The Webcomics Weekly is back in your life and bringing you something tall, something handsome, and something that will crush you if you let it. That’s right: we’re talking obelisks. What did you think I was referring to? Vampires? Psssssh.
Obelisk
Prologue, Chapters 1 and 2
Updates Thursdays
Written and Illustrated by Ashley McCammon
Reviewed by Mel Lake
My last review was of a gothic vampire story. This week’s review, hear me out, is of a gothic vampire story. I like what I like! In “Obelisk,” you’ll find old vampire tropes like creaky coffin lids and a familiar driven mad. But you’ll also find the underground queer scene of 1900s New York City and a story about a woman trying to make her own way in life after her father passes away.
Connoisseurs of vampire tales know that “Dracula” begins not with the titular vampire but with the journey of Jonathan Harker’s journey to meet him at his castle. Dracula is a client and Harker has been summoned to perform a task as his estate agent. Similarly, in “Obelisk,” we don’t get anything besides tantalizing glimpses of the vampire for fifty pages. First, we meet Agostino “Dean” Montagna, who has been hired to move a box into an empty storefront in Manhattan. Could the giant box contain a coffin? Perhaps! Poor Dean cuts his hand while moving it, dripping his blood onto the crate and awakening the creature within.
Meanwhile, Evelyn “Evie” Reuter is trying to get back to normal after the death of her father and her brother’s sudden engagement to a woman she doesn’t like. Evie’s father owned a very disorganized real estate business and his partners seem to be fairly useless, so she takes the reigns. Determined to track down all her father’s clients, Evie enlists Dean to help her find the proprietor of an antique shop—that has popped up in the exact location where Dean’s unfortunate blood spillage happened. Since the incident, Dean has been having strange visions and feeling ill. The proprietor, a mysterious woman named Margot, is less than helpful but captivates Evie with her attitude and confidence.
The first two chapters of “Obelisk” set the tale in motion much the same way many classic vampire stories do. A vampire arrives in town and captivates a young heroine while enslaving a hapless young man. The vampire is suave and intimidating, with a certain malicious charisma that ensnares not only their victims but the audience as well. Vampire tropes! I love them! But what “Obelisk” does that sets it apart from stories like the one I reviewed last time is the infusion of queer life into the story. Though the comic is mostly in black and white (with the occasional splash of red), Margot is a person of color with a wickedly cool hairstyle and chic masculine style of dress. Both Margot and Evie sport men’s attire in ways that flaunt the expectations of the time and signal their queerness. It’s an enjoyable look into what queer life may have looked like in New York in the early twentieth century—plus vampires!
Artwork-wise, the black-and-white shading and art deco flourishes are perfect for the setting and vibe of the story. This isn’t a vertical-scrolling comic but instead uses a traditional comic page layout. The layouts are clean and clearly communicate both action and dialogue with zero difficulty telling what’s happening or who is speaking. Not only that, but I appreciate the detailed hand-drawn backgrounds that give a sense of place to this comic. Margot’s antique store is filled with curios and Evie’s estate office is stuffed to the brim with paperwork. These details lend life to the comic but don’t overwhelm readers. During important character moments, the backgrounds fade so we can focus on faces and expressions. McCammon achieves an excellent blend of action, background, dialogue, and character work in “Obelisk,” even if the story hasn’t progressed past the initial stages.
If you’re a vampire lover like me who likes seeing a diverse array of takes on classic tropes, “Obelisk” will whet your appetite. There are 130 pages available so far, but the story is clearly only just getting started, so you may find yourself hungry for more.
