Vampire Loves, by Joann Sfar
I reluctantly gave up on this one finally. It sat on the table and I’d read a few pages here and there and I think I got about halfway through and renewed it about five times from the library. I hate to give up on a book halfway through it but there are so many books piled up around the house and this one just wasn’t doing it for me.
I was surprised that I didn’t get into this book because I have loved other works by Sfar that I’ve read, notably The Rabbi’s Cat, and his two Little Vampire books. Ferdinand, our hero in Vampire Loves is not Little Vampire grown older if you were wondering. In fact, Little Vampire is Ferdinand grown younger. You’ll have to read it to find out how that works but it was one of my favorite snippets of what I read. Which is really why this book didn’t hook me, I think, it is a lot of snippets instead of a continuous story line. I realize that a lot of comics and graphic novels are written this way, but I prefer the ones that have one basic plot and story that carries throughout the book. Vampire Loves has more of a theme (Ferdinand and his romantic woes) than an actual plot and that just wasn’t enough for me to be anxious to pick it back up again.
A lot of people will like this book, the artwork is vivid and beautiful, as Sfar’s artwork always is and the characters are enchanting and indescribably unique. If you’re a graphic novel reader who likes episodic books, this is for you. Maybe I’ll pick it up again someday, who know. On a side note, this is another one from the First Second Books publishing imprint that also published Deogratias.
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