By Ariel Baska — From the first pages of this rather abrasively titled book, the palette of textured blue and gold, with sumptuous fabrics and Gothic-fonted German, immediately let me know I was in for a visual treat. Though from the title, fin-de-siècle Klimt references in a decadent Viennese setting were not what I was expecting.

The story and the art move effortlessly to a less expressionistic but no less sumptuously colorful Los Angeles in 1974 as the story follows sensationalist photographer Quincy Harker on his nighttime quest for the perfect picture that will pay his rent. But you’ve never seen a nighttime like this one. Full of hot cars, mysterious women, same old, same old, then Dracula appears. Rather than the suave, romantic soul of most media portrayals, this mofo is all eyes and teeth, wrapped in a swath of orange and red. His oil-lamp sized eyes dominate the page and the thrall is complete.

But it isn’t Dracula’s thrall I was under. Erica Henderson’s incredible linework and astonishing use of color at the start might have been described as fanciful and lovely, but her attention to detail and shocking use of color put her noir-styled work in this book in another category entirely. 

There was one panel in particular where you see the motion track of the car as a blaze of gold in a landscape of purple and red, with golden highlights expressing the twilight hour with a gentle subtlety that works so well in contrast to her bold color choices.

I would be remiss if I did not point out that the script, by Alex de Campi makes delightful use of the Brides of Dracula in this tale. Where in many cases they are an afterthought (or merely troublesome pests on the way to the big boss), the choice to center on them is refreshing and just as unusual as embracing the bestiality of Dracula. Taking the Los Angeles conjured by the film Nightcrawler and the Buffy spin-off series Angel as a scene for ‘70’s decadence and death is not a huge leap, particularly in light of such films as Once Upon a Time in Hollywood which play up the horror of the place and the time. As horrific as it is in all of these, L.A. has never looked so lovely, on or off the page.

Overall: Explosive colors and stunning artwork make this LA vampire noir a bite worth tasting. 9/10

GRAPHIC NOVEL REVIEW — Dracula, Motherf**cker

Dracula, Motherf**cker
Writer: Alex de Campi
Artist: Erica Henderson
Publisher: Image Comics
Price: $16.99
Vienna, 1889: Dracula’s brides nail him to the bottom of his coffin. Los Angeles, 1974: an aging starlet decides to raise the stakes. Crime scene photographer Quincy Harker is the only man who knows it happened, but will anyone believe him before he gets his own chalk outline? And are Dracula’s three brides there to help him...or use him as bait? A pulpy, pulse-pounding graphic novel of California psych-horror from acclaimed creators ALEX DE CAMPI and ERICA HENDERSON.
Release Date: October 14, 2020
Buy It Digitally: Dracula, Motherf**cker

Ariel Baska pretends to know many things. And yeah, she has a pop culture podcast, Ride the Omnibus. Which may or may not be exactly as pretentious as you think.