Dark Horse Penguin Picks: September 2025
Above-the-Board Recommendation:
Dracula, Book Two: The Brides
I didn’t think the world needed another take on the “Dracula” mythos, even coming from a team as storied as writer Matt Wagner and artist Kelley Jones. That first volume managed to surprise me as it gave us a portrait of the Impaler in his pre-vampiric days as he struggled for more power and found it at SATAN’S SCHOOL FOR THE DAMNED! It was good stuff, and I enjoyed it even more than the latest entry in Wagner’s “Grendel” saga, which I picked up around the same time. Now we’re moving on to Dracula’s life as a vampire and the creators are here to tell us the story of how he got his mysterious brides from the novel. If the story behind it is as clever and trashy as what we got in the first volume, then the explanation should make for a great read.
Red Book #1 (of 4): Writer James Tynion IV and artist Michael Avon Oeming are moving on from their previous “Blue Book” series about alien abductions in America, to the world stage. This first issue takes us back to Russia circa 1961 and the Dyatlov Pass Incident that left nine students dead and many theorizing that their deaths were tied to forces outside of this planet. I passed on the first two volumes of “Blue Book” because $25 was too high a price for a five-issue miniseries written by Tynion. However, it’s become clear that $5 comics are now the new standard over at Dark Horse and that doesn’t make me any more inclined to start reading this series now.
Synthetics, Part One #1 (of 4): New from writer J. Michael Straczynski and artist Tony Parker is this miniseries that looks to be borrowing a lot from “Blade Runner” with this story about androids that may be more human than humans themselves. There’s not a lot to go on here from the solicitation text, so your interest in this will likely be down to whether Straczynski’s name is a big enough draw for you. Or maybe you’re like me and you see that “Part One” in the title and think that it may be better to wait and see how the whole story wraps up before you decide to invest your money in it (and if Dark Horse ever puts the entire series in a single volume).
Captain Henry & the Graveyard of Time #1 (of 4): Writer/artist Bruce Zick joins the Mignolaverse and that probably means something to someone somewhere. Captain Henry is a new entry to this fictional universe with a gimmick we haven’t seen before: He’s a time traveler! Except he’s come to a new dimension where the monsters may be less of a threat than time itself? Uh… okay. There was a time when I wouldn’t question such weird (or confused-sounding) premise from the Mignolaverse, but that was before they started charging $25 for hardcover editions of four-issue miniseries. These days, I think I can safely pass on this and not feel like I’m missing anything.
The Guy in the Chair #1 (of 4): Abhi has a problem. He provides tactical support for a private military company, which means that he helps badass operative Merlin do whatever she needs to in order to get the job done. In doing so, Abhi has also fallen in love with this woman he’s only ever seen through a computer screen and heard over a headset. So when she shows up at his apartment one night, bloody and begging for help to take down their employers the title character is only too happy to agree. There was a time when the kind of attraction Abhi displays here would be the quirky setup for a romantic action/drama. These days, that kind of one-sided affection comes off as more creepy than anything else. So I’m really curious to see if co-writers Hannah Rose May and Utkarsh Ambudkar, along with artist Guillermo Sanna, are going to interrogate that dynamic within this miniseries.
Kill All Immortals II #1 (of 5): The miniseries about a group of immortal vikings who went on to become billionaire power brokers in the modern day, only for their daughter Freya to rise up against them comes back for a second round. Apparently Freya’s revolt was successful in the first volume (SPOILERS!), but now she and the surviving members of her family are going to have to face off against an old foe with a score to settle. The first volume of this miniseries has been ordered, so I’ll have some thoughts on it eventually. Right now, I can say that having “No One Left to Fight’s” Fico Ossio as the illustrator was a bigger draw for me than Zack Kaplan writing it.
Minor Threats: The Last Devil Left Alive #1 (of 5): Co-writers Patton Oswalt and Jordan Blum, and illustrator Scott Hepburn’s pastiche of superhero characters and crime action returns for its third miniseries. I, at least, am hoping that it winds up being less predictable than vol. 2’s story of Playtime’s takeover of Twilight City, and subsequent fumbling of its control to forces within and without. It’s been three years since then and she’s finally returned to uncover a secret that threatens to destroy the city. I want to be optimistic about this since the first volume was so good, and even if this volume whiffs it, we’ve at least got spinoffs from other creatives to look forward to in the immediate future.
Frankenstein: New World vol. 2 – The Sea of Forever HC & B.P.R.D.: Shadow of the Golden Crane HC: Two more Mignolaverse collections collecting four-issue miniseries in hardcover for $25 each. I’m sure someone out there continues to read these in this format for that price point. Just not me.
Rat God HC: The latest in Dark Horse’s library of comics from the late, great Richard Corben. That should be enough for most people to decide if they want this in their collection. If you need to know more, this is a Lovecraft and Native American-inspired story that sees a city slicker trying to uncover the past of a mysterious woman only to encounter a special breed of backwoods horror waiting for him. This collects the original five-issue miniseries, along with an adaptation of Lovecraft’s “The Rats in the Walls” in both color and black-and-white versions.
Critical Role: Vox Machina – Origins vol. 4: I’ve been waiting for this for a while. So long that while I can remember that vol. 3 ended on a cliffhanger, I can’t remember the exact nature of it. Which means that a re-read is definitely in order before I pick this up. Also, if you’ve got more money than sense, a deluxe hardcover edition of this volume is also being solicited here for $70.
The Great British Bump-Off: Kill or Be Quilt: The first miniseries, about baking show contestant Shauna Wickle’s efforts to solve an (attempted) murder, was as delightful as you’d expect from the team that gave us “Giant Days,” writer John Allison and artist Max Sarin. Now Shauna is out to determine how the arson of her current place of employment is connected to the world of quilting. Which is described as brutal, vindictive, and made up of monsters inside human skin. Sounds charming, and like a perfect setup for this latest installment in Shauna’s adventures.
Usagi Yojimbo vol. 41: Ten Thousand Plums: There is a valley filled with the titular objects that are famed for their taste and medicinal properties, and are also a favorite of the shogun. So when a series of murders threatens to upend production there, the shogun sends his foremost samurai strongman to sort things out. Which he plans to do by dealing with the two long-eared ronin, and scruffy, hornless bounty hunter he encounters there. It’s anybody’s guess how many people will wind up dead before this is all sorted out, but I’ll be sure to let everyone know once I get this volume in my hands.