Universal Monsters: Dracula #2 is a dark look at Dracula takes his victim and the introduction of the person who could stop him! The narrative of the first issue was told in the perspective of Renfield, his sanity lost in the florescent glow. This is the adaptation of the classic horror film directed by Tod Browning. Dr. Seward and John Harker are interested in the case. Mina and Lucy talks about the deaths at the ship that took Renfield to England.
Lucy sees next door in Carfax Abbey, Dracula! The regular cover by interior artist, Martin Simmonds, has a Dracula with his hands on Renfield with his pale, glowing face in straitjacket, bat wings behind him, and a closeup of the bleeding eyes! The second issue by James Tynion IV and Simmonds has Lucy and Mina walking from a party. Mina recalls from the meeting that the count that they met was from Transylvania. John sees that Dr. Seward is shocked and he explains that Renfield’s ship left Transylvania. This scene was at the opera balcony seats.
We see the reddish image of Castle Dracula. Mina and Lucy head to a carriage while John tries to have Dr. Seward get a drink with him. We see a closeup of Dr. Seward’s eyes and then the blur of color of Dracula around a drab crowd. The face of Dracula has a reddish mask with a background bathed in blood! This fills up a panel and then Dracula is gone. Dr. Seward agrees to the drink.
The image of the two walking in the night is a mix of oranges and black! Then, a panel whe they are seen clearly before closeups of a wolf’s red eys and fangs! This unfolds to a two page painted spread of Dracula, glowing red eyes, holding Lucy leaning back in a white dress. Next, there is the frozen jaws of tiger stuffed as a carpet in a private club. At the fireplace, an elderly man in glasses says what killed the men in the ship was a “vampyr”!
Dr. Seward and John watch the man talk, the doctor scoffs at him, but John says he is a doctor. The older doctor walks over to him and introduces himself as Professor Abraham Van Helsing. The professor is interested in seeing Renfield, but Dr. Seward says he is too fragile. Van Helsing leaves them with a warning. At Lucy’s room, she is impressed at the count’s voice, and also that Castle Dracula is out of a fairy tale. Mina leaves her.
We get a page divided by images of Lucy combing her hair, saying Dracula’s name, and eyes smoldering red. Hands reach out for Lucy, her eyes red, and Dracula’s hand reaches out for her! Renfield is crawling on the floor of the sanitarium. He feels weak from Dr. Seward whom he think is “stealing” his essence. He feels that he is giving the gift to “her” and starts to scream! At Lucy’s home, she opens the curtains and then there is a splatter of red that creeps up the page.
Dracula stands outside. A closeup of his red eyes. Lucy dances back to her bed with red dripping down the page. There is a panel of Dracula’s face, and then swarms of bats! A bat flies to Lucy’s window. Then, red flaring eyes and fangs, it approaches Lucy! The bloody and ark images are brilliant, artistically rendering the visuals of Karl Freund. Dracula, red eyes, has one claw on Lucy’s shoulder as her bed is stained with blood. There is a blood streaming from Lucy’s neck and then a closeup of Dracula’s fangs! The embrace of Lucy is violent and artistic here.
Renfield is seen in closeup and slowly gets smaller and smaller. He pleads that he wants to taste power and than he is only human, but wants more. In the morning, Mina checks on her father, Dr. Seward. He says he had fallen asleep and then talks about the man who upset him. We get closer and closer to Dr. Seward’s face, feeling that the world around him is becoming insane. I like the thoughts and doubts of Dr. Seward. Mina goes to check on Lucy and then her scream is heard! There is sketchbook pages of Simmond’s layouts for the issue. Tynion IV and Simmonds explore more character and the violence that was in the scenes of the 1931 classic!
Five Blood Samples out of Five!
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