Wonderful adaption of the 1922 German film Nosferatu: Symphony of Horror directed by F.W. Murnau. Caught in a copyright dispute F.W. Murnau was obliged to destroy the film, fortunately one copy survived. This is very good news for film fans and now for comic fans, as this great version reveals.
The story follows the outline of Bram Stoker’s Dracula before developing an original story line. A vampire arrives in a seaside town and wreaks havoc until a young woman attracts his attention.
This comic absolutely stands on its own merits, no prior knowledge of the film is required to deeply enjoy it. It is a vampire story, a story of a creature that drinks the blood of the living to maintain itself in undeath. It is a love story that quietly and powerfully grips the reader.
The art is angular and unexpected, details are frequently suggested rather than presented, sketched in with bare lines. This hint is all the reader needs to fill in the details themselves, the attention is always on the cast.
There are two styles used for the cast, often in the same panel. Some of the cast are given more natural faces and forms, they have sufficient detail to convey a depth of feeling. The rest of the cast are expressively sketched, they do not have the same detail, they do not need it. This mix is really effective, it allows the leading characters to be fully human or vampire and the supporting cast to contribute the emotional context for the action.
This fits to the black and white images of the film, it also stands as a wonderful artistic choice by Narwhal.
The film was very much an individual creative vision, the comic is the same and both are lifted by this. The comic has a singular voice that captures the story and gives it force and power.
Narwhal utilizes the possibilities of comics to create a deeply engaging and enjoyable story. It is a small enchantment that a reader is happy to fall under.
