Skip to Main Content

Lugosi: The Rise and Fall of Hollywood's Dracula

Illustrated by Koren Shadmi
Published by Life Drawn
Distributed by Simon & Schuster

About The Book

A biography chronicling the tumultuous personal and professional life of horror icon Bela Lugosi.

Lugosi, the tragic life story of one of horror’s most iconic film stars, tells of a young Hungarian activist forced to flee his homeland after the failed Communist revolution in 1919. Reinventing himself in the U.S., first on stage and then in movies, he landed the unforgettable role of Count Dracula in what would become a series of classic feature films. From that point forward, Lugosi’s stardom would be assured...but with international fame came setbacks and addictions that gradually whittled his reputation from icon to has-been. Lugosi details the actor’s fall from grace and an enduring legacy that continues to this day.

About The Author

Koren Shadmi is an award-winning illustrator and cartoonist. He studied illustration at The School of Visual Arts in New York where he now teaches. Koren’s graphic novels have been published in the US, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Korea and Israel. His latest book, Rise of The Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and The Creation of D&D (Nation Books), is a collaboration with esteemed tech writer David Kushner. Koren has contributed illustrations and comics to: The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Playboy, Mother Jones, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Wired and others.

About The Illustrator

Koren Shadmi is an award-winning illustrator and cartoonist. He studied illustration at The School of Visual Arts in New York where he now teaches. Koren’s graphic novels have been published in the US, France, Italy, Spain, Germany, Poland, Korea and Israel. His latest book, Rise of The Dungeon Master: Gary Gygax and The Creation of D&D (Nation Books), is a collaboration with esteemed tech writer David Kushner. Koren has contributed illustrations and comics to: The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, BusinessWeek, Playboy, Mother Jones, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Wired and others.

Product Details

  • Publisher: Life Drawn (October 14, 2021)
  • Length: 160 pages
  • ISBN13: 9781643376615

Browse Related Books

Raves and Reviews

Lugosi is nothing short of a masterpiece. With riveting style and a storyline that drives full-tilt from the opening panels, Shadmi tells the tale of the man behind Dracula—his immigrant struggles, his wild love life, his dope fiend torments, his heinous treatment at the hands of studio moguls—with such vision and heart, you find yourself rooting for the monster from beginning to end. It is Shadmi’s special genius to render his subject an Everyman, so that his story is the story of every artist trying to live off their art only to be ground to pulp by the real bloodsuckers, the Hollywood execs who feast on talent, who bleed genius until there’s nothing left but memories and pain.”

– —Jerry Stahl (Permanent Midnight, Hemingway & Gellhorn)

“Poignant and informative.”

– —Joe Dante (The Howling, The Twilight Zone: The Movie, Gremlins)

Lugosi welcomes you to explore the life of one of film history’s most evocative, mysterious figures in a journey that’s both haunting and humanizing, something cut from the cloth of Adrian Tomine and the Coen Brothers alike. A moving bildungsroman…with bite!”

– —Steve Orlando (Commanders in Crisis, Wonder Woman, Rainbow Bridge)

“With a cultural icon as large as Bela Lugosi, it’s easy to forget he lived a whole life off-screen, one as complex as it is tragic. Shadmi’s book reminds us that, more than fangs and a cape, Lugosi was an artist, a lush, a romantic, and a wonderfully flawed human being consumed by all sorts of monsters.”

– —Lonnie Nadler (Black Stars Above, X-Men)

“A fascinating look at the most infamous face of Hollywood Horror, Lugosi offers a beautiful deep-dive into the life and career of Bela Lugosi that is not to be missed.”

– —Stephanie Phillips (Harley Quinn, The Butcher of Paris)

Lugosi is one of those characters you always come across if you’re obsessed with Hollywood or movie monsters. Whether it’s the iconic voice or his rivalry with Boris Karloff, the idea of the man lingers long. Koren’s wonderful graphic novel beautifully depicts the real monsters lying beneath the skin of a man we asked to portray one.”

– —Sean Lewis (Bliss, Superman, Coyotes)

Lugosi is a fantastic, wonderfully illustrated look at the real life of the man behind Dracula.”

– —Jeremy Haun (The Realm, The Red Mother, Haunthology)

Resources and Downloads

High Resolution Images

More books from this author: Koren Shadmi