American Vampire by Scott Snyder

If you're of the school of thought that vampires should be neither sparkly nor mushy-hearted toward humans — that they should be depicted, instead, as stone-cold killers with moral compasses of dubious quality, then Scott Snyder's American Vampire graphic novel series may be right up your blood-stained alley.

Volume 1, which is in our fiction section, follows two separate storylines linked by one Skinner Sweet, a rabble rousing, blood drinking, candy chomping member of Vampire Version 2.0. Skinner belongs to a new breed of vampire forged in the crucible of American history. Unlike his European predecessors, he can walk in the sun without fear of self-combustion. Not surprisingly, old-school vampires are not pleased by this development.

It is this revelation that arises in the first of the two stories: A young woman named Pearl goes to Hollywood in the search of fame and fortune in 1925. Her innocence, however, attracts the wrong kind of attention from a pack of literal blood-suckers who leave her for dead. But Skinner Sweet has other ideas, rousing her from death so Pearl can have a second chance at life. Not to mention revenge.

"Just picture it in automotive terms. Bloch and his kind, they're like old, broken down European clunkers, okay? But you and me, Dolly? We're like shiny new 1926 Fords. Top of the line, just rolled out onto the showroom floor.

"See sometimes, when the blood hits sometime new, from somewhere new it makes something new. With a whole new bag of tricks, get it?"

The other story follows Skinner Sweet during his outlaw days in the Old West. Having robbed a prosperous businessman (who also happens to be an Old World vampire), Sweet finds himself captured. But you and I both know it's just a temporary detour for the wayward hellion.

Skinner Sweet makes for a fascinating character because he has no soft spots to him. He's all sly smiling ferocity who does what he wants, no matter the rules and what's right. He kills without seeming conscience. He holds a grudge like nobody's business. He's wily, unpredictable, and a whole lot of fun.

Pearl is no shrinking violet either, particularly once her fangs come in. Because she's newly turned, through her eyes we get to see her confusion and fear as she realizes what's become of her, and how easily her predatory instincts click in. Yet she retains her humanity through her relationship with Henry, a romantic interest from before her change who chooses to remain by her side afterward.

American Vampire earned the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award in 2011 for Best New Series, which should give you some idea of how well-regarded it is by the comic book world. Volume 1, which Snyder co-wrote with bestselling author Stephen King, is lavishly illustrated by Rafael Albuquerque.

If you've not yet tried graphic novels or are looking for a different kind of vampire, I recommend you give this book a try.

Real Vampires Don't Wear Size Six / by Gerry Bartlett

Life is usually fairly complicated for Gloriana St. Clair (better known as Glory to her vampire friends), but now it's become a whirlwind. A vampire who owns an Austin boutique shop called Vintage Vamp's Emporium, Glory's been ordered by the Vampire Council to close her business becaused it's attracting too much attention from outsiders. Her personal life is also a bit rocky now that her boyfriend and fellow vampire Jeremy Blade has learned of Glory's recent affair with her former bodyguard Valdez. That she was possessed by a demon at the time of the fling matters little to Blade who's a bit of a dramatic when it comes to love.

To help her rep and to get her back on the winning team, Glory takes an opportunity to mentor a new member of the undead, Penny. Her new charge is smart when it comes to a lot of things but not when it comes to style. The girl has no fashion sense whatsoever and it's up to Glory to show her the ropes while simultaneously trying to mend her wayward romance with Blade, help get another friend back on the wagon and reconfigure some things within her shop to make her business seem less conspicuous. Just when she thinks she's balancing things out relatively well, Glory's life is interrupted by the devil himself who makes her an offer she may not be able to refuse--the chance to be a size six. This edition of the Real Vampires series is sure to charm and delight readers. Written by local author Bartlett (she's a League City resident), the plot gets moving in a hurry and doesn't stop as sassy vampire Glory and her wacky adventures never seem to slow down. Set in Austin, readers will be sure to recognize some familiar things about the protagonist's surroundings and shouldn't have a problem working around the backstory. Even with this being a seventh installment, the book could easily work as a standalone. (FIC BARTLETT) 

Bram Stoker's Dracula (DVD) 1992 / a Francis Ford Coppola film; starring Gary Oldman, Anthony Hopkins, Winona Ryder, Keanu Reeves and Sadie Frost

Following the dismal reaction and perceived failure of the his third Godfather movie, Francis Ford Coppola, the executive visionary behind numerous print-to-screen masterpieces in addition to Puzo's "Godfather" saga--namely S.E. Hinton's The Outsiders and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness (Apocalypse Now)--decided to embark on a more personally endearing project. The veteran director felt it was time to make the movie about the classic novel he once "felt was his", Bram Stoker's 1897 horror classic Dracula. It was a book which both captivated and enthralled a young Coppola, reading it first as a boy, becoming enchanted by the legendary figure of the count and subsequently re-reading it numerous times over.

Coppola's painstakingly cultivated film adaptation, a labor of love largely budgeted with his own money and orchestrated through his personal production company, was never considered a financial or cinematic success. Critics complained the film was visually excessive, too operatic, that the narrative lacked continuity and the "highly eroticised" content deprived the story of dramatic authenticity. Yet the film was and remains deeply compelling in its own alluring, unique, and eerily provocative way. The production quality makes the movie. With every scene done the old fashioned way, inside a studio with savvy retro-mode production techniques and highly innovative set detail enhancing the aesthetic element, the film was able to extrapolate on Coppola's meticulously conceived ideas (The backgrounds, wardrobe, visuals and sound all exquisitely illumined the story and ultimately won it 3 Oscars for best effects, makeup and costumes).

A captivatingly haunting score combined with the perceptively original take on the protagonist instantly entrance the viewer, the beginning of the film tracing the origin and well-known legend of the real Count Dracula, an actual 15th century Romanian Prince known as Vlad Dracul II, or Vlad the Impaler, during a Turkish invasion. The proceeding account of epic erases many pre-existing notions associated with both the story and the vampire figure--no Bela Lugosi, Christopher Lee or any of the more traditional-looking Draculas come to mind. Nor do any contemporary vampire associations erect themselves in what was clearly the original intent of Coppola who wished to remain faithful to the story but broaden the horizons of both the interpretation and adaptation of the tale. True to the novel, the count is at once creepy and sinister, a multi-dimensional entity able to morph into various odd, shapeshifting forms: young and old human, wolf, mist, predatory beast, vermin, etc. But while every bit as monstrous as his silver screen predecessors, the villain's circumstances warrant a further assessment of his situation. Here Dracula's seen as a doomed figure, almost a tragic hero cruelly deprived of a true existence. The essence of the horror he emanates has as much to do with the irreversible eternality of his status as the menacing, physically terrifying creature he evokes.

While narratively the the film strives to magnify the passionate emotional union between the count and Mina Harker (in an admittedly very sensual manner), the real object seems to be to enhance the ambience of the story's gothic aura. It works. Aesthetically, the picture really is a visual feast; it's impossible to remain unmoved by its creative substance, imaginative designs and surrealist approach. And while the acting is nothing spectacular (outside of Tom Waits notable supporting role as Renfield), it's serviceable enough to establish the project as a complete and thoroughly fascinating production, convincing and original on more than one level. (DVD DRACULA)