Review: Van Helsing vs Dracula’s Daughter #1 (of 5)
Whilst it has been a while since I checked on a Zenescope book, the publishers have been quietly going around its business with a raft of books to compliment the Grim Fairy Tales. With Robyn’s series now complete, it’s back to Van Helsing, probably my fourth favourite fishnet wearing heroine. This time around, the stakes (I am sorry, I couldn’t resist it) are even higher and deadlier.
Things seem to be going OK for Liesel; she has her work, her friends and her Chinese supper. Thing is, a great darkness has risen and whilst the unsuspecting Liesel has parent issues beginning to raise their dead heads, another, not quite young lady has Daddy issues of a different kind.
This story is credited to Joe Brusha, Ralph Tedesco, Dave Franchini and Raven Gregory, with Gregory getting the writing nod. In large parts, this book feels like a kinda of Buffy wannabe book. Thing is, there are differences between the two that I wish Gregory and gang would build upon. Sure, there’s the fact that Liesel is a tad out of her time, but its nothing that really differentiates her from other vampire slayers. Gregory goes a long way to setup the whole theory of a secure base, only for it to be broken into less than four pages in. At this rate, Liesel’s base is about as secure as the Batcave! Added to the mix is a casual “B” plot of which one character calls serendipity; I call it the only sort of coincidence that exists in comic books or lazy writing. Still, the premise of the book is interesting enough with the titular big bad seemingly strong enough to actually pose a threat to Liesel.
The art is provided by Allan Otero whose art works better in some places than others. The line work is OK, if a little on the heavy inks side. This has become something of a Zenescope house style of sorts. The problem lies not in the splash pages, but in the smaller panels where perspective and anatomy both seemed to have gone on a little vacation, with even Liesel having more than one body type. Legs bend in odd ways, postures seem wooden and some faces appear to be, well, lifeless. When it comes to the main action in the book, the pacing is well served, but the conclusion seems a little too chaotic; whose head got chopped off is a great example that requires more than a double glance. One saving grave for Zenescope is the fantastic production values in all their books. If comics were rated on colors alone, Zenescope would be the best of the bunch. Here, Robby Bevard delivers a scheme that, whilst may not scream steam punk horror, does show fantastic flourishes across the board. When it comes to lettering, you cannot go far wrong with the consistently excellent Taylor Esposito, whose fonts always let the reader immerse themselves into both the characters and the book as a whole.
I don’t know what it is, but there is a charm when it comes to Zenescope books that always makes me think of them as underdogs. However, their publishing schedule is stronger than say Aspen Comics, yet they do not seem to attract the same level of fan-base, at least not here in the UK. As there is a key for every lock, so must it be with comic publishers. I have always said, that for Zenescope to improve, they may need to attract some big name talent to their side of the comic book aisle. I wonder what Chris Claremont is up to?
Writing – 3 Stars
Art – 3 Stars
Colors – 5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Raven Gregory
Art by; Allan Otero
Colors by; Robby Bevard
Letters by; Taylor Esposito
Published by;Â Zenescope Entertainment
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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