Black Mass Rising - Theo Prasidis, Jodie Muir

Set one year after the death of Dracula, hope is returning to the lands of Transylvania, and a young peasant girl named Aurelia dares to dream of a better future, free from the yoke of the devil's hundred years of darkness.

But when a mysterious Healer drifts into town, seeking to cure land and people alike, a terrifying new evil stirs in the blasted lands, and it seems that the lord of the undead is not through yet...or could it be an even greater evil? A titanic and darkly fantastical reimagining / sequel of Bram Stoker's sanguine classic.

My Review: I rarely read comics or graphic novels but this caught my eye because of the topic. The illustrations were captivating very well done. They reminded me more of Castlevania than Bram Stoker's Dracula to be honest. When it comes to the story, I appreciated the use of traditional Romanian names and other Romanian words. As a Romanian native I like seeing words from my language used with the right meaning. Set in Transylvania, it's a fast-paced plot with a variety of characters, some of them from Bram Stoker's novel. It was a pleasant surprise to see the different take on these well-known characters. When reading anything related to vampires, I found the plots to be quite predictable, but this story doesn't fit that description. It kept me surprised from start to finish. However, one thing I found a bit odd was the way the story jumped all over the place. There were times when I had a tough time following it.

Overall, this is an entertaining horror graphic novel that I'd recommend to teens over 16 and adults. I'd love to see it adapted for the screen.

Publisher: ‎ TKO Studios; Collectors edition (March 15, 2022)

Language: ‎ English

Hardcover: ‎ 168 pages

ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1952203190

Review copy provided by Ingram @ Edelweiss+