GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS: DRACULA’S DAUGHTER, from Zenescope Entertainment on April 27th, 2022, takes a trip through the many levels of Hell with Charlotte aka Dracula’s Daughter to free her father and rule Earth by his side.
The Details
- Written By: Pat Shand
- Art By: Allan Otero, Renato Rei, Julius Abrera, Alessandro Uezu,
- Colors By: Grostieta, Vinicius Andrade
- Letters By: Taylor Esposito, Rieanna Bates
- Cover Art By: Mike Krome (cover A)
- Cover Price: $8.99
- Release Date: April 27, 2022
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Was It Good?
GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS: DRACULA’S DAUGHTER is the perfect compendium to learn everything you’ve ever wanted to know about the titular character as she slashes and rips her way through the denizens of the Underworld in a bid to free her father’s soul. Will this annual get your blood pumping or does it get a little long in the tooth? Honestly, a little bit of both.
Pat Shand is one of Zenescope’s best writers, so it’s no surprise this tome would be well-executed and chock full of details you’ve always wanted to know about the titular vampire (and plenty you didn’t). Readers will see the circumstances of Charlotte’s birth and early years raised by an adoptive family. You’ll come to know the struggles she faced when her vampirism began to emerge and how her hunger for blood was only matched by her hunger to meet her true father. And, you’ll see how her ravenous desire for her father’s approval drove her to lay waste to countless denizens of Hell in order to be reunited with Dracula.
That’s a lot, and sometimes it feels like a lot. In fairness to Shand’s work, the pacing is consistent, there isn’t any fluff or pointless story points, and by the time you’re done, you’ll have an incredibly thorough understanding of Charlotte and her motivations. As a character-building piece, you’ll get all you’ll ever need to know bout this character in one shot.
That said, the key point that doesn’t sit right is the ease with which Charlotte tears through the greater demons of Hell towards her goal. The fights take effort but you never get a sense of genuine threat or that her quest may be impossible. The character never learns anything through the battles, either about her father or herself. It’s a massive tome of exposition wrapped in a lot of bloody action and cool visuals. It’s only at the end, after she succeeds in freeing Dracula, that Charlotte learns a new truth that changes her outlook on the world. So, there is a payoff but you have to wade through a lot of rote demon slaying to get there, and even then, the lesson she learns at the end of the journey is independent of the journey.
It may sound like the critique is talking in circles but it makes much more sense when you read it for yourself. Should you get it? Absolutely, yes, as this is one of the better quarterlies Zenescope has ever produced, but temper your expectations.
The art is excellent and a perfect complement to the story. There are too many artists in this book to single out any one aspect, but suffice to say that it looks great. The action is bloody good (pun intended), and the character designs are memorable, as are the settings for each city Charlotte visits.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at the covers, or Click Here to jump right to the story description with some spoilers.
What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a brief prologue montage showing how Charlotte aka Dracula’s Daughter wound up in the Underworld after a recent conflict with Liesel Van Helsing. The Underworld is currently leaderless and Charlotte roams freely to find her father, Dracula. She eventually finds him but she finds he can’t be freed from his bindings unless scattered shards of his soul are brought back together.
Charlotte embarks on a quest against three Princes of Hell, each in their cities of unique pain, to recover the three shards to restore her father’s soul. In the City of Glass, Charlotte faces memories of her past and early years. In the City of Flesh, Charlotte confronts the visage of her enemies. in the city of Blood, Charlotte must face the source of all vampires.
We conclude the issue with a betrayal before a betrayal, an unpleasant truth about family, and acceptance of the reality of monsters.
Keep scrolling for a closer look at preview images of the internal pages, or Click Here to jump right to the score.
Final Thoughts
GRIMM UNIVERSE PRESENTS: DRACULA’S DAUGHTER is an exceptionally thorough character piece to tell you everything you’ve ever wanted to know about Zenescope’s most notorious vampire princess. The action is exciting, Charlotte’s history is well-developed, and the final moments set Charlotte on possibly a new course for her (undead) life. That said, this might be a rare case where too much story becomes slightly overwhelming.
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