More Lies! More Vampires! More…Puppets.
Now with an undead Master Cherry and the addition of his long lost marionette family in tow, Pinocchio might just be closer to getting his greatest wish granted than he ever thought possible. But, WHICH wish? And will Pinocchio’s life ever be the same afterwards? Both writer Van Jensen and artist Dustin Higgins raise the stakes as they reunite to continue the story of Pinocchio based on the legendary original version of the story by Carlo Collodi. “Collodi’s story is so rich that, if we wanted, we could fill dozens of books up with adventures spinning from his world,” says Jensen. “The challenge then really is in choosing the right pieces of his story to incorporate into ours without going overboard. While our story certainly spins off into totally different directions, I like to think it keeps up the tone of Collodi’s Pinocchio.”
It was midway through scripting the first graphic novel that Jensen had an idea about a larger mythos involving Pinocchio and the vampires. “The trick with that book was to allude to a larger story while keeping it self contained, because we didn’t know if it would be popular enough to support a second volume. Thankfully fans really took to the story, and so now we’re able to explore this larger adventure.”
Volume one of Pinocchio was released to critical acclaimed and praised for its clever use of the concept. Named one of the top 10 Great Graphic Novel for teens by YALSA (Young Adult Library Services Association) Volume one remains in print and has become one of SLG Publishing’s great success stories.
Pinocchio: The Great Puppet Theater is a 176 page, $14.95 graphic novel written by Van Jensen and illustrated by Dustin Higgins.