"The Bats Have left the belltower, the victims have been bled/Red velvet lines the black box, Bela Lugosi's dead."
Bauhaus, "Bela Lugosi's Dead"
It's somewhat difficult after all these years to think of Bela Lugosi as anything other than a caricature of himself--an outlandishly theatrical actor capable of playing only a narrow range of characters in increasingly cheap productions; when your career ends with you playing the lead in an Ed Wood film, you know you've gone beyond rock bottom.
But, as ever, there is more here than meets the eye.
Lugosi, a new graphic novel written and illustrated by Korem Shadmi, attempts to humanize the caricature, starting with arguably his lowest moment: Checking into rehab for morphine addiction in 1955. From there, Shadmi tells Bela's story in a time-shifting narrative; going back and forth from Bela's glory days in Hollywood starring in top-of-the-line productions like
Dracula and
Murders in the Rue Morgue (both for Universal) to his ignoble final days acting in Ed Wood movies; his last film, the infamous
Plan 9 from Outer Space, was completed after Bela's death using a double who looked nothing like Bela.
Shamdi's approach is even-handed--not reveling in Bela's downfall, but not glossing over his career miscues, either. (Turning down the lead in
Frankenstein? Not a good idea.)
Lugosi is a perfect read for an autumn afternoon, when the leaves tumble down the streets and the shadows are especially long.
Also? Today is Bela Lugosi's birthday. So raise a glass of plasma to our favorite vampire.
