There are a lot of comics out there but some stand out head and shoulders above the pack. With “Don’t Miss This,” we want to spotlight those series we think need to be on your pull list. This week, we take a look at Dark Horse Comics’s “Count Crowley.”
Who’s This By?
Actor, writer, producer David Dastmalchian has brought his love of all things creepy, crawly, and everything in between to creating the “Count Crowley” series. Dastmalchian, an accomplished creative in the world of film, first tried his hand at comics in 2019 to somewhat quick success. He took his love and knowledge of all things horror and poured, alchemy-like, into this zany comic book series, that thankfully, Dark Horse Comics was willing to take a chance on.
Illustrator Lukas Ketner (“Witch Doctor”) lends his horrific talents to this excellent monster story with a deft hand that makes it hard to believe this is the only on-going comic book job this artist has had. His work is akin to someone who has worked on many series for years! Because he has so few comic book credits, there isn’t much out there to compare this work to, other than some of the styles he is emulating and paying homage to with this series.
Colorist Lauren Affe (“Five Ghosts,” “Spider-Gwen”) is a perfect match for Ketner’s illustrations on this book. Her work is colorful, layered, and fun, while still giving the work a more muted, retro feel that truly captures the entire mood of this series. This incredible artist has work spanning various comic book series and even as part of the animation team for “Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course” (2022). And rounding out the creative team is letterer Frank Cvetkovic, who gets to dabble in classic comic book lettering, while also having a good time with some wild title cards and other bits of interesting text throughout this entire series.
What’s This All About?
In the beginning of the series, our protagonist, Jerri Bartman is a struggling alcoholic and t.v. news anchor who has lost her job. She has been disgraced in her profession and her personal life in various ways, and lands a, what was meant to be a temporary, gig as a late night horror movie host. While all of her personal demons are beginning to take over life and she has realized that there is a spot below bottom that she can hit, she comes face to face with real monsters. As Jerri takes to the midnight airwaves as Count Crowley, she must also, reluctantly, take to the shadows and become a monster hunter.
The longer Jerri is both Count Crowley, and getting pulled into the world of the supernatural, the more the various aspects of life collide, with dangerous, upsetting, and even humorous results.
So, Why Should I Read This?
Dastmalchian does a superb job of taking material that could, and usually is, nothing but two dimensional ideas and characters, and puts real issues and real ideas to the page to create not just a series of fun, spooky, action-adventure, but also a real look at mental health, addiction, relationships, and career hardships; all within the confines of a wacky B horror comic. When this series started in 2019 I didn’t expect much from it, to be honest. I thought it would be a fun little horror comedy miniseries to read around Halloween, with the cute gimmick of being written by a genre favorite character actor. No big deal. It might be good, but it might also be a forgettable footnote in the annals of Dark Horse Comics. But what the world got was a thought out and emotional journey of a very flawed character just trying to make her way in the world…and then she has to deal with actual monsters in a small town that is quickly becoming a real life creature feature.
The artwork by Lukas Ketner has been nothing short of fun, creepy, and truly consistent from the first issue to the latest. His style is a mix of somewhat cartoony and silly, and somehow surprisingly spooky look of classic horror comics like “Tales From the Crypt” or “Creepy.” The works is a beautiful collaboration of new and old as the work feels really fresh and exciting while never letting go of those old B horror tales of decades past. The work, paired with the color work of Lauren Affe, is a bit zany, a bit retro and muted, and all horror. Every page, hell, every panel is a worthy look into this world and I can’t recommend this series enough to horror fans.
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How Can You Read It?
Issue two of the third and current arc, “Mediocre Midnight Monster Hunter” hit shelves this week and the first two arcs, “Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter” and “Amateur Midnight Monster Hunter” have been collected in two trade paperbacks. Found anywhere comic books are sold.
