Vampire The Masquerade - Winter’s Teeth #4 is out Nov. 4, 2020. — **Vampire The Masquerade - Winter’s Teeth #4** is out Nov. 4, 2020.

By Gabe Gonzalez — Here we are back again with a new issue of one of my favorite books of 2020. In Vampire The Masquerade - Winter’s Teeth #4, the death of prominent royalty in the Twin Cities vampire community is immediately followed by clues of blood-soaked betrayal and fanged fraudulence in a neon-lit noir-styled installment.

Yes, this fourth issue takes advantage of the foundational world-building that has come before it, as well as the dynamic between its lead duo, crafting the start of an action-packed adventure set within a grimy world of deadly denizens and hierarchical politics of their vampiric regimes. We’re whisked away into the sisterly dynamic of the two main characters as they make their way around the vampire underground, interviewing and gathering clues to come up with the unsub of their Prince’s untimely demise. The creative team seems to have this entire series mapped out and mapped out well. Nothing feels out of place, and the use of the first three issues to build not only the relationship between Ali and Cecily but also a soiree of sinister intentions is utter brilliance, an obvious masterstroke of planning and character work. I truly thought that the book might just be a slow-burn all the way through with each subsequent installment, but the last few pages of this issue have shown me that things are about to be ramping up and going full-speed ahead with no signs of slowing down.

The writing team of the book consisting of Tini Howard, Blake Howard, and Tim Seeley really shines within this issue. The story presented seems to take a heavy dash of inspiration from neon-noir films with the leads serving as agents of investigation into the death of one of their own. The work and ideas the writing trio has been establishing in the past issues finally get to mesh with one another as Ali and Cecily work their way around the nightclubs and colorful characters of this viscera-spattered life these characters take on day-to-day. The use of Ali and Cecily’s bantering, giving the former more to do than being the naive young girl archetype in this existence of horrors, or even gathering more information on the latter and her dreams before she was bitten was well-done. Not only do we get to understand more of the inner-workings of the Twin Cities but we get more of a dynamic look into the characters that we’ve come to love and enjoy as they battle with issues of self-identity and trust.

The art within the story is, as always, nothing short of spectacular. The work by Nathan Gooden and Dev Pramanik of dark lines and realistic world-stylization in a society of mysticism and flowing crimson is consistently incredible. The blood magic imagery with the character of Primogen Wendt is unnerving and spine-chilling as it floats out his eyes and morphs itself into constructs. And, one of my favorite sequences was the short fight between Cecily and a vampire with the same powerset as hers, it was fast and fluid with an attitude of anger permeating every frame as they maintained a ferocity and power towards one another’s throats. The colors provided by Addison Duke amplify the linework to deific standards as the pops of color from character clothing, the trails of red from blood-splatter, or the inferno of a man’s head being set on fire all jump off the page when juxtaposed with the gothic backgrounds found throughout the series. Truly, a stellar job from everyone on the visuals.

Overall: Vampire: The Masquerade #4 is another great addition to the world that the creative team has established. It places characters into a new situation, leaving the audience to await the next issue with much anticipation. With much of the world-building established, it truly seems like this book is about to go bonkers and I, for one, cannot wait. 10/10

REVIEW: Vampire The Masquerade - Winter’s Teeth #4

Vampire The Masquerade: Winter's Teeth #4
Writers: Blake Howard, Tini Howard, Tim Seeley
Artists: Nathan Gooden, Devmalya Pramanik
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Andworld
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
A slaying in the highest levels of the local Camarilla has put Cecily Bain on the trail of a headlopping killer, that will lead her into ever dark corner of the Twin Cities. Will her new child, Ali help her navigate a world where every suspect has two faces, or will her innocent naivete get them both beheaded?
Release Date: November 4th, 2020
Buy It Digitally: Vampire The Masquerade - Winter’s Teeth #4