KING DRACULA #2 – New Comic Review

King Dracula #2, by Zenescope on 1/7/26, is a flashy power fantasy where the protagonist swaggers back into the arena, but execution stumbles over style as the story prioritizes shock moments over genuine stakes.

Credits:

• Writer: David Wohl
• Artist: Massimiliano La Manno
• Colorist: Jorge Cortes
• Letterer: Taylor Esposito
• Cover Artist: Igor Vitorino (cover A)
• Publisher: Zenescope Entertainment
• Release Date: January 7, 2026
• Comic Rating: Teen+
• Cover Price: $4.99
• Page Count: 28
• Format: Single Issue

Covers:

Analysis of KING DRACULA #2:

First Impressions:

The opening pages snap with energy as Dracula bests a Vampire Lord’s scout in a nightclub, establishing dominance with confident banter before brutal takedowns. It’s dramatic and it moves, but the visual presentation feels flat; the art doesn’t earn the swagger the dialogue is selling. The setup promises escalating tension, yet the initial impact lands more like a shrug than a hook.

Recap:

King Dracula #1 established a dethroned vampire king hiding in New York’s underbelly, desperate to reclaim his throne from the Vampire Lords now running the show. A failed loyalty ceremony and Lucy Westenra’s betrayal pushed Dracula toward isolation as he fought through hired mercenaries in a spiral of loss and pyrrhic victories. The issue concluded with Dracula declaring his identity in defiance and vowing retribution, but the absence of backgrounds and dramatic lighting dulled the narrative impact throughout.

Plot Analysis:

Dracula surfaces from the sewers reinvigorated, immediately establishing dominance by confronting Victor, a Vampire Lord scout, in Brighton Beach. After extracting information about the Vampire Lords’ location and their need for his blood in an upcoming ceremony, Dracula spares Victor to deliver a message: the king is coming. Meanwhile, at Selene’s Manhattan estate, the Vampire Lords discuss their plan to raise a mythological entity they call the Red God, requiring Dracula’s blood for a ritual at The Cloisters.

Dracula then seeks out his estranged daughter Charlotte in Prospect Park, hoping to enlist her aid. She arrives bitter and resentful, recounting a lifetime spent seeking his approval and sacrifices she made to save him, all of which he ignored or rejected. The confrontation is tense but emotionally hollow; Charlotte refuses his request for help, leaving Dracula isolated once again despite his attempts at reconciliation.

The comic escalates when Dracula infiltrates The Cloisters chapel, where Selene has been orchestrating the ritual. A brief exchange reveals that Selene doubted the Dracula’s capture but now finds herself face-to-face with him. What begins as a standoff becomes chaos when Lord Kane and his forces arrive to seize Dracula, leading to a brutal combat sequence where Dracula transforms into mist to escape, battles Kane directly, and ultimately defeats him. In the final twist, Selene reveals her alliance to Dracula rather than the Vampire Lords, pledging her loyalty to the now-victorious king.

Story

The pacing is brisk, sometimes to a fault. Scenes shift rapidly without breathing room, moving from Brighton Beach to Manhattan to Prospect Park to The Cloisters in quick succession. The dialogue reads naturally in moments of confrontation but relies heavily on exposition and threats without much subtlety. The Victor encounter works because it’s straightforward intimidation, but the Charlotte scene drags because her resentment feels like a checklist of grievances rather than a genuine emotional exchange. The structure is serviceable but predictable: Dracula dominates, faces a setback, overcomes it. The twist with Selene’s betrayal of the Lords is telegraphed too obviously to land as a shock; her hesitation and Dracula’s confidence signal the outcome panels in advance.

Art

The artwork is inconsistent in execution. Action sequences are rendered clearly with dynamic compositions that convey movement and impact, particularly the Dracula versus Kane fight, where panels flow logically and spatially. However, quieter moments suffer from weak framing; the Dracula-Charlotte conversation lacks visual tension despite the emotional weight it should carry. Colors are muted throughout, with Jorge Cortes leaning into grays and dark blues that flatten rather than deepen the atmosphere. The Cloisters chapel scenes should crackle with ritualistic menace, but the color palette is dull. Several panels lack backgrounds or detail, breaking visual coherence, much like the first issue. While the action art pulls its weight, the emotional and environmental storytelling feel undernourished.

Characters

Dracula remains a confident tyrant seeking reinstatement, but the comic doesn’t deepen his character beyond that impulse. His attempt to reconcile with Charlotte reveals vulnerability, yet the scene glosses over genuine stakes; he asks for help, she refuses, and he accepts it without much struggle.

Charlotte is the most developed character here, given agency and a clear emotional through-line of abandonment and resentment, but she’s underutilized. Her final refusal to help Dracula feels like the most interesting moment in the issue, yet it’s resolved in pages. Selene oscillates between loyalty and ambition, and her final betrayal of the Vampire Lords lacks consistent motivation; the story never establishes why she would pivot to Dracula’s side, making her alliance feel convenient rather than earned. The supporting cast, from Kane to the Vampire Lords, are functional antagonists without depth or distinction.

Originality & Concept Execution

The core premise of a dethroned king reclaiming his throne is solid, but King Dracula #2 doesn’t push the concept forward meaningfully. The ritualistic plot involving a “Red God” hints at larger stakes, but it’s introduced without context or urgency. The series premise from the cover promises that Dracula will rely on an unlikely ally who despises him, his daughter, yet Charlotte’s rejection of him goes unexplored; there’s no development toward alliance or redemption, just a cold brush-off. The comic’s execution of its setup feels half-realized. The Vampire Lords’ ceremony and the mythology around the Red God could be intriguing, but the issue treats them as backdrop noise to Dracula’s dominance display. For a story marketed as a power fantasy, King Dracula #2 delivers what it promises, but promises very little.

Positives

The best asset here is the action choreography. The Dracula versus Kane sequence is cleanly rendered with panels that guide the eye and convey brutal exchanges without confusion. Dracula’s dominance is earned visually in these moments; his transformation into mist, his physical superiority, and his final takedown of Kane feel impactful because the art steps up.

The dialogue during confrontations, particularly with Victor and Kane, crackles with confidence and threat, selling Dracula’s swagger. The decision to introduce Charlotte and the hint of a larger mythological plot involving the Red God suggests the series has ambition beyond simple revenge. Additionally, Selene’s surprise arrival and final betrayal offers a potential narrative pivot that could complicate Dracula’s position in the next issue.

Negatives

The emotional core falls flat. The confrontation between Dracula and Charlotte should be the issue’s anchor, but it’s rushed and superficial. Her detailed recounting of his neglect deserves genuine reckoning, yet Dracula’s response is a brief “I need your help” followed by her refusal. There’s no attempt at deeper connection or stakes that would make her refusal sting.

The art’s inconsistency undermines mood; quiet scenes lack visual dynamism, and the overall color palette is dull, failing to evoke the dark atmosphere the story needs. The Vampire Lords remain faceless antagonists, making their threat feel abstract rather than visceral. Selene’s loyalty shift is poorly motivated; nothing in her prior actions suggests why she would betray the organization she’s been serving, making the twist feel arbitrary. The series’ central promise, that Dracula will work with his estranged daughter, is abandoned after one brief scene. Finally, the “Red God” plot is introduced without sufficient context to generate intrigue or urgency.

Art Samples:

The Scorecard:

Writing Quality (Clarity & Pacing): [2.5/4]
Art Quality (Execution & Synergy): [2.5/4]
Value (Originality & Entertainment): [0.5/2]

Final Thoughts:

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KING DRACULA #2  is a comic that knows what it wants to be but hasn’t figured out how to be it convincingly. The action sequences deliver, and Dracula’s confidence is occasionally entertaining, but the emotional beats that should anchor the story are glossed over, the visuals feel detached from the narrative’s tone, and the supporting cast exists primarily as obstacles rather than characters. Issue three will determine if the series course-corrects or continues spinning its wheels. Until then, this one’s a pass.

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