J.H. Williams III To Release Illustrated Dracula Book for Halloween

An adult storybook, Williams III delves into Dracula's story with over 150 painted images.

By Russ Burlingame

Eisner-winning comics creator J.H. Williams III (Echolands, The Sandman: Overture, Promethea) and Image Comics are teaming up for a new, illustrated horror story this October with Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio. The storybook retells the classic Dracula tale, featuring over 150 pages of painted illustrations and accompanying story passages. The hardcover Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio book hits shelves this October, just in time for Halloween season, and sounds like it shares some DNA with the work Williams III did on Batwoman at DC.

Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio's storybook format, designed to read like an illustrated children's book, juxtaposes paintings with pages of story. The hope is that the unique presentation will allow Williams III to approach Dracula in a way that hasn't been done before. Per Image's announcement, Williams III creates a fantastical and absorbing storytelling experience that goes beyond the typical expectations of an art book, making for a potent combination of illustration and prose. 

"Since I talk about what inspired this project in the foreword inside the book, I'll just say that I'm excited to have it come out," said Williams III in a statement. "I don't think I've seen a book quite like this in the modern era. I sought to make it a different kind of thing than what some would expect, an attempt to marry portfolio illustrations with brief passages to create a narrative structure that most art books don't tend to focus on. Because of it having a single narrative subject, the illustration choices are reflective of that. I gave the prose sections a subtle older style, but delivered with a somewhat brisk sensibility. All with a desire to have it call back to classic storybooks that often became annual favorites of the young and old. Every aspect of the book, with the assistance of Image Comics' Drew Gill, is geared toward that simple but pleasant idea. The result is unique and hopefully satisfying."

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You can see the cover above, and ordering information below.

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The move comes as Image is publishing montly "Universal Monsters" books that look at characters like Frankenstein and The Creature From the Black Lagoon.  

Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio, featuring a cover by Williams III, will be available at local comic book shops on Wednesday, October 9 and independent bookstores, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-Million, Indigo, and Waterstones on Tuesday, October 22. Dracula: A Storybook Portfolio will also be available across many digital platforms, including Amazon Kindle, Apple Books, and Google Play.

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