Reviewer: Chris Delloiacono
Story Title: N/A
Written by: Adam Beranek & Christian Beranek
Art by: Chris Moreno
Colored by: Jay Fotos
Lettered by: Nick Beranek & Heather Addley
Editor: A. David Lewis
Publisher: Silent Devil Productions
Dracula vs. King Arthur definitely wasn’t a “What If” battle I’ve been anxiously awaiting my whole life. In fact, when I first heard about the miniseries I actually chuckled. Was this a way to cash in on the success of Freddy vs. Jason? The more I thought about it, the idea seemed to have potential. Then I got my first look at the artwork and it looked damn good. I still wasn’t sold, but my interest was piqued.
Cut to the Pittsburgh Comicon where I was able to attend Silent Devil’s “weigh-in” between the two classic literary creations. It wasn’t so much the highly-theatrical weigh-in that sold me on the series, but the passionate creators. By listening to writers Adam & Christian Beranek and artist Chris Moreno, it was obvious these gentlemen had done their homework. They were attempting to bring the original literary creations together in something more than a slugfest. Judging by their comments, this was going to be a story, which built on the original characters and told a story with some deep characterizations. Clearly they revered King Arthur and Dracula and hoped to please fans of both characters, while creating a rip-roaring yarn.
Now that I was interested, the Silent Devil crew just needed to pull it off.
Well, first, let me say: kudos to Silent Devil, because this first issue is an amazing value. Twenty-two pages of comic book for $2.50-3.00 is the best value you will find in this day and age. The first issue of Dracula vs. King Arthur features a massive 38-pages of story, folks. That’s nearly two comics for the price of what Marvel and DC charge for one. That’s a pretty good start.
The Beraneks slowly unfurl the story in the first issue. With so many pages to work with there is no need to condense elements, and it works out very well as a foundation for what is to come. This issue doesn’t feature much action, but every page serves the story. The first five pages introduce Dracula and King Arthur. These prologue pages show the similarities between the pair and are done as splits with each character featured on half of the page. These pages are exceptional in that they reveal the origins of both characters, and lead us to the starting point for the series.
Once we join into the main section of the story, Adam and Christian Beranek reveal the end of Vlad Teppes’s (Vlad the Impaler) time as ruler of Wallachia. As Vlad is about to be destroyed by the Turkish army, he feels it best to beat a hasty retreat, and return at a later date. Soon he runs into Lucifer (the son of the Satan), who offers Vlad the opportunity to go back in time and destroy the kingdom of Arthur. The sequence between Dracula and Lucifer is a bit stilted, in that classic comic storytelling way, but it’s quite good. To complete this task, Vlad will need great powers. Thus he must become a vampire. There you have it, and there you are. We see how Dracula was born.
The story progresses, ironically by stepping backward in time, to Camelot. We are introduced to Arthur, Guinevere, Merlin, Lancelot, and various Knights of the Roundtable. We are given a fantastic sense of Camelot and the famous inhabitants of the kingdom. This part of the story gives an idea of what to expect in the future as Arthur is beset by dreams that the Holy Grail will fall to evil forces.
The story closes out with Dracula arriving in Arthur’s time. Dracula starts his quest from Stonehenge and quickly links up with Morgana Le Fey and her (and Arthur’s) son, Mordred. The story takes a neat little turn right at the end as Dracula, and his fangs, begin building an army.
Bringing the action to life is Chris Moreno. Clearly, Moreno has done a great deal of research into the time periods of Vlad and Arthur. The characters are outstanding. Each has their own look, and it’s never a problem distinguishing one from the other. The costumes look realistic, yet they have a great comic feel as well. Moreno’s pages are lush with beautiful imagery. Simply put, Moreno is an incredible designer that excels at sequential storytelling.
Dracula vs. King Arthur has jumped out of the gates with a fantastic beginning. The creators have a vision for what they want to do with this series. They have packed this first issue with setup and background material. The major players have all been placed on the “chessboard” and fleshed out. Considering the number of characters featured in this story, the decision to expand the page-count of the first issue to 38-pages was brilliant. The first chapter is smartly written, so I have no fear that this will degenerate into a silly fistfight of endless splash pages. I can’t recommend the first issue enough!
Note: This is an advance review. Dracula vs. King Arthur #1 will be in stores on June 2, 2005.
