Just my luck,
I get stuck on a deserted island
with a humorless ghost.
Of Wood and Blood, Part 1 finds Pinocchio with his trusty, spectral counterpart, Cricket, washed ashore a seemingly deserted island after their ship is sunk during a storm. Looks are deceiving as Pinocchio is quickly reunited with the living puppets Harlequin, Punch and Columbina and confronted with an army of vampires eager to bite his newly-human self. While fending of a horde -- or is it a swarm? a murder? -- of the undead, Pinocchio and his cohorts must escape the island and rescue Carlotta.
As with the previous Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer volumes, Of Wood and Blood offers plenty of chills, thrills and giggles. Repartee between characters is snappy, entertaining and offers a much-needed levity to an otherwise dark tale. Vampires, the hidden menace, are amassing around the world; waiting for the signal to strike and enslave the human race (a.k.a. food) forever.
Pinocchio's character has developed well for a graphic novel character and I look forward to his continued maturation in forthcoming volumes. Carlotta was rather one-dimensional in this volume, but the reader also doesn't get to see very much of her now that she is separated from the rest of the group. Cricket was probably the most entertaining character of the novel, will far less lecturing and far more quippy one-liners and comebacks.
Readers are given a glimpse into the back-story of how the wood that the living puppets were carved from become 'alive'. This original twist on Pinocchio's origins is woven in with elements of Vlad the Impaler and vampire lore - which makes for an original origin story.
Note: While this title can be read out of order, readers will appreciate this volume more if read in order.
Book Source: Local Library
Reviewed by: Rebecca
Recommended Ages: 14+ mild language, violence and some suggestive dialogue
Recommended for Readers of:
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