This graphic novel was very well done. Very funny, without being over the top. There isn't much of your classic Disney wooden puppet here! The brief description of the real story of Pinocchio at the start is very cute and funny

Great and fun comic :) I thought it was gonna be over-the-top dark or deliberately have ppl swearing all over the place just to have it be superficially "adult" but it was not that at all :) It may be a darker, stranger Pinocchio world than we're used to (not like the original was all light and fun either xD), but I thought the portrayals of the characters were very spot on and complex, esp Pinocchio who in this book is a hero in the vein of Spider-Man or Batman: a child who b/c of tragedy is forced to grow up very quickly and take responsibility. :) It's a fun comic, but more importantly it's a well written one and I rly enjoyed it :)

I didn't expect to enjoy a monster mash-up so very much. Geppetto has been killed by vampires and Pinocchio is out for revenge. He tells a lie and then snaps off his nose. This provides a handy and effective wooden stake that turns the vampires of Nasolungo to dust. Dusty Higgins' strong black and white art (and Pinocchio's line "I kill monsters") reminded me of Niimura's work in I Kill Giants. There is also a woodcut sort of style to the imagery that evokes the setting and the classic original story. Patterned scarves worn by the villagers and vampires are a nice visual touch. Van Jensen's retelling - post-telling, actually - is sly, inventive and thoroughly entertaining. Grade 6 - adult.