Van Helsing vs. Dracula #2 (of 5)
Zenescope Entertainment 2015
Written by Pat Shand
Illustrated by Michelle Bandini
Coloured by Walter Peryera


    Something is terribly wrong with Mina Murray, Jonathan Harker’s very recently announced fiance. He calls Liesel Van Helsing for help and she quickly arrives with her boyfriend Hades, former god of the Underworld, in tow. Clearly under the influence of Dracula, Mina serves as a message to Van Helsing. But now what she must figure out is why Hades would jeopardize Mina’s life.


    I love Liesel and the way Pat writes her.  She’s her father’s daughter but her own person as well full of both confidence and self doubt in her choices and that dichotomy is what makes her so relatable even if she is out there fighting Vampires and dating Hades.  That we see so much of the original Dracula and Van Helsing mythos and updating them for today’s audience in a smart manner shows his talent as writer as he keeps getting better and better.  Everything here is familiar and yet fresh and new and that’s how you update a classic for a new generation.


    As we learn more about Hades and his relationship with Dracula while Liesel and Jonathan come a calling was some great characterization.  I love that Jonathan is so angry, upset and all kinds of distressed and that clouds his judgment.  It makes the actions and events we see take place all the more plausible.  That’s what really matters, taking the fantastic and inserting reality into it to combine them into things that make sense to the reader and not just oh that’s right they win because.  There are setbacks and mistakes made because of human emotion and well let’s face it Dracula is a master manipulator and knows exactly what he’s doing to get them at their most dysfunctional.


    Speaking of Dracula how can you not love this version?  He’s everything we want him to be and so much more.  Thanks to Michelle he’s dashingly handsome and thanks to Pat he’s deliciously evil incarnate.  They’ve come together to deliver this whole package that through facial expressions and the way he turns a phrase to completely spellbind and terrify you that if he were real you’d either fall helplessly before him or flee in terror.   Can I also take a moment to commend Michelle on the use of all the bugs/insects we see here too they just up that whole creepy factor tenfold and make me shiver and itch.


    This is only issue two and the first encounter Liesel is having with Dracula but it’s important as it sets the stage for what the rest of this series is going to be about.  Will her boyfriend be just that when this is over or will she decide that there’s no place for him in her life?  He’s old, Hades, and he’s dealt with Dracula before and while he’s trying to save her in that old world chivalrous way this is a new era and she’s not one to be coddled.  She’s also not as confident in going up against her father’s most fearsome enemy yet and this encounter shows her and us that she’s need more preparation.


    This is really embracing the creepy, horror story that it should when dealing with these characters.  It also shows us that it’s capable to have a strong female lead that isn’t objectified sexually in order to win the day.  This is the kind of reading I look for, it’s smart, fun and interesting and full of freshness that reminds you of a forgotten past.  

Book of Death #3
Valiant Entertainment 2015
Written by Robert Venditti
Illustrated by Robert Gill & Doug Braithwaite
Coloured by David Baron & Brian Reber


For millennia, the Eternal Warrior has protected the Geomancers enigmatic mystics who guide mankind and protect the Earth.  But the arrival of Tama a new Geomancer from the future
has caused great division in the Valiant Universe. Shortly after her arrival, bizarre natural disasters occurred throughout the United States, killing thousands. The superteam Unity believed Tama to be causing the destruction, forcing Eternal Warrior to take down his old allies.
All the while, the true threat remained hidden in the shadows..

    Oh god this series is incredible and the more I read the more I want to continue.  Sure Darque is one hell of a bad man but what he’s able to do with the new Geomancer and corrupt, steal and twist his power for his own dark necromantic needs is some of the most intense creepy and scary stuff out there today. I’m not sure if this was originally intended to be a horror story but it has all the makings of one of the most action packed superhero horror stories ever created.

    Poor David is taken from his mother after Darque does her in and the boy hasn’t stood a chance ever since.  I have to say I love the way this all played out and that David’s connection as a Geomancer is something even so young he embraces.  There’s potential with the boy if Gilad can get to him in time and hopefully we’ll see that instead of another of his failures to protect the Geomancer.  Hasn’t the poor guy been through enough trying to protect them as it is?

    His realization about the book and Tama reading from it came much later than I would have expected it to but I do like what he does after he realizes it.  Why keep looking for the cause of all this when you bring it to him by having her read from the book?  Sure while Darque is frustrated with what’s happening and the power split the two Geomancers sharing the power is keeping him from really harnessing the boys power it’s a great time to strike.  

    I’m seriously impressed with what Robert’s doing here.  From the realization by Gilad to the horroresque view caused by reading the book of Darque’s future with the Geomancer’s power added to his own and both kids being scared by what they are going through this story really encompasses everything in comics today.  There’s so much happening that it’s hard to imagine that this is only a mini-series and even though there is a lot going on it doesn’t feel rushed, crowded or crammed to full of stuff.  

    While it’s true Neville and the rest are too far behind in the true understanding of what’s happening right now by the end of the story they’ll either have come around, learned or be forced to see the truth of the situation and that for all their blustering they had it wrong.  Too quick to judge and not see the forest for the trees.  Still what Robert’s doing with this story is going to involve the entire Valiant Universe in one way or another and from here it’s a much more interesting and somewhat darker place to live.  Not a brooding dark angst but a darker more evil inclined world whose threats are numerous and unexpected.  

    The interior artwork here is also on par with what Robert’s doing with his words.  This is some of the most interesting work around.  From the characters, the mood, the setting and the imagination required to showcase such twisted and corrupted life to be used in such ways demonstrates why this is such a strong team.  Not to mention there are times with Darque alone that it’s old school horror come to life and that’s all kinds of awesome.

    Valiant isn’t changing for change’s sake they are telling stories that continually evolve their characters and the world they live naturally without these events that don’t makes sense.  This is how you do something on a grand epic scale.

Miserable Americans Part 1

Published, Created, Written & Illustrated by Evan Derian


    Here’s another perfect example why you need to hit up conventions and the Artist Alley folks.  I found this because a friend of mine was selling these for Evan at the Cincinnati Comic Expo and just the cover alone featuring John F. Kennedy and Abraham Lincoln was enough to grab my attention.  Then flipping through it I found myself drawn to Evan’s interior illustrations which have this great black and white sketch quality to them and I knew I had to have the first issue to read.  Folks I know many people are hesitant to try self published books but this is where the real heart and soul of the industry lies these are labours of love and the storytelling features great talent you normally aren’t exposed to!


    So think about it what do these two Presidents have in common 100 years apart from each other.  They were both assassinated and were both considered to be great men.  So how on Earth would they end up in a book together?  Evan takes science to a logical place and are regenerated material of dead men, yeah sounds like a zombie thing doesn’t it but let me tell you who cares they have been grown, cloned or made from tissue samples this concept and the science involved is fascinating.  It really makes me think of the whole we never asked if we should do it we did it because we could mentality that is so prominent in mankind.  


    The opening of this series is what gets you and after that we see the beginnings of the story unfold.  It really does border genius in it’s conception, execution and enjoyment level.  JFK is driving a rusted ‘72 Cadillac running from the Secret Service while Lincoln with an arm tattoo proclaiming Emancipator going down his arm is keeping them and the FBI off their tail.  Turns out the 16th President of the United States is a crack shot with modern guns and while his speech pattern is definitely befitting the era he lived his enjoyment of modern armory devices is clearly evident.  


    Think of it these two men known for the greatness and the all too short lived tenures of their Presidencies together on the run from scientists and the government alike is a modern Thelma and Louise with a huge twist.  What’s not to like about it, they’ve got to come to terms that they didn’t just wake up from their assassination attempts and the lies the doctors, see scientists, have been telling them and strike out on their own and live their lives in the here and now.  All the while being hunted because well let’s face it they shouldn’t exist in this era let alone at all.  That however is half the intrigue factor here!


    While part of me hopes that we’ll see Evan explore the science used in bringing these men back to life the other part of me is just hoping for a massive media backlash that both men are alive and running around in what could be considered a crime spree!  Two very much dead on lookalikes, to the media anyway, who happen to be the real McCoy’s are shooting ordinance in public in what i’m assuming is a stolen car and this is just the beginning.  We’ve still got to learn why this happened and what organization was behind not only financing it but what their real endgame is in having this kind of technology available to them.


    This is beyond a shadow of a doubt one of those rare instances that redefines your comic book reading experience.  I can’t wait to see what happens next now to get ahold of the other issues available.


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Public Relations #1

Devil’s Due/First Comics 2015

Written by Matthew Sturges & Dave Justus

Illustrated by David Hahn

Coloured by Hi-Fi


    The comics industry needs to be put on notice because Devil’s Due/First Comics are now back and proving themselves a huge threat with books like this one.  It’s fun, creative, unique and extremely surprising in how it involves the reader’s imagination.  Matthew and Dave really bring something special here and that awe and wonder and mixed with this whole corporate opening is just  what the doctor ordered.


    Immediately we are introduced to Dan Clover and his team.  Dan has started up a public relations firm and everyone on board the plane is working for him and the introductions are simple, clear and very succinct.  But how did they get here is the real question.  What events transpired that enabled Dan to get his company started and bring these folks onboard.  


    We go back four months and see a much less confident Dan as he struggles to come to terms with his crush on Threnody Dark.  I like the way circumstances kind of find a way of presenting themselves.  Unexpected relationships can be formed through the most unique options and that Threnody finds his invite and two first class tickets to Sardinia and agrees to go as his date sets the stage in my mind for the beginning of his growth as a character.


    The family dynamic here is utterly fantastic as we meet Dan’s mother, Scarlet and well she’s one of those tv/movie mothers that you love, want to know but never want to have.  She’s deliciously jaded, honest and full of inappropriate behaviour just the kind of personality that we all enjoy seeing just for the quips and one liners.  I’m going to stress again that the characterization here is just fantastic.  Getting to really know these characters and empathize and relate to them is what keeps the reader coming back and the guys are doing this perfectly.


    Once arriving in Sardinia Dan and Threnody’s experience are like night and day.  She’s laid back, easy going and just in it for the fun while Dan’s uptight, nervous and just a bundle of nerves ready to pop.  They make this great odd couple and you see that could benefit from being around each other to find that balance or learn from each other.  This is the kind of writing that we love in our shows and what’s makes them successful and it’s going to do the same thing right here in this series.


    We do learn a few things about the country of Sardinia, and not because Dan did his research but because Threnody did.  Suddenly I feel like the cutthroat corporate world meets the cartoon world of Dungeons and Dragons and this creates that completely new, fresh and unique book that for me has this huge appeal.  For a first issue we see the results and we learn the beginnings of how and the writing, story, characterization and sheer audacity here is what I live for in what I read.


    David brings this to life visually really nicely.  It’s got some really nice sharp focus elements mixed in with some nice classic comic book style art.  There’s great emotion, feelings and you really get the mood and feel of the characters.  He is able to take the words bring them to life and make it seem like he’s got this perfect understanding of what this world is how it should be and that his creations were what the story was written around.  This kind of synergy isn’t something you find often either.


    This is something you need to look for.  With Devil’s Due/First hitting the convention circuit you find it easily enough if your shoppe isn’t carrying it.  Charming, unique and full of verve this is a 5 Star book!