Oh, how I loved Hammer films growing up. They were probably my chief inspiration in my pre-teen and teen years. Christopher Lee, Peter Cushing, Caroline Munro (who wrote the forward to this edition.) Some of the best actors came out of Hammer films. And now, thanks to the world of comic books, us older geeks can relive those glorious days of yesteryear, and pass on our legacy to the younger geeks. Captain Kronos is back and Titan’s got him! The good Captain finds himself employed by the small town of Serechurch which is in the heart of a dark forest. A perfect setting for a nest of vampires to brood. Only, there’s something different about these vampires!
The Creative Team:
Dan Abnett gives us chills that the Hammer film company, limited by ’70’s era production and budget problems, never could. There was no CGI, no ILM, no budget to afford Rick Baker, Carlo Rambaldi or Dick Smith or any of the other big name SFX artists of the ’70’s. Even so, Captain Kronos the movie shows off what you can do with a low-budget (it came out near the end of Hammer’s run, just before bankruptcy.) and is an effective chiller in its own right. I loved the film and this comic shows what could have been done with a budget. Abnett brings out the best in the characters, Kronos arrogance, Grost’s sense of self-preservation and Carla’s innocence as the trio does battle with a strange new breed of vampire. He captures the essence of what the actors did so well on camera and brilliantly brings their personalities to this title. The pacing is great as we see the village ravaged in the first few issues and the vampire hunters have to face this menace, unlike any they have ever encountered. I don’t think anyone else could have done justice to the characters in this medium the way Abnett has. Great stuff includes the tension between Grost and Kronos plus the reaction of the town folk to our heroes, they don’t know weather or not to hail them as saviors or fear them as much as the vampires attacking their town.
Tom Mandrake brings a medieval feeling to the proceedings with just the right amount of contrast and polarity that greatly enhance Abnett“s words, the panels are standard and old-fashioned which works well with this tale set in mid-17th century eastern Europe. His splash pages are commanding and the first page we see of our hero shows us a no-nonsense protagonist that is ready for the evils that await! Highlights include the splash where Captain Kronos first faces the vampires attacking Serechurch and the reveal of the head vampire, Slake.
In Conclusion:
I always wanted to see more Captain Kronos movies when I was a kid. Sequels would have been nice, but, alas, Hammer films went under and the film didn’t do well enough financially to justify another company taking over the proposed franchise. More films were planned but none happened. This long-awaited comic book was worth the wait as we see the creative team bring the same passion that Hammer horror films brought to the movie more than 40 years ago. The climax to this story is very satisfactory and a nice little twist at the end brings about a sense of justice to the whole proceeding. I hope this isn’t the last we’ve seen of Captain Kronos! *** (8.3 rating)
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Writer – Dan Abnett
Art – Tom Mandrake
Colors – Sian Mandrake
Letters – Simon Bowland
Publisher – Titan/Hammer
Author Profile
- Kevin Given has studied with “ Longridge Writers Group †and “ Writer’s Boot Camp †a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the “ Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter †franchise which includes novels and comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of “ Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter †# 1 and “ Files of Karl Vincent †# 1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series “ Dracula Rising †(working title) and developing “ Foul Blood †into comic book form. Don't forget to check out the YouTube show " Comics: Let's Talk " hosted by Kevin Given
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