Title: Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood’s Dracula
Author: Koren Shadmi
Pages: 160
This is a comic biography detailing the rise and fall of the horror film icon Bela Lugosi. Lugosi is a household name because he brought to life Dracula and embodied the role multiple times during his career. Unfortunately his life was not all wonderful. This was a wonderful and heartbreaking comic that tells the story of Lugosi’s rough life in the film industry.
As with most horror fans, Lugosi is a name that I have known since I was a young teenager. His portrayal of Dracula was amazing for that time and he really helped kick start the monster horror film genre. What I never knew though was how rough his life was before and after Dracula. He had sciatica, which caused him to become addicted to morphine and other drugs. He was also married five times over his life and most of the women were a lot younger than he was.
Lugosi’s career was very interesting because after the success of Dracula he couldn’t really get away from that role. From then on he was almost always typecast as the boogeyman in roles, which wasn’t what he wanted but he needed the money. I also found his relationship with fellow horror icon Boris Karloff interesting. I really thought they were friends but that wasn’t really the case.
This was just a fascinating comic that looked into the life of a man who changed the horror industry. The artwork was wonderful, especially in the likeness of Lugosi and Karloff. I highly recommend this comic if you are a fan of Lugosi or film history.
*ARC provided by Netgalley for an honest review.*
Red-Haired Ash Reads 