor in the success of this endeavor is the amazing art of Kelley Jones. Kel and I have been pals for decades, and we’d always wanted to work on something together…some big and significant project, not just a one-off. When I finally solidified what I wanted to with Dracula, my first thought was that this had to be rendered as a partnership with Kelley. When I first approached him with the idea, he was immediately on board with everything I was presenting to him. Luckily, the time was right for him, and it was right for me…and now we’re getting ready to launch the Kickstarter campaign for our third volume in this epic saga!
MFR: Matt, what kind of research did you do for this project? Because it’s so dense with history and mythology, that’s its mindblowing!
MW: I’ve done a ton of research for this project…and that process is still ongoing! Dracula not only features the most famous literary character of all time, but it’s also one of the most studied and annotated novels in the English language. I have four different annotated versions of the novel as well as various literary analyses, cultural dissections, narrative time-lines, screenplays, stage-play scripts, and a facsimile edition of Stoker’s original notes and outlines—which are still intact and housed at the Richenbach Museum in Philadelphia— that I accessed for my research. The novel is an example of epistolary storytelling, meaning there is no omniscient voice and the story is told in the form of letters, private journal entries, and such, and so every event of the narrative is dated as a specific month and day. Again, we wanted these stories to perfectly align with the details of the original book, and based on my own research, I think we’ve pulled that off. We’ve also gotten several endorsements from Leslie Klinger, who is one of the world’s foremost Dracula scholars and who wrote the New Annotated Dracula. The script for our
third volume, Dracula: Book III—The Count, was, without question, the most intensive thing I’ve ever written. I surrounded myself with photos and maps of Victorian-era London, as well as a calendar from Prof. Leonard Wolf’s annotated version that detailed every event of the novel on a day-by-day basis, which also included the sunrise and sundown times as well as the phases of the moon. There is some debate amongst Dracula scholars as to what year the events of the story take place. The novel was published in 1897 and claims that it had been seven years since the accounts presented therein. But there’s no indicator as to how long it had been between when the various journal entries were recorded and the actual publication. For various narrative reasons, I settled on 1988, which is also the year that Leslie Klinger supports. So…as you can see…I covered my bases for this project.
MFR: What other Dracula or vampire stories or books inspired you?
MW: Pretty much any and every version that’s out there had some influence on our version of these tales. But here’s a few books I particularly like: THE HISTORIAN by Elizabeth Kostova… This is a long novel that is a contemporary continuation of Stoker’s narrative. It’s a slow burn, but I really like its creeping sense of dread and its portrayal of Dracula himself, who, much like in the original novel, is more of an off-stage presence. THE DRACULA TAPES and THE HOLMES-DRACULA file by Fred Saberhagen. Saberhagen wrote a number of Dracula pastiche books, but these were favorites of mine at a much younger age. THE DRACULA HORROR SERIES by Robert Lowry… This is a series of almost a dozen paperbacks from the 70s that read like a fever dream of that era’s exploitation films. The stories center on a crime-fighting team led by a Professor X-type academic who has resurrected Dracula and uses him as the squad’s mega-weapon against bad guys. Dracula, of course, wants no part of these adventures and always tries to break free of his yoke, but the professor has a convoluted fail-safe for keeping his attack dog in check. Pure pulp fun!
MFR: So far, we have had two volumes, Dracula: The Impaler and Dracula: The Brides. Where do we find Vlad at the end of the second book?
MW: Book II—The Brides takes us right up to the beginning of the novel itself, when Dracula has grown disillusioned with his life in the Carpathian highlands and direly needs an influx of fresh blood to revitalize him. Thus, he conceives the plan to emigrate to England, the empire that has, over the past century, spanned the entire world.
MFR: What can readers expect in this third volume, Dracula: Book III—The Count?
MW: Any fan of Stoker’s original classic will tell you that one of the most frustrating aspects of its narrative is that once the action shifts from his castle in Transylvania to the foggy streets of London, Dracula himself is basically off-stage for the remainder of the novel. He’s treated as more of a sinister presence rather than a physical villain. Since our series presents everything from Dracula’s own point of view, Book III—The Count shows readers exactly what the novel only hints at. I mean, he’s gotta be doing something during his time in London, right? Our story unveils his diabolical actions and sinister schemes as Dracula explores and adapts to this all-new metropolitan environment, which is so very different from the rustic existence in the Carpathian highlands that he’d lived for the past four hundred years. London at the time was home to over five million people…more than the entire population of Transylvania, so it’s quite a vast well of opportunity for him. We’ve got at least one more volume planned after this one.
MFR: Outside of this book, what’s your favorite incarnation of Dracula?
MW: Again, almost too many to list. I already talked about various other literary versions, but there are, of course, so many film incarnations as well. I love every single version of Nosferatu for varying reasons, but even though those films are inspired by Dracula, they aren’t depicting the character as seen in the novel. Similarly, the 1931 film version starring Bela Lugosi is based on the greatly adapted stage versions that were popular at the time and shifted the narrative into being more of a drawing-room spook story rather than the events of the novel. Hammer Studios’ film series starring Christopher Lee breathed new cinematic life into the character but offered diminishing returns of quality as the series progressed. The Dan Curtis-directed TV version starring Jack Palance and adapted by the legendary Richard Matheson was a lot of fun and was the first version to introduce the concept of Mina Harker being a reincarnation of Dracula’s long-lost lover, which of course was later a major part of the Coppola film. There’s a lot that I really like about the 1979 version starring Frank Langella, if you can get past his blow-dried do. That
one also has a rushed and confusing ending. And then, of course, there’s Francis Ford Coppola-directed adaptation, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, which, despite its title, isn’t “the most faithful” version. There is absolutely no love story in the original novel…Dracula is not a romantic figure; he’s a monster through and through. I have a real love-hate relationship with this version; I absolutely adore the filmmaking and sense of cinema, and, yes, this version does include a lot of material that’s left to the wayside in other adaptations. But I think the casting is terrible, almost across the board. All of which goes to illustrate the fact that none of these versions fully satisfied my love of the character and how both Kelley and I thought Dracula needed to be portrayed. And that, of course, is what led us to create our own incarnation…to effectively have Dracula, once again, rise from the grave!
MFR: Kelly, you’re no stranger to drawing vampires. And your excitement for drawing them definitely comes through in your images. What makes these creatures so fascinating to draw?
KELLEY JONES: Vampires have no redeeming characteristics. There is no romance to them. They are parasitical beings that delight in corruption. So they are an uncomplicated thing to draw. Just evil. I love it!
MFR: Did you draw (pun intended!) any inspiration from other vampire or Dracula
works?
KJ: I didn’t follow or have any inspiration for Dracula from any outside source because Matt’s script was so original in concept that I felt I had to do the same. No echoes of other
Dracula portrayals, no matter how much I love them. Just respect for Matt’s herculean
efforts researching and writing this story to give it the look he wanted.
MFR: What was your process for illustrating this project? Was this digital or hand-drawn?
KJ: All hand-drawn. All research IS from books. Anachronistic, but the results come out with an atmosphere that’s all mine.
MFR: And what was it like working with colorist Jose Villarubia? He did a fantastic job!
KJ: Nothing but pure joy working with Jose. He’s an artist in every sense and brings an energy that’s all his own. I’m mystified by his talent, and lucky to have him…as well as
the incredible Rob Leigh as our letterer on this book.
MFR: And, what’s your favorite incarnation of Dracula?
KJ: I adore Christopher Lee.
DRACULA—BOOK III: THE COUNT will be funded via Kickstarter. For updates, follow Matt Wagner on Facebook and X and Kelley Jones on Instagram and X.
