Written by Matt Wagner
Art by Kelley Jones, José Villarrubia
Published by Orlok Press /
Dark Horse Comics
When I first heard about this book coming to Kickstarter and that these two talents were coming together, I signed up immediately. I am glad that I did too as it is one of the best Kickstarters I have ever backed. The timeline for getting the book was agreeable (so many comic related projects just aren’t and the final product is a high quality book both in presentation and story.
This is some of the best work in both creator’s respective careers as well and their passion for it goes well beyond the page. (EDITOR’S NOTE: The book is also available to the general public via Dark Horse Comics.)
This is not just a retelling of the Dracula novel either. That would have been completely dull and unnecessary.
Instead, these two creators decided to do a book about how Dracula became who his is.
An origin story, yes, but it is also so much more. You can tell that writer Matt Wagner did his research with this one, taking what we know about Dracula and expanding the story in ways we have never thought about. We get to see Vlad Dracul from the very beginning of his descent into terrible darkness.
When we first see him, Vlad has just got done fighting some war. He’s trying to make his way through the landscape of where he is, but he keeps losing servants. A funny line comes up immediately, where he says that he will always remember a particular servant (it happens a few times in the book to higher comedic effect.) Vlad has an idea that he wants to learn the dark arts from Satan himself. So, he makes his way to the Carpathian Mountain range to go seek out his dark mentor’s tutelage. Yet, the travel there is treacherous and horrible.
He gets there, and it is time for him to attend the Scholomance, which is a gathering of people ready to learn the dark arts. This particular scene is beautifully rendered by the amazing work of Kelley Jones. He genuinely illustrated something truly unique and out of this world. I am still thinking of this particular sequence days after looking at it and it is the perfect blending of both script and art.
The Scholomance happens and we get to meet a bunch of characters who want the same powers Vlad wants. But not everyone is meant to survive this wild gathering of some of the worst people in existence.
Speaking of terrible things, Satan instructs them all of the rules of this event. They are to learn all they can and be graded by Satan.
Sort of like a weird, dark masters class. He also starts a sexual relationship with one of his fellow “students.” Is he going to betray her? Is she going to try to betray him? A lot of this part of the story is nail biting. You never know who is going to do what to who, or what any of their motivations might actually be. It is pretty thrilling to read and I never quite knew where the story was going.
Eventually, all of the various plot lines come together to a crazy conclusion. Now you might think you know how this books ends. And you may be right about a few things. However, the way it all comes together is truly magnificent. The last few pages especially are brutal to witness and it made me want to read the next books immediately. There are going to be three more parts after this book and I’ll gladly back them all. It is such a strong story and I am very much intrigued to see here it can go. I wish that I had the other books to read right now(but I’ll be patient…it is good to wait if the quality is this high.
The story by Matt Wagner is top notch. Wagner is always good, yet here he creates a script that is something really special. Everything is well researched sure, but it it also highly entertaining. The artwork is definitely the best that Kelley Jones has ever done(and that is saying something). Jones is always good, of course, but here he pushes his work even further. Its admirable. The colors by Jose Villarrubia is incredible and rounds everything out.
This is a beautiful book and I loved every panel. One of the best of the year.
RATING: A
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