Well, I am sure you all have seen our newest Creator Discussions forum here at Comixtreme, headed up by writer Jason Henderson. We have gotten a good taste of one of his bigger titles, Sword of Dracula, over the last couple of weeks. I thought now (prior to the release of Sword of Dracula #3) would be a good time to let you all know just what that title is all about.

There is a group of you out there who love all-things vampire. No doubt, you are already picking up this title and enjoying the hell out of it. For me- vampire stories are hit or miss, and must be ventured into much more carefully. Recent films like the Blade series left me wanting, while TV shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer were the sorts of things I really enjoy, but not so much for the vampire aspects. It takes a really specific brand of well-thought-out vampire story to make me really want to sink my teeth into it (so to speak). So how does Sword of Dracula hold up?

Cast of Characters

Ronnie Van Helsing is a member of a special-forces type unit called the Polidorium – an organization devoted to hunting down and eliminating Vampire cells throughout the world. The team was content with tracking down “small-time” vampires, until Ronnie pushed them towards a much bigger target- Dracula himself. The assault did not go as well as good be hoped, and the Polidorium is not so inclined to chase such a big target any longer. This does not stop Ronnie’s drive to take down the big guy himself, however, and that drive is sure to cause tension between her and the Polidorium in the future.

Samyaza and Azazyel are Nephilim, fallen angels who have escaped their permanent prison in the Dead Sea. These “fathers of all vampires” and have returned to find an object called “The Blue,” which they will use to return to power on Earth. They believe Dracula has this item, and set out to track him down and reclaim what they believe to be theirs.

Dracula himself is everything you always thought him to be, and more. He has the ability to control blood itself- and keeps a large cache of it handy. He uses blood to create everything- from his army to his transportation- to the giant, splendid “castles” he lives in. He can also create an unbreakable sword from the blood seeping from his thumb when cut, and uses it as a devastating weapon against intruders who get too close. His ability to manipulate blood with his mind makes him nearly impossible to approach, and deadly to all those who cross his path.

Thoughts

I have to say off the bat that I have enjoyed this series a great deal. One of the things I hate the most about the vampire stories I hate is that they tend to make changes to traditional vampire lore, without so much as an explanation as to why. Sword of Dracula is much different. There are changes to a few things you “know” about vampires, but they are all logical evolutions and are explained as such. Jason Henderson clearly has done a great deal of research (as outlined in some of his “afterwards” essays), and the steps forward he has taken from classic Dracula stories not only make sense, but are presented in a very clear manner.

The story itself is intriguing and deep. Instead of hero/victim X has a run in with a vampire and kills it, the conflict in Sword of Vampire is not so much between Dracula and the Polidorium, rather between those two camps and the Nephilim who have returned to retake their seat of power. Though all sides are at odds at the moment, it does seem pretty clear that at some point, Dracula and the Polidorium will have to work together to take out the insanely powerful Nephilim, as contrary to both of their natures as that may be.

The art is in black and white, which I normally have no problem with. In Sword of Dracula, it is highly detailed and intense which is ideal for this sort of story. The only problem I have with it is the inking on the first two issues. Greg Scott used extremely liberal amounts of black ink in the art, which made for a sometimes-frustrating read. Trying to sort out the chaos on each panel is difficult at times, though not impossible. It is workable, and does not ruin the overall presentation of the book, but I found the stylistic choice to be something of a drawback. Perhaps it was his way of compensating for the lack of color, or a pure style decision on its own, but the excessive black kind of looks like big ink blobs at times. As I said- it is not a “killer” problem- just a personal one that was quite easy to overcome as the story unfolded. Sometimes even the extreme amount of black helps the panel- you have to take the good with the bad I suppose.

A new artist, William Belk, takes over as of issue three, and the art style is indeed very similar. Thankfully for my eyes, however, he is much lighter on the ink than Scott, which to me was a welcome change. Hopefully this trend continues through the rest of the series- as my only gripe with the book was fixed with a simple artist change, I really have nothing left to complain about!

Bottom Line-

Sword of Dracula is a vampire story told right – recommend it to all of you who have even a little interest in the genre. It takes a lot for me to enjoy a vampire story, as skeptical as I am about most such stories nowadays, but it did not take me very long at all to get into this series. It is well worth the cost of an issue to check out.

Issue #3 of the 6-part mini “The Elders” is due out the first week of March. This is one of those titles that could continue on as a series of “minis,” not unlike Noble Causes, if the demand is there. The first two issues are on shelves now at your local store or online. Also, if you want to do a little hunting, a preview to Sword of Dracula can be found in Digital Webbing Presents #10. This preview can also be read for free online at SwordofDracula.com.

Sword of Dracula is
Written by Jason Henderson,
Drawn by William Belk (Greg Scott, first two issues.)
and Lettered by Ed Dukeshire.

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