Last week Dracula the Unconquered #2 was released from Mssr Sims, Downer and Krach and with the death traps in this book, it is hard to escape from it’s grasp. Check out the full review after the jump.
Having spent the first issue introducing the primary characters and driving plot of the series, the newest issue gives us a chance to learn about Dracula and Thalia’s (His plucky teenage sidekick, because Chris Sims has read a few Batman comics) personalities while they’re avoiding the myriad of deadly traps in Dracula’s castle
Chris Sims keeps the story moving, and sets the stage for Steve Downer to do some incredible panels. There’s a full page spread, just showing Dracula and Thalia avoiding half a dozen death traps, one by one in a maze. That alone is worth a dollar, and there’s another 23 pages besides. Moreover, the story’s fun in a way that adventure comics should be; the incredible traps notwithstanding, Dracula and Thalia have some great banter that makes the necessary world building dialogue interesting.
Steve Downer does the art, and some of his pages are absolutely breath-taking. As mentioned above, the splash page of traps is incredible, but his facial expressions are great too; hyper-expressive and dynamic. The most amazing thing about his art, however, is the sound effects; Downer draws them into most scenes as part of the background which allows him to play with the use of sound effects as part of the line art itself, rather than just communicate the sound to the reader.
In the above panel, the sound effect blends in with the background, so that when the reader finds it, they’re more surprised than if a general “CLANG” had been placed in the right corner.
Finally, we get to the lettering, by Josh Krach. He’s really good at lettering (and interviewing), so when you’ve finished the comic, reread it again paying more attention to how Krach’s balloon shape and placement emphasize certain scenes; his lettering is an integral part to the overall flow of the comic.
In Summary
This is a great comic by creators clearly having fun making it; it’s a steal at any price, and you can get it for $1 dollar an issue.
