After a short delay brought on by real world job pressures, Don and Randy are back with another Two-in-One review. This time, they take a look at Norton the Vampire, the newest illustrated prose children's book from author Brian Clopper. Randy: Brian Clopper is one of the unsung heroes of the independent comics field, producing a wide variety of comics and comic-related projects, mostly aimed at younger readers. He's headed up anthologies such as Rampage and Brainbomb, tackled comics with Marshall, Godling of War and written prose novels with illustrations beginning with Graham the Gargoyle. Norton the Vampire is in the same tradition as Graham, a 270-page story of a vampire with the odd longing to be a lifeguard. Don: With the advent of the first Harry Potter movie upon us, I've had a number of friends extol the values of the line of children's books by J.K. Rowling to me, but I often dismissed them as something I wouldn't really want to delve into. Along comes Clopper, who reminds me how enjoyable a children's book can be, even for a somewhat ol' fogie like me. Norton the Vampire written/illustrated by Brian Clopper Randy: Though he hasn't earned much attention in the realm of mainstream comics, or even that much in the small-press realm, there is one arena in which Clopper is unchallenged, and that's the young-readers market. Clopper is a schoolteacher in Maryland, and he has focused in the last few years on telling stories for those young readers that he sees everyday and those like them. While this means that his work isn't often as sophisticated or complex as I prefer in my reading, I can't help but admire him reaching out to an audience that needs to be encouraged to read, or for providing such strong values in his work without being overly preachy. Don: Norton the Vampire is the story of a fellow who's out to achieve a dream, one that his mother and other adults believe is not only out of reach, but is far too dangerous. Clopper shares a number of lessons with his readers, from the importance of staying true to one's dreams to the notion that friendship means more than just hanging out and playing. Randy: Norton's story is a mixture of a fantasy quest story and a "young friends adventure" style of tale. Norton, the young vampire at the center of the story, is the lead character, but Clopper gives great attention to his other friends, and makes them as interesting as the lead himself. In addition, Clopper has set the book in his expansive world of Cascade, which features a super-hero known as the Flying Mummy and various civilizations made up of vampires, orcs, werewolves, ghosts, gargoyles and other traditional spooks and ghouls. Mind you, these are cutesy and safe versions of said monsters, who don't live to haunt or kill but instead eat hemoglobin muffins to stave off a thirst for blood, to give one example. Don: Norton is a much more ambitious project than Graham the Gargoyle, though it still boasts the same charms. There are many more characters in this story, and it's not just Norton's story that's told. The opening chapters focus much more on Serina, the title character's mother. She's well developed. In fact, Clopper makes a lot of room to explore all of the characters, not just Norton. Randy: I would have to say that I find the cutesy and safe nature of the book to be its greatest weakness. One of Clopper's 11-year-old readers compares his previous book to Harry Potter, and having read both, I have to say that the comparison isn't flattering to Norton. Norton doesn't have much in the way of real darkness or danger, which makes it a fine read for very young readers but does make it feel a bit too safe to an older reader. In addition, Clopper's writing style is definitely geared toward readers of very young ages, meaning that his words lack the imaginative descriptive power of J.K. Rowling, as he tries to keep everything clear and accessible to readers who don't have a large vocabulary. Don: I don't know that I agree. Clopper certainly doesn't dumb down the book. He challenges the very young with some words and ideas that can spark a desire to learn more, and at the same time, he entertains older readers -- even ones as old as us 30-year-olds -- with strong charcterization, cute monster themes and some clever plot ideas. Norton the Vampire should appeal to a wide variety of readers. Randy: Clopper overcomes these weaknesses, however, with other strengths. The descriptions that I find somewhat lacking are compensated for with beautiful illustrations throughout. Clopper's artwork continues to grow and develop, and despite the sometimes muddy printing, I was impressed by the pictures that gave us a visual window into the characters' quests. In addition, though the physical dangers seem mild, Clopper does a nice job of conveying the mundane dangers to children in dramatic terms, with grounding and detention and not being able to see one's friends serving as the dire consequences of failure. Don: There's a lot more art in this book than there was in Graham. In fact, one of the only disappointing aspects of that previous book was there wasn't more of Clopper's artwork and sharp design on display. I can't say the same about Norton. I also thoroughly enjoyed the extra features in the back of the book, from early design sketches to the inclusion of a story from one of his own students. Randy: Clopper's imaginative characters and settings will enthrall children, and the story is one of reaching your dreams, a laudable moral. Even better, Clopper sprinkles the story with other important life lessons, such as being loyal and helpful to your friends and trusting your teacher. If you have young children (or a class full of them), Norton the Vampire is definitely worth investigating. Email Randy and Don comments about this review, or discuss it on the Fourth Rail message board.