Dracula Rising #1 follows the continuing story of Karl Vincent, Vampire Hunter.  Prior to the beginning of this book, Karl has come to know of the existence of vampires and succeeded in banishing the vampire Dracula to the bowels of hell. Thinking himself safe from physical harm by the now deceased Prince of Darkness, Vincent is still plagued by nightmares of the foul creature. The lingering evil of the malevolent creature even taints his memories of the death of his Uncle Steven. Steven died decades prior but Karl questions everything in light of the revelation that vampires are real. Knocking at the door of his paranormal investigations office awakens him from a nightmare.  Groggy and disoriented he asks to know who is there. To his surprise, his visitor bypasses the lock on his door and enters, with all the drama and witty repertoire one expects in iconic crime noir. A blue haired beauty introduces herself as Dominique Alexander and makes herself comfortable. Dominique seeks Karl’s aid, believing that her family has been attacked by vampires. Furthermore, she fears her recently deceased brother is about to rise from the grave as a vampire himself. She implores Karl to come with here so that they might investigate her brothers burial site and take action if necessary. Suffice it to say, this meeting is the highlight of Karl’s night. With each panel, news goes from bad to worse as he realizes that the foe he thought defeated, Dracula, may well be on the cusp of resurrection. Another witness comes forward and illuminates him on some particulars as Karl girds himself for the struggle. Most notably, Karl learns the truth of his beautiful visitor, Dominique, and what part she has played and will play in the fate of his foe, Dracula.
Dracula Rising #1 is well conceptualized. The story is vibrant and promises new twists and turns past this issue with the introduction of Dominique, her back story and her motivations going forward. However, there are a few loose ends left dangling that I was able to overlook though I wish I had more information. For example, the identity of Karl’s second visitor, a time traveling version of his friend Nathan, threw me for a loop.  Additionally, the dialogue was uneven at times. Often times the dialogue was fluid and incredibly well done but at points it lapsed and became wooden and awkward. Finally, some typographical and grammatical errors were missed in editing. The artwork is strong though also inconsistent at times. The pencil work is good and the inking complements it nicely. The color is strong and at times is hugely successful in bringing the artwork to life. However, at times the layout can be visually confusing. On one page Nathan is standing and talking to Vincent. Nathan is drawn with his legs extending beyond the panel, a concept I appreciate when used appropriately (more on that in a moment). However, in this case the legs extend into a panel drawn looking up into Nathan’s face as he speaks. The effect is disorienting and causes Nathan’s face in the second panel to look flat and out of proportion. Conversely, the vampires are often drawn in dynamic poses that extend off the panels and bring them to life. I thought this was very successful and if I had any suggestion it would be to be bolder with this type of action. Some small tweaks here and there would thrill and terrify as the vampires of Dracula Rising threatened to come off the page and attack the reader.
All in all, this was an enjoyable book that I’m certain will continue to get better. The story captured me and left me wanting more which should be the goal of every story-teller. I look forward to seeing the next issue of Dracula Rising and if you are a fan of horror comics I would urge you to pick it up.
Writing – 4 of 5 Stars
Editing – 2.5 of 5 Stars
Pencils – 3.25 of 5 Stars
Inking – 3.75 of 5 Stars
Color – 3.5 of 5 Stars
Lettering – 3 of 5 Stars
Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.
He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.
