Vlad Dracul is dead.

And one year later, the Transylvanian peasants are looking to happier days ahead. Blue skies, green hills, and children chanting teasingly about the ‘omul negru’, the boogeyman. Until a Healer arrives in town, and then it’s a whole hell-load full of terror. Cue the sound of screaming.

TKO’s Black Mass Rising is based on Bram Stoker’s Dracula character. Writer Theo Prasidis (Swamp Dogs, The Doomster’s Monolithic Pocket Alphabet, etc) conjures the quiet dread, the sudden shocks, the electric vibe of old-school scariness. It’s vampires and it’s certainly old school, but the fright factor is alive and well and kicking with fanged feet.

Who, what, where, and why are demons attacking these villagers? We watch as young Aurelia jumps on her horse and decides to follow The Healer, a mysterious slim stranger with pale skin and long blonde hair. Aurelia wants to confront the evil, to battle, to win, to get justice for all, and to all a good night.
But who is The Healer, who seems so wise and ‘learned’ and why does he make so many naive mistakes?

UK-based artist Jodie Muir’s (covers of American Jesus, and various Star Wars comics) art style resembles watercolour, but is possibly produced digitally. The faces are clearly rendered, the features and expressions sharp and accurate. The bad guys hang suspended in midair, casting shadows on our general disbelief, their fangs, limbs, and teeth looking disturbingly sinister. The colour palette is muted, as if darkness is cast as an additional through the book, then illuminated and snuffed out, a candle lost in the howling wind.

Hassan Otsmane Elhaou’s lettering gives us choices in the voices: some are italic, some have serif lettering, the biblical verses and songs ring out in a different manner too.

I’m not a massive horror buff. A little gore goes a long way for me. But this tale engaged me. The exploration of the nature of good and evil, the twists of fate, all handled with care. And I liked how this mythic tragedy progresses through a journey of horror and self-discovery to a massive conclusion. It’s a retro quest and battle, nicely played for 2022.

TKO Black Mass paperback, 168 pages $19.99

By Alan Spinney

After a career of graphic design, art direction and copywriting, I still have a passion for words and pictures. I love it when a comic book comes together; the story is tight, and the drawings lead me forward. Art with words... the toughest storytelling technique to get right. Was this comic book worth your money? Let's see!!