The Culture

I have another run of three books that I picked up at my local library. Since it was in the run up to Halloween it seemed appropriate that they all had a horror/gothic theme. First up is a collection of a three issue mini-series from Dark Horse. The creators of the Curse of Dracula are Marv Wolfman and Gene Colon who had a long run on the Tomb of Dracula for Marvel in the seventies – though this is a different incarnation of the iconic character than the Marvel one.

Given such a pedigree I was looking forward to this book but I have to say I was very disappointed and glad that I had borrowed it rather than bought it. There was not much that I enjoyed to be honest. The story was confused and confusing. The characters were given perfunctory introductions and motivations for their actions. At the very least a horror comic should be horrific in some way and this one just wasn’t. It wasn’t helped by the artwork which although it was terrific in places didn’t evoke any sense of horror or atmosphere. It was also rendered in a pastel colour palette and style that did not help.

I’m sorry to say that I could not recommend this to anyone but if you feel the urge to read try and do as I did and borrow a copy.