RISE OF DRACULA #5, from Source Point Press on April 26th, 2022, paints a terrifying picture of life after Dracula’s army takes over the federal government and several states in a bid to establish a new world order.
The Details
- Written By: Rich Davis
- Art By: Puis Calzada
- Colors By: Alex Zief
- Letters By: Dave Lentz
- Cover Art By: Keyla Valerio (cover A)
- Cover Price: $1.99
- Release Date: April 26, 2022
Was It Good?
RISE OF DRACULA #5 does several things right to justify its own existence and set it apart from just about any vampire comic you’ll find on the market today. Davis and crew paint a picture of a very different kind of new normal where citizens of the world are slowly, methodically entranced, bullied, or outright murdered to indoctrinate a new generation of humans to become unwitting and obedient servants. Those who comply are rewarded with praise. Those who do not become cattle.
The next generation is spoonfed totalitarian madness under a sickly sweet candy coating of patriotism, socialism, and duty. But for a few buzzwords and tricks of language, Davis does a remarkable job of making the education facilities seem innocent until you realize the evil under the propaganda. There’s even a moment where the teacher makes an “anti-vaxxer” comment that can be taken from multiple angles, and it’s that moment where Davis deftly shows how to present a hot button issue while still leaving enough room for interpretation.
The second act takes us back to a character from the first arc, Isaiah, who struggles with his assigned place in the new order. Davis, again, plays with your emotions by making it seem as if Isaiah is simply tired of a hard labor life and pines for a better future to then turn the scene around to show that Isiah is living in a waking nightmare.
The key among all the scenes is how well Davis plays with the readers’ sensibilities by presenting extreme contrasts. Each scene plays out as a mundane scenario where something is slightly off. As the scenes progress, the horror becomes more evident, and then the readers get hit with a shocking moment to show you the evil is much worse than you imagined. Davis is proving to be a master of building tension that pays off with a gut punch, and it makes this arc unique among horror comics right now.
Calzada’s art has been consistently good throughout this series, and it gets cleaner and more refined with every issue. This is an acting story, and if the characters don’t project the right emotion for each scene, it doesn’t hit as hard, so Calzada is due tons of credit for pulling off gripping emotion.
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What’s It About?
[SPOILERS AHEAD – Click here if you just want the score without spoilers]
We begin with a scene in a (red)education school. The teachers and faculty push songs of patriotism, show videos about doing your part and extol the virtues of being a good citizen. The youngsters ask questions that are answered honestly but vaguely. We soon learn the devil’s in the details.
Cut to Isaiah washing up during a hard night’s labor. His grandmother walks by to provide some comfort as he lets her know he’s thinking of running. He could try and find a new life out West in the free states with his daughter. His grandmother gives him food for thought, and he agrees to sleep on it as they walk arm-in-arm to the blood farming facility.
Elsewhere, vampire raids sweep across Resistance camps while Lady Ruthven and Camill keep a close eye on the situation. They recognize the army has gone too far, and they offer intel to the Resistance leaders in an effort to reign in the vampire excesses.
We conclude the issue with Dr. Frankenstein making a key discovery and party vamps questioning the meaning of life.
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Final Thoughts
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RISE OF DRACULA #5 is the latest issue in a series that hides evil in plain sight and forces you to watch it unfold when your instincts tell you to look away. In truth, this issue touches on hot button topics of the day, but the creators smartly place those topics in morally broken situations such that the characters appear to take a side but you may not be on the same side of those characters for any reason. This is clever writing and horrifying art (in a good way) that sticks with you.
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