Ever wonder what really happened to Pinocchio? This gem tells you the real story!

Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer – Complete Edition

Author: Van Jensen

Artist: Dusty Higgins

Publication date: 24 June 2014

Publisher: Top Shelf Productions

This little gem was brought to my attention at the River City Comic Expo. I can’t help myself when it comes to supporting local artists (I gave birth to an artist and nurturing talent is kind of a thing for me) so I bought the Collected Edition rather than the individual novels.

Have you ever read the original version of Pinocchio? I mean the Carlo Collodi penned original from the 1880’s, not the nice Disney version. After having a brief chat with the artist, he said that his version of Pinocchio was closer to the original as opposed to the 1940 Disney version (I will admit, I had to go look up all the versions of the story there could possibly be and there were a lot!).

This story is a variation of the original (since I was only familiar with the Disney version, I skimmed a preview of the translated original on my Kindle). It’s not nice. It’s dark, and it’s in black and white. This time, Pinocchio puts his lies to good use. He’s discovered that his nose makes a great stake. He gets himself into (and out of) lots of trouble, with the help of some friends along the way discovers who he really is, and why he and his friends are they way they are. I cannot spoil this for you, but I will give you a hint…villain. (It’s always a villain, right?)

I read this in less than twenty-four hours because I couldn’t put it down. Buy this book. You won’t be sorry you did.

I give it 5 out of 5 broken nose stakes.