REVIEW: Vampire The Masquerade - Winter's Teeth #2
Vampire The Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth #2 is out September 9, 2020.
By Gabe Gonzalez — A dark, gothic terror spread throughout 29 pages, this book is tailor-made for me and this issue continues to establish this series as one of the best of 2020. I didn’t know how much I would love a comic based off of a pre-established property that I really had no knowledge of, but this has proven to be well-worth my attention. The creative team has crafted something incredibly special, which seems poised to just keep getting better. The idea of mixing familial dynamics of trust and sisterhood with a story of gothic backgrounds and a boatload of lore is fantastic. It’s also exciting to ponder the many directions this story could go and how exactly the personalities of Cecily and Ali fit into the larger world of Vampire The Masquerade.
Continuing to use a more feminine perspective, this story focuses on the character of Prince Samantha, a royal idol set within a world of bloodlust. Her character seems completely unorthodox compared to vampire royalty as typically depicted by other media. She is a painter who uses paints from the past and speaks in a soft pattern with undertones of seething anger, telling her fanged fledglings to take the world by the throat and bite down as hard as possible, no mercy. She’s probably going to be my favorite character, when this is all done. This issue also speaks to the morality of being a vampire in relation to the victims they exsanguinate, asking is it worth trying to make a careful choice? Or is it all just futile in the end? I thought that was an interesting take on the genre, especially using Ali as the focal point for these questions.
In this second issue, the writing remains absolutely incredible, using pre-established mythology and crafting something new and intriguing that can separate itself from the overall vampire genre. This is a tough thing to execute, but Blake Howard, Tini Howard, and Tim Seeley make it seem effortless. The ideas that come from their words splashed onto the page are clear as they take on a world of blood-suckers, humanizing them into something more, something to root for as they fight the things that haunt them, be it in their own heads or physically in front of them. The characters voices are also interesting. You can practically hear each of them: Cecily is a stoic badass with every emotion brewing in her head at the same time and Ali is a young woman who doesn’t understand the world she’s a part of, but she’s trying her best even if she can’t completely control herself. The dynamics between the two main characters is fascinating and so well done.
The artwork is also worthy of praise. The amount of work put into each panel is jaw-dropping and amazing. The world is dark and gothic, but that doesn’t mean there aren’t flourishes of color everywhere, be it the clothing that the various characters wear, the streaks of blood that erupt from the veins of a vampire’s victim, or even the red/orange-tinged visualization of a hungered and murderous rage. It’s all amazing and really well-done. I can’t wait to see what the future holds for this book.
Overall: Vampire The Masquerade - Winter’s Teeth #2 is another excellent issue, sure to please fans of vampire fiction and gothic horror stories. What’s especially impressive is how easily the book delivers a pair of fantastic characters that the audience can root for, all with spectacular visuals to match. 10/10
Vampire The Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth #2
Vampire The Masquearde - Winter's Teeth #2
Writers: Blake Howard, Tini Howard, Tim Seeley
Artists: Nathan Gooden, Devmalya Pramanik
Colorist: Addison Duke
Letterer: Andworld Design
Publisher: Vault Comics
Price: $3.99
Cecily Bain takes fledgling vampire Ali on a twisted tour of the night life of the Twin Cities. But those lessons can't prepare her for the assignment she has to complete by dawn: her first feeding!
Release Date: September 9th, 2020
Buy It Digitally: Vampire - The Masquerade #2
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Gabe Gonzalez
