My Pretty Vampire

by Katie Skelly

Clover — the “pretty” vampire of the title — is a Bardot-esque blonde who dreams of the (now-dead) girl she once was four years ago before becoming a fanged bloodsucker. She is being kept prisoner by her brother, Marcel, who fears Clover will be hunted by the outside world (and who may have other, more selfish motivations as well). Clover’s curiosity, however, will not be suppressed: impetuous, sensual, strong-willed, and fearless, she plans her escape. The resultant havoc would make Dario Argento proud.

Genres: Comics, Graphic Novels, Horror, Fantasy, Vampires, Graphic Novels Comics, Fiction

108 pages, Hardcover

First published August 8, 2017

About the author

Katie Skelly is an American comic book artist, writer, editor and critic.
Skelly was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1985. She studied Art History at Syracuse University and then at City College of New York.
Among her works: Nurse, Nurse (2012, Sparkplug), a 'Barbarella-inspired' sci-fi comic; Operation Margarine (2014, Adhouse), for which she won the Emerging Artist Prize at the 2015 Cartoon Crossroads Columbus Festival; My Pretty Vampire (2017, Fantagraphics), a 70's exploitation-style horror; The Agency (2018, Fantagraphics), a collection of erotic stories previously appeared online; Maids (2020, Fantagraphics), a true crime graphic novel; the ongoing self-produced series Heaven.
Skelly has written about comics on the Comics Journal since 2014. She co-hosts the podcast Thick Lines with fellow cartoonist Sally Madden.

Reviews

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is my first experience with the work of Skelly, and I like her style. She's bold and interesting in creating a--the publisher has it right--Bardot-ish main character who is wild and restless and kinda bad. She just wants to have fun! Clover is, dare I say it, the titular party girl who is more often than not half-dressed, waifish, kittenish. She was turned by her brother Marcel and kept captive in their house to "protect" her, he says, and we can imagine she would be pursued, sure, but there are undercurrents of incestuous attraction, too.

Clover escapes, goes clubbing, does a lot of drinking and drugs and kills a lot of people, and sticks around to torment her bro. Racy, feels like alt comix, a mix of trashy (but essentially innocent-feeling) fun and pulpy sixties vampire pop. Not much of a story here, but hey, I am going to go out and find some more of this Skelly's work!

[disco · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to petition Katie Skelly to write a little something somethin for me please? Give me a cool name, hot fangs, flowy hair, and please let me murder a buncha men.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

A thin story about a young vampire escaping her family home and going on a blood-soaked killing spree while pursued by her brother, a private detective, and a secret society.

I suppose you could get some extra mileage out of this by calling it an allegory for womanhood or somesuch, but not much. I think it wants to be sexy, but the stylized art just isn't.

[Juan Naranjo]

Los brillantes colores de las viñetas y lo infantil de los dibujos de este cómic contrastan con la truculenta y algo melancólica historia de una vampira que echa de menos su vida de antes de ser convertida. Katie Skelly consigue imaginar un mundo misterioso y sangriento que deja al lector con ganas de más.

[Laura Díaz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bizarrísimo.
Trágico, extraño y muy muy gore. En la linea de las publicaciones de la editorial. Es de esos comics que te dejan doblada porque además tienen un toque final fatídico.
Una locura pero me ha gustado.

[Tony Vacation · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sporting several blurbs that ask the eye's mind to enjoy My Pretty Vampire the same as it would the visually sensual films of Dario Argento, Skelly's bright and zippy graphic novel will slight expectations if the reader lusts for the excess of atmosphere and baroque design details that make a film such as Inferno as beguiling as it is silly. This modestly erotic romp features a perpetually teenage bloodsucker fleeing from her pretend brother's palace of leisure and then evading a private eye with an eye patch. When she isn't awaking from chastely sexual dreams of knife-wielding cultists, our vampiress sucks the blood of sleazy men and drug-addled women alike. While My Pretty Vampire lacks the decadence to make its sexuality feel little more than tame, the art is pleasingly polychromatic, making it easy on the eyes even if it fails to excite the mind.

[Alex Sarll]

Barbarella-style sexy picaresque, except that the protagonist is an out-of-control vampire so tends to kill everyone she meets, and it's all done in Skelly's distinctive style of warped cuteness, such that one's instinctive reaction is to find all the slayings adorable, or maybe that's just me. I think this may come under the heading of 'kawaii' but let's be honest, I don't actually know.

[Jo ♡ˎ´✨ ☕︎ · Rating 3 out of 5]

I
have
no
idea
what
I
just
read.

But it was okay. I enjoyed it.

[Maggie Gordon · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ehhh... My Pretty Vampire has bold art, but a blase plot line. Somethingsomething incestuous brother has his sister turned so she can live forever (without asking of course). She escapes and kills a bunch of people. Some weird animal head people save her from capture and she goes to torment her brother for the rest of his life. And that's about it... Not exactly the most thrilling or innovative of vampire stories.

[Carrey 🍓 · Rating 2 out of 5]

This graphic novel was just okay for me. The story didn’t grab me and the artwork didn’t stand out, so overall it simply wasn’t a great fit for my tastes.

⭐️⭐️❌❌❌/5.

[Imogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

six stars

[Mir · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute (feels weird to call a story with multiple gory murders, substance abuse, and possibly incest "cute" but it is) but slight story about a pretty vampire girl trying to escape her safe home and have some fun.

[Sasha Elise · Rating 5 out of 5]

you know i should stop comparing everything to belladonna of sadness but if you've seen that film you know what i mean. that kind of sexy but super dark cartoon and the way it's drawn and the story it tells. also, how creepy her brother is.

[Ludwig Aczel · Rating 4 out of 5]

7/10
This book proves how Katie Skelly can handle the language of comics with a certain dexterity.
The pseudo-seventies exploitation ero-vampiresque plot is a funny excuse to showcase clever page layouts and minimal but effective panel compositions. Skelly's storytelling flow goes at the pace of her bold colours palettes. Seriously, I really dig the colouring in this book. They define the mood of every scene so well. There is only to take notes on that department.
The drawing style is simple, minimalistic, and very balanced. Take Scott Mc Cloud's triangle of cartooning (if you don't know what I am talking about, retrieve Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art) and try to place Skelly's figure design therein. She will fall towards the barycentre of the triangle; definitely a bit 'higher' than the average cartoonist, i.e., more 'geometrical'. Indeed, rectangles, triangles, circles are recurrent elements recognisable in her art-style, both in her character designs and abstract backgrounds. In other words, Skelly has a push towards abstract linearity. Maybe I am complicating things. Let's say that her characters look 'geometrically' cool, I guess that's what I mean here.
Which bares the question: how effectively erotic can this erotic comic book result, when its hyper-girly protagonist is so geometrical, so simplistically made of triangular clothes and big ovaloid head? I guess it depends on your personal perception. But there is an argument to be made that erotism is a function of action more so than characters's looks, and this book clearly leans in that direction.
As for the story, I wish the ending was a bit less abrupt. But overall a very pleasant read.
Also, happy to have found an eBay seller here in the UK who had the first hardcover edition. This tome is a sexy object.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the art and Clover was a badass. Wish it was longer tho. Gave me A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night vibe

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this beautiful, scary, funny graphic novel. Katie Skelly continues to amaze.

[Sheila McNair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really cute if you're a fan of Skelly

[streuselschnecka · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I thought I would completely dislike the art style here - but I was wrong! Primitive, powdery-pastel and seemingly innocent illustrations wonderfully harmonize with the story they tell - a story which is altogether dark and sad, a story in which blood is shed, literally and metaphorically. The main character is a girl, turned into a vampire against her will, by her brother. Already here, the siblings' relationship is a bit bizarre, maybe even perverse - the brother turns his sister into a vampire so that she becomes immortal and dependent on him forever, by his side only. Clover's escape is her own odyssey, she seeks the freedom that has been taken from her and she does it in a wild, morally questionable way, but we as readers are still rooting for her. She is, after all, this filigree maiden, as if plucked from a French film, as if in the fashion of Brigitte Bardot or Barbarella. She takes back her freedom with force, with sharp fangs that have met understanding but will always seek revenge again. Tragedy and horror meet low style here and it comes out very well after all! The whole novel, however, seems to be just an anecdote, the action happens so fast that one has the impression that it even flees from us as we turn the next page.

[Jim Reddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Clover is a vampire who is kept captive by her obsessive brother. She escapes and causes havoc in the city. Her brother hires a private detective to find her.

I really liked the art. It’s stylish and lighthearted and was an interesting contrast to the dark aspect of the story. The ending felt a little abrupt and rushed though. I wanted to learn more about elements that were introduced towards the end.

[Eli Poteet · Rating 4 out of 5]

i picked this title up upon whim, the cover having captured my attention. it is an extremely quick read and pretty enjoyable too. i liked the high level of gore and skin, the illustrations portraying multiple expressive levels of detail. i would read again, i want more. but also didnt know what was happening a few times and idk if it was intentional twists or if i missed the exit.

[Rick Ray · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Skelly's cutesy art style with the bold colors and clean designs, but the story itself is a bit too sparse. Still a nice way to sample a cartoonist I've been interested in, and I'm interested in checking out her other stuff.

[Holly Letson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice art, but not much of a plot.

[Sara Elyse · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish all of her books were longer. Love them.

[Mikey The Librarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Art is incredible and the vampire escape story was short but sweet!

[Athena · Rating 2 out of 5]

*1.5/5*

[Blair · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is supposed to be sexy and cool but it's pretty much just a mess.

[ren · Rating 2 out of 5]

not bad, but i know i'm gonna forget this within a week

[Kellie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not much to the story. I wasn't particularly impressed. I'm glad it was short.

[Sabi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing much in it actually...



Neither the design nor the story shines through. Plus, the end isn't clear.

[s · Rating 5 out of 5]

skelly rly rly understands jean rollin & there’s nothing more i want from art