Dracula: Book Two — The Brides

Having found himself relegated to Earth after falling out of favor with Satan, Dracula has now taken up root in his old homeland of Transylvania.  He lords over the gypsy folk in the old castle above their town while feeding on the unwary as necessary.  Yet the tedium of rule soon begins to gnaw at someone even as powerful as him, making him realize that it may be better if he didn’t have to suffer through this alone.  A scullery maid who yearns to read.  A daughter of a warlord who yearns to be free from his grasp.  A country girl who enchants all through her songs and stories.  These are the women that will be the first brides of Dracula, whether they want it or not!

Writer Matt Wagner and artist Kelly Jones’ first volume of their retelling of Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” from the point of view of the title character himself was great fun.  It showed how the character came into his supernatural power under the tutelage of Satan himself… AT HIS SCHOOL IN HELL!  Regrettably, there’s nothing as over-the-top or demented as that in this second volume.  While the seduction of three otherwise upstanding women to the darkness of Dracula’s embrace promised some lurid thrills, it never really amounts to much as they all ultimately succumb without too much protest.

What the creators do play up here is the sex and violence as we get plenty of naked and mostly naked women enjoying Dracula’s company here with an increasing amount of bloodshed.  Stabbings, beheadings, bitings-a-plenty – lots of bad things happen to people who don’t deserve it and Jones makes sure it’s served up as vividly as possible.  Especially in the volume’s climax where the villagers try to storm the castle, only for things to go as badly as you’d expect for them.  This is to say that “The Brides” does have its moments, even though it ultimately feels like a letdown compared to what came before.