In CULT OF DRACULA #3, available from Source Point Press on May 26th, 2021, the cult’s origin is revealed, Dracula’s origin is revealed, Van Helsing’s plan is revealed. Everything is revealed!
The Details
- Written By: Rich Davis
- Art By: Puis Calzada, Henry Martinez
- Colors By: Trevor Richardson
- Letters By: Dave Lentz
- Cover Art By: Gyula Nemeth (cover A)
- Cover Price: $3.99
- Release Date: May 26th, 2021
Was It Good?
Yes but for a different reason than the success of the previous two issues.
Up until now, the story has been very character and mystery-driven. Who are the players? What’s happening to them? What is the tragedy of Mina’s past? How were all the cult members killed?
In this issue, a lot of the mystery has been removed and we move into full grindhouse territory. It’s a subtle shift in storytelling that broadens the feel of the story and satisfies it by answering so many questions. It remains to be seen if the creators answered too many questions too soon in the arc, but answers feel good nonetheless.
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The art is gloomy, bloody, gory, and impactful in all the right ways for a grindhouse vampire story.
Check out the covers to see how much atmosphere piles on in our CULT OF DRACULA #3 preview.
Special spoiler warning to readers – children die in this issue and it ain’t pretty. This reviewer applauds the creators’ boldness, but some folks draw a line when it comes to children, so be forewarned.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a late-night car chase in 1945 Tennessee. The criminal rams through a police blockade, laughing all the way.
Cut to a cabin in the woods where a husband and wife sleep with their newborn child when police surround the cabin and open fire. The husband fights back and takes several of the police out with a knife, but the police throw dynamite into the cabin to end the standoff. Before the explosion, the wife says a Gaelic prayer to Mother Dracula who suddenly appears in the explosion to spirit the baby away as the parents die.
To be honest, this sequence was confusing, and this reviewer is still not quite sure what’s happening. Was the laughing driver the same man in the cabin? The cabin had a burning pit outside containing several bodies, but why is that there? Who is the baby? This whole prologue could have benefited from a few more hints about who these people are and what’s going on to connect it to the main story.
Cut to now and the detective is reviewing old case files before he conducts his next interview. In the files, we see faded photos of hunting groups that have captured and killed monsters. This may be a tie to the prologue to indicate the police closing in on the cabin were part of this same monster-hunting order. Maybe not. We’ll see.
Cut to before the cult massacre. Renfield is pleading at the feet of Mother Dracula for the gift of immortality. She tells him in no uncertain terms she will never love him and the gift of immortality is not for him. The refusal pushes Renfield closer to insanity.
Meanwhile, Quincy is tied up and strung up in Lucy’s room like a pig for slaughter. He’s still alive but completely powerless. The three sisters bite him and collect some blood in a bowl to feed Lucy, but she’s not interested in being spoon-fed. She wants to hunt. Renfield arrives and encourages her to go and find some prey.
Mina, after seeing her mother in the form of Mother Dracula outside her cabin window, follows the demon through the woods (Read our CULT OF DRACULA #2 review to see when Mina made that shocking observation). She comes to a clearing with Mother Dracula hovering above a pond filled with blood and dead bodies. It’s time for Mina to receive some education from her Mother.
Lucy stalks through the night on her first hunt like a rabid animal. She finds what she’s looking for in the cult’s nursery building. Lucy breaks through the door and feeds and feeds and feeds. Again, this reviewer appreciates the boldness of this scene but it’s definitely not for the squeamish.
A little later, Harker wakes up, called by the siren song of the sisters in the night. So far, this scene bears the closest resemblance to the source material but the conclusion is different enough to stand on its own. Van Helsing interrupts the midnight snack with a liberal splashing of Holy Water. He snaps Jonathan out of his trance and explains the reality of vampires and his role in bringing him and Mina to the cult.
Van Helsing explains that Mina is a daughter of Dracula and she was the key to infiltrating the cult, even though she wasn’t aware of the connection. Jonathan is furious with Van Helsing’s deception and quickly moves to get everyone out.
We then see a flashback to the time when Mina was a young girl and on the run after the events of the last issue. Her aunt kept her in hiding and on the move until she makes contact with a group that could put Mina in hiding and away from Dracula for good.
We conclude the issue with the detective starting his next interview with someone who is quite insane.
How Does It End?
Van Helsing bears a mark that looks similar to one worn by the monster hunters. Mother Dracula has had many names going back to the beginning of everything. Van Helsing set a very risky plan in motion.
Final Thoughts
CULT OF DRACULA #3, available from Source Point Press on May 26th, 2021, answers more questions, reveals more legacy and turns up the gore for a satisfying issue. Despite a confusing prologue, this is one of the best horror comics on the market right now.
Score: 8.5/10
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