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Tomb of Dracula #1
Writer: Robert Rodi and Bruce Jones
Artist: Jamie Tolagson
Ink: Toma Palmer and Jay Leisten
Publisher: Marvel Comics
3.50 out of 5 Stars
Reviewed by John L. Daniels Jr.
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Dracula the Prince of Darkness returns and Blade and an elite team
are assembled to destroy him before he rises again from his
grave. This book is the first in a series of six issues and introduces
comic book readers to a new team of vampire slayers. The team consists
of Divinity, a biochemist and half vampire, Benjamin, a
techno-weaponry specialist, Michiyo, a female samurai, Lucas, a
spiritualist, and Enzo, a sorcerer.
The story written by Robert Rodi and Bruce Jones is a very good
introduction issue. The writers have our hero Blade following a
mysterious woman to a nightclub, but this is no ordinary club: it’s a
hangout for patrons with a taste for blood. Blade learns that the
woman named Divinity is part of a team formed by a gentleman named
Noah (a descendant of the vampire-slaying family The Van
Helsings). Noah gathers the team to destroy Dracula before his rebirth
as the Lord of Darkness. Blade tries to convince the team that he is
the one who should lead them on their mission, due to his past
encounters with Dracula.
The artwork by Jamie Tolagson (pencils) and Jay Leisten (inks) put
you in the eerie world of vampires and mysticism. The artist's focus
is character-centric; some of the panels are drawn with little to no
background art. Tolagson and Leisten in some panels capture Blade's
smooth no-nonsense fighting style and his "kick butt" attitude very
well. The inking by Leisten is very dark, but the coloring by Studio F
seems to overshadow the drawn expressions of the characters.
Overall The Tomb of Dracula #1 has all the makings of a
horror comicbook classic (just in time for Halloween). In the
forthcoming issues I hope we learn more about this new group of
vampire slayers lead by the #1 vampire slayer himself, Blade.
—CCdC—
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