After last month’s chilling opening, the Mignolaversity boys were very excited to dig back into “Vampire” – and yet, what we found inside was different than what we expected.
Written by Mike Mignola, Gabriel Bá and Fábio Moon
Illustrated by Gabriel Bá and Fábio MoonOn the hunt for the vampire clan that cursed him, Simon Anders finds his answers in a small Czech town plagued by a horrific family’s past.
David: This week brings the second part of the Twins’ latest adventure in the world of B.P.R.D., as Simon Anders continues his quest in B.P.R.D. Vampire #2 from Mike Mignola, Gabriel Ba and Fabio Moon. We were both gaga over the first issue of this mini. Does it continue that roll for you Brian?
Brian: It does, but it does so for reasons different than I originally anticipated. This issue feels very much to me like an Indiana Jones story, or the way an old Universal horror film would start. It feels like an adventure that will take a dark turn, far less than issue #1 did, which had a darker core to it. This was a surprisingly light issue, and because of its lightness, it really put Anders in focus and gave reasons for new readers to care about/follow the character.
In some ways, this is a better introduction to the series than #1 was, but #1 was a better comic. Does that make any sense at all?
David: Oh, totally. The first issue in many ways felt like a variation of a Mignola book we’d never read before, and it was a spectacular and unique creature. This one feels like an adventure story, as you said, and it’s a particularly great one. At the same time, it doesn’t have that one-of-a-kind nature associated with it.
I totally agree with you though. This is a damn good issue, and it’s particularly interesting in that it starts giving Simon Anders some life beyond a guy who is just completely destroyed by this one major event. I love the search and the atmosphere and the sense of dread that is permeating throughout. It’s really incredible, and it’s setting things up for one hell of a story.
This feels foolish to me to even ask, but thoughts on the art?
Brian: Well, my initial thought was “wow, the Twins made it even harder to tell who is drawing what!”
But overall, I think their art is, at its best, versatile and expressive, and I think both of those qualities were present in spades. A lot of the sequences looked more, forgive the phrase, cartoon-y, than anything in #1 did, but their tone reflected the issue really well, and helped add to the adventure-story feel to it.
David: Best guess, Gabriel is drawing the main Anders thread and Fábio is drawing the rest. That’s just a guess though!
And yeah, they did a fantastic job, but it’s hard not to expect that from them. One thing I really have to give them a lot of credit for is just how expressive their characters are. It’s not unexpected, given their talents, but man, you need highly expressive, physically emotive characters to make such a small cast work. They do that incredibly well here, and it just adds to the synchronicity of storytelling they have going on.
Plus, more raven commentary! They are so good at that!
Brian: To call them the greatest raven commentators working today wouldn’t be a stretch at all.
We both cite their expressive characters are strengths, and it is through that very skill that they are able to make the conceit at the core of this issue work – that Wilhelm von Rosenberg became a vampire and tricked the townspeople into thinking that he was a new person each time he returned. The paintings in the castle all have the unmistakable Rosenberg look to them, even though he’s a character we’ve never seen before, and he is dressed in all sorts of time period appropriate dress. That is a harder trick than it initially appears, and the Twins do it extraordinarily well.
Continued belowDavid: Oh, absolutely. Although my only issue is I genuinely don’t remember him, but I read 1947 long ago. Do you remember him appearing previously? Or was that the sisters memories influencing Simon’s memories there?
Brian: I believe it was in the sisters’ memories, but I could be mistaken.
[Note: A quick email to our resident Mignola expert Mark Tweedale confirmed that Wilhelm is a new character – Brian]David: Yeah, I think so too. Just hard to tell, sometimes.
Well, sometimes there’s only so much you can say. Besides this being an awesome adventure story that’s developing a character that has frequently been…dark and quiet as character attributes, do you have anything else to add before grading?
Brian: Well, I wanted to take a moment to discuss the setting of Cesky Krumlov, a city of no men. This is such a nice touch, as it makes the setting creepy for a reason that is not inherently scary, just suspect. Do you think that the town is on the level, or is it hiding something beneath its tragic-seeming exterior?
David: One part of me wants to say this town is on the level, as they explain it pretty well as to what caused this. But then there’s another part of me that thinks that there is always something hidden beneath the surface in these books. I tend to lean towards the former, even though I know that will likely make me look dumb. What are your thoughts?
Brian: Well, I think something is up. First of all, a communist nation helping the US is odd, and then throw in the lack of men, and add to it Hana being all “Oh, hai, let’s go find vampyrez lol” from the outset, and something seems not right. Plus, I want us to be able to have a gentlemen’s wager over this, so I’ll take the “trouble is afoot” position.
So, onto grading – this reads like a solid 8 to me. How about you?
David: Sounds like a plan, and there’s a big part of me that thinks you’re right.
I’m going to give it an 8.5. It was a more straightforward read, but it was still excellent with just top notch art. It’s really hard to not love a book with Ba and Moon’s art, I feel, and 8.5 feels more right to me.
Final Verdict: 8.25 – Buy
