The Plucker: An Illustrated Novel by Brom

Title: The Plucker: An Illustrated Novel
Author: Brom
ISBN # 0810957922
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Inc.
First Published: 2005
144 pages
Format: Hardback
Rating: 10/10

Synopsis:
The Plucker is a dark and twisted tale about a Jack-in-the-Box, aptly named Jack, who must fight for the life of his human boy owner against an evil force, called the Plucker (because he plucks your eyeballs out and sucks out your life force). One by one the Plucker and his minions, called Foulthings, capture the toys in the boy's room, and carry them off to the bowels of the earth, deep beneath the boy's house. There the toys are tortured and have their mojo extracted. The toy's mojo comes from the boy's love and his belief that the toys are real, so as the Plucker sucks up all the toys' mojo, he begins to take over the boy's body. Only Jack can save the boy, with the help of the boy's nanny, Mabelle, who practices the dark arts. Spine-tingling and creepy, the story is for all ages, but especially for those in love with graphic novels, fantasy, and sci-fi.

www.bromart.com

Review:
This is no book for children! It's dark and it's scary and it's absolutely wonderful! The illustrations are like a nightmare vision of Alice in Wonderland - rich, sumptuous and twisted. It's a real visual experience. Not only that, but the pictures illustrate a fantastic story that is well written with characters that really come alive as you're reading.

There’s something compulsive about this tale of the toys' love for the little boy who breathes life into them, even when they have been forgotten and relegated to the realms of Underbed. There's magic; a battle between good and evil; and a heroic journey involved as the toys fight for their boy. I would dearly love to see this adapted for the big screen by Tim Burton - Johnny Depp would be wonderful as jack, and Christina Ricci perfectly suited to Angel, and Tim Burton's Gothic touch would be perfectly suited to portray this deeply satisfying story.

This is so stunning that I'm going to have to get hold of The Devil's Rose when it comes out in October, as if the few pictures I've seen on the website are anything to go by, it promises to be every bit as exquisite as this.