By d. emerson eddy — I wanted to continue on this month taking a look at some of Alan Moore's lesser known and less talked about stories, stories that don't tend to get the spotlight like Watchmen or V for Vendetta, but still have a fair amount of relevance to his overall body of work and are some worthwhile stories to read in their own right. This week is the story “The New European” by Moore, Gary Frank, Cam Smith, Haberlin Studios, and Hugh Monhan that was published in Vampirella/Dracula: The Centennial (along with two other stories, one by Warren Ellis and Mark Beachum, the other by James Robinson, David Mack, and Rick Mays).

Unlike the other two stories in the collection, “The New European” is not a Vampirella tale and she doesn't figure into the story at all. Rather, it's a then contemporary updating of the Dracula tale by Bram Stoker. It introduces us to a war correspondent in an unnamed state in what's presumably the former Yugoslavia (the story mentions Romania, like the original's Transylvania, but that doesn't quite make sense for overall context of the war), Dracula's brides, and the correspondent's wife and friend, all analogues to the original tale. Interestingly leaving a full reveal for Dracula until the very end. Moore keeps elements of the epistolary nature of the novel intact, giving Hugh Monhan ample material to present through narrative boxes.

On its surface, it's an entertaining, but fairly “normal” retelling of the Dracula story and you may well leave it at that. Decent characters, decent action, and some elements that are somewhat reminiscent of Moore's work with Tony Daniel on the Spawn: Blood Feud mini-series. And it works on that level entirely. But there are some more interesting elements going on in the story build here to me. One is the overall consequences of changing the timeframe to the then modern day along with contemporary outlooks on vampires and monsters, especially since the Stoker novel is shown to exist in this world. It becomes something different when vampires are accepted into pop culture, “defanged” as it were, and people are either apathetic or welcoming of the danger inherent in the monster. Then it also plays into the complex notions of fictional work being real, something that Moore would play with more thoroughly across a large part of his work in the past two decades, from Supreme through to Providence. Because if you squint, and you think about it a little, you can almost see the genesis of Mina Murray and the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen here.

The art from Gary Frank, Cam Smith, and Haberlin Studios is quite nice. It's fairly restrained, shadowy, and dark very much fitting the originating gothic horror atmosphere that comes along with the Dracula property. But there's also a kind of lived-in feel that comes with the modern update. With a Europe feeling even older after a century, evidence of the war torn Balkans, and a new kind of neon seediness when the story moves to New York. Wonderful use of reaction shots when Dracula starts his personal attack that really amps up the terror.

Overall, “The New European” from Moore, Frank, Smith, Haberlin Studios, and Monhan is a nice updating of the Dracula story for modern audiences, adhering fairly closely to the overall bones of the original Stoker tale. To me, it's an interesting little oddity growing out of Moore's work in the '90s that feels like a potential seed for what would come later across America's Best Comics.

Vampirella/Dracula: The Centennial - The New European

Vampirella/Dracula: The Centennial – The New European
Writer: Alan Moore
Penciller: Gary Frank
Inker: Cam Smith
Colorist: Haberlin Studios
Letterer: Hugh Monhan
Publisher: Harris Comics (originally)
Release Date: October 1997
Price: Available collected in Vampirella vs. Dracula ($9.99), Vampirella Masters Series – Volume 4: Visionaries ($8.99), The Best of Vampirella ($23.99)

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d. emerson eddy is a student and writer of things. He fell in love with comics during Moore, Bissette, & Totleben's run on Swamp Thing and it has been a torrid affair ever since. His madness typically manifests itself on Twitter @93418.