After the graphic novels Dracula: Book I — The Impaler and Dracula: Book II — The Brides, writer Matt Wagner and illustrator Kelley Jones are back with Dracula: Book III — The Count. The third book is currently on Kickstarter, and it’s told from Dracula’s point-of-view. Cemetery Dance spoke with Wagner and Jones about building on the previous books, what research went into this, and how their feelings about Dracula have been affected.
(Interview conducted by Danica Davidson)
CEMETERY DANCE: How does Dracula: Book III — The Count build on the previous books?
MATT WAGNER: Book III is, in some ways, what we’ve been aiming for from the beginning of this series. Any fan of Bram Stoker’s original classic 1897 novel can tell you that one of the most frustrating aspects of the tale is that once the action shifts from Transylvania to London, our title character is basically offstage for pretty much the rest of the novel. Dracula is treated as more of a sinister presence rather than a physical villain. And, just like our previous two volumes… Book I — The Impaler and Book II — The Brides…that narrative gap provides us with an incredibly ripe scenario to fill in those missing details and bring readers our version of what happened. Obviously, Dracula came to England with certain lofty and sinister goals…he’s definitely doing something during the period covered in the novel. Well, Kelley and I will be showing our readers how Dracula explores and begins to integrate into, what is to him, a very alien culture.
KELLEY JONES: The interesting thing was to show Dracula go from medieval warlord to cursed vampire dealing with his new powers and his new limitations to now a regal and imperial aristocrat. His restraint is matched only by his malevolence. That transformation simply draws itself. Dracula is now engaging a modern world that has so much for him to desecrate so I had to portray him with the joy of these new found goals.
What sort of research went into this volume?
WAGNER: I did a shit-ton of research for this volume; it is, without a doubt, one of the most intensive things I’ve ever written. Dracula is one of the most analyzed and annotated novels in the English language and a lot of that stems from the fact that the book is epistolary — told entirely in the form of letters, journals and articles. So, the action of the novel is incredibly specific since every day and night described is noted by both month and date. So, while I was writing this volume, I had myself surrounded by research materials…intricately annotated editions of the original text, maps of Victorian-era London, and even a calendar of the events of the novel, notated for every individual day, including the sunrise and sunset times and the phases of the moon! I had to make sure I got everything right to pass muster for the many Dracula scholars out there.
But, I also had to make sure that this volume was engaging and entertaining for those who’ve never read the original novel. It was quite the balancing act. And there were many, many details to consider. Just from a sheer practical standpoint…how does he get around this thriving metropolis? After all, London is dramatically different to the Carpathian mountains that had been his home for over four hundred years. Carfax, the dilapidated estate he acquires as his home base, is located some eighteen miles east of central London; he would obviously need some means of transport to travel between his den and the city’s hub of activity. Additionally, we all know the classic trope that a vampire may not enter a dwelling without being invited inside. A city of London’s size has sooo many thresholds that would require this sort of admittance for him to enter. How does he get around these restrictions? And what is his goal? What is he aiming to do, other than gain access to a whole new strain of revitalizing blood? One thing I can tell you he isn’t doing…obsessing about Stoker’s group of heroes and the two women at the core of that cast. To my reading of the book, his attention is definitely focused elsewhere.
JONES: For me it was a complete immersion into not simply the architecture of 1890s Britain, but of its half-lit worlds of the different classes. The designs of the velvet wrapped sumptuous rooms of splendor of the upper classes to the maze-like back streets of those that had to survive one day at a time. I wanted a look of a great metropolis piled high upon itself with plenty of age, yet presenting itself as a modern, forward thinking civilized city. A place Dracula could happily wander unnoticed in his evil.
How did the two of your collaborate together this time around?
WAGNER: Kelley and I comment to each other all the time about how fluid, organic and fulfilling our collaboration is on every level. We are so completely in sync it feels like this was a pairing that was meant to be. These sorts of perfect storm scenarios happen from time to time in comics and I really feel like we’re soaring at those heights with this project. I’m constantly writing specifically to Kelley’s strengths and saying to myself, “Oh, man…Kel is gonna slay it on this scene!” And then he sends me his pencils and they’re even better than I could’ve even imagined. We were talking the other day and I was telling him that, even though I’ve always loved and admired his work, he’s really operating at a different level here. There’s a concentration of focus and emotional engagement from him that I think outshines any of his other (amazing) efforts. I’ll say it again…it’s like this series is the story that Kelley was fucking born to draw!
JONES: With Matt I try to simply put that emotion on paper as directly as I can from reading his story. It’s that simple. I want readers to feel that same awe I do when I first read the scripts and fall under Matt’s spell. I tell him all the time anyone could draw this and it would be a masterpiece as I feel he’s truly done something original, literary and beautifully grotesque.
How did you approach narrating the story from Dracula’s voice?
WAGNER: At this point, with two previous volumes under my belt, I definitely feel like I’ve got a handle on Dracula’s voice. And, let’s face it, after creating and writing Grendel for over forty years, I do have some experience with portraying unrepentant villains. Dracula is a megalomaniacal monster; his every thought is centered around his own lust for power and cravings for blood. In the book, he’s also portrayed as very scholarly and scheming. He’s also ruthless and quick to action. Much like my own Hunter Rose or Hannibal Lecter or Tony Soprano, he’s the sort of charismatic monster you find yourself somewhat rooting for in spite of yourself. All of which makes for an incredibly fun character to write.
JONES: The objective of making a character come to life is that you understand them, not simply stereotype them. Matt has so delved into Dracula, and not as a two dimensional cardboard villain but a man with no other goals than the satisfaction of his aims. Not an anti-hero and not a monster, but a man. I see that clearly and he comes to life naturally on the page. This Dracula is a man I understand, and that makes him far more frightening beyond him being a vampire lord.
Have your feelings about Dracula been affected by writing so much about him and his world?
WAGNER: There have been so very many portrayals of Dracula over the more-tha-a-century since the original novel’s publication, you’d think that the character would’ve been (yes…pun intended) bled dry by now. But having to examine this character from what I feel is an all-new yet strict-to-canon perspective has surely given me some insights into his persona that I didn’t perceive at the beginning of this project. He’s absolutely merciless…and yet, if you look at how he’s portrayed in our first two volumes, he does have something of a soft spot for the ladies. Not to say that he’s romantic, but he appreciates the role that women serve in regards to his appetites. He speaks at some length in Book II — The Brides on how nothing is equal to the ecstasy experienced by a vampire when drinking blood; “NO BEDDING…NO BATTLEFIELD VICTORY…NO BASE INTOXICATION EVEN COMPARES.” And he treasures the delicacy of women’s blood over all others. Part of that is referenced by the fact that, in the novel, we mainly see him preying on women.
But I am also inspired by how certain animals toy with their prey. We’ve all seen cats play with mice in a way that, if we’re anthropomorphizing them, certainly seems cruel. And apparently orcas can viciously play with a captive seal, battering it and tossing it in the air for an hour or more…like cats, for reasons that aren’t completely understood. You’ll hear animal behavioralists comment that these actions are the predator practicing its skills…which never quite rang true for me. I mean, they’ve already caught the creature in question…how do these actions hone that efficacy? And then I struck on an idea…perhaps toying with their prey just makes them taste better. What if the fear endorphins obviously released during that animal’s ordeal serve to marinate the meat in a way that their killers just fucking love? And so I took that thought and applied it to Dracula; he prefers preying on women because they just taste better to him. And the fear aspect would also serve to heighten his enjoyment.
In the pages of Book III — The Count, I continually have him describe how each person he preys upon tastes in very specific terms. And it was a blast coming up with those descriptions to match each victim’s persona and station in life. So that’s just one example of how my outlook on Dracula evolved over the course of telling our tales.
JONES: Matt didn’t take Dracula out of the 15th century and impress our modern beliefs or morals upon him. He is a man of his time and that makes the story far more interesting. There is no way to know what he will do next, but it can be sure that it will only be to serve his desires, which Dracula would be bewildered to have described as evil.
