American Mythology Productions 2019
Mature Readers Title
Written by Mike Wolfer
Illustrated by E.V. Cantada
Coloured by Victorino Muyo Jr.
Lettered by Natalie Jane
The heart-ripping, true tale of Dracula set in the 1970's Philippines continues! After their movie co-star Romy Verzosa is kidnapped by a vicious, female vampire, Van Hauser and Candy Brick know that the only way that they can save the life of their friend is to venture to Count Dracula's secluded, island fortress to give him the ransom that he demands... The secret journals of Abraham Van Helsing! But how can they possibly be prepared for the tropical hell that they are about to walk into, a steaming jungle isle populated by Dracula, his brides, and his unholy vampire gorillas? And can even Dracula be prepared when his sanctuary comes under attack by the hideous, vampire monster rivals who seek to destroy him?
I hate that Wolfer guy because this is the best of all worlds when it comes to the genre. He manages to base in the “B-Move” world and then puts the mythology of Dracula and his enemies into the mix giving that proper horror scare element. This blending that we see in full glorious effect is really amazingly well done and doth my cap. I love this and the more we see the more there is to love about it. This is done by a true aficionado of Bram Stoker's rendition and everything else that was spawned from that over the ages. So if you get what I am saying then you'll want to be reading this because I will be damned if this isn't some of the best storytelling around right now.
The story & plot development that we see here is sensational in how we see the release of information here. As we are introduced to characters in surroundings, situations and dealing with the reality of what they see Mike is able to really to convey so much. The character development here is outstanding as well. I love how we see these people continually being fleshed out more through the dialogue and more importantly how the act and react to those situations they find themselves in. the wit and banter here is so bloody good and we know when it's nervous or whether its honest and that's impressive as hell. With the pacing factored in we start to see the twists, turns and revelations coming at us with the impact of gale force winds which makes the ebb & flow that we see that much more interesting and exciting.
The interior artwork here is beyond gorgeous. The fact that it's hard to tell whether is hand drawn or computer generated is impressive to me. Also I love the nudity here though I wish a man would be there in all glory as well. Though his bride, or one of them, is gorgeous and the way that the work is done with the colours, the hues and tones within that flesh colour, is stunning and just to see how the breasts look so completely natural, dayum. The utilisation of the page layouts and how we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a masterful eye for storytelling.
The way we see backgrounds throughout is truly stupendous. The attention to detail in this is phenomenal and it beautifully crafts this sense of depth perception, size and scope in the story as well as enhancing the moments and bringing us this amazing mood, tone and feel to what we see. Good grief the colour work here blows my mind. There are times it looks painted and others just normal colouring and this kind of mixed media feel only makes this look better than you could have imagined. Seeing the various hues and tones within so many colours is beyond comprehension and how that's utilised throughout is bloody brilliant.
With this being the last issue in this arc it solidifies itself as a true breakaway hit in my opinion. There is literally nothing else on stands that can match the level of quality and talent we are seeing here.