Although full of potential, this series has mostly been a non-starter to this point.  It features one of history’s and literature’s greatest criminals against a character that was created for Dynamite just over a year ago.  While the pedigree of the characters is far off, the powers are not and so this series might have seemed like a solid idea heading in.  Immediately though there was a huge discrepancy in the portrayal of the characters, as Dracula essentially did as he wished and as Elizabeth, the blood queen, struggled to compete with him at her every deceptive turn.  Her previous ploys were met with easily by the dark lord and this entire series might have seemed almost pointless at some points, using a high profile character to raise the awareness of another lesser known one.

Throughout the series the focus has been mostly on Elizabeth.  As a player trying to establish herself in mid-Medieval times in Eastern Europe, she planned to remove Dracula from those that she had to deal with, as an early alliance turned into betrayal.  Although this could be a fairly generic fantasy setting it was given a bit of extra grounding in reality with the incorporation of the marching Ottoman army, eager to make up ground lost to the prince of darkness.  The three destined to a final battle and this final issue has it.

This series being from an independent publisher, it doesn’t really have the chance to catch up in later issues as if it didn’t catch readers in the first issue then it was likely going to be ignored.  In this case it is too bad as this final issue represents the best of the series.  Dracula and the Blood Queen finally square off against each other, and while she proved unable to deal with him on a tactical level through subterfuge, the two are at least relatively well matched in personal battle.  So too does the dialogue finally meet somewhat what is expected from this series, as the two strong characters finally converse on equal terms.  As the Ottomans finally arrive the ending to the series might seem a bit too obvious, which is a minor letdown, but overall this was the best issue of the series.

Story: Troy Brownfield  Art: Kewber Baal  
Story: 7.9 Art: 7.9 Overall: 7.9 Recommendation: Read

Dynamite Provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review.   

From its very beginning this did not seem like a fair fight.  On the one hand is a relatively new character introduced into a fantasy realm, and on the other hand one of history’s and literature’s most fearsome villains.  Though various versions of the character of Dracula exist, from the mostly historical version to embellished versions of him in unconventional genres, be that in X-Men comics or fighting Billy the Kid in 1960s B-movies.  He is an easy character to cheer against, as he is the embodiment of pure evil.  The problem with this series has not been his evil, but that of Elizabeth the Blood Queen.  Even against the evil of Dracula she is not really a sympathetic character, with her own designs for conquest and power, in this case going directly through the famous famous vampire.

This third issue picks up in the wake of the failed assassination attempt by Elizabeth’s men against Dracula.  While there are a few potential directions in which this could have gone, the one taken here is novel enough, as Elizabeth is faced with a sequence of her own entourage, who are either acting as undead messengers for their new lord, or straight out trying to kill Elizabeth themselves.  Some of these encounters end quickly and others are drawn out.  As Elizabeth deals them a true death oen after the other, it sets the stage for her showdown with Dracula himself, carefully hovering in the shadows until he is ready to strike.

While the approach is interesting enough, there is also not as much to keep the reader interested.  This ends up being simply a sequence of one on one melees, most of which end quickly and in relatively similar ways.  Of course, this issues sets up the series for what is undoubtedly the sole concrete concept in the entire series, and that is to face off the two eponymous characters against each other.  In that, this issue succeeds in thrusting them together, but equally it leaves the impression that this alone is not sufficient enough to base a short series around.  Perhaps there are greater plans for the series which involve the occasionally-seen Ottomans, but after this issue the series seems to be more forgettable than it had been previously.

Story: Troy Brownfield  Art: Kewber Baal  
Story: 7.2 Art: 7.2 Overall: 7.2 Recommendation: Pass

Dynamite Provided Graphic Policy with a free copy for review.