Broken Frontier

Place your bets, folks! The greatest hero and villain of the Middle Ages clash in this fantasy miniseries.

Wallachia, 1476: Vlad Tepes III, the infamous warlord known as the Impaler, awaits his end at the hands of the approaching Turkish army. Vlad has devoted his life to God but it has cost him everything he holds dear. Instead, he turns to another, darker benefactor—Lucifer. In exchange for great power and life everlasting, Vlad agrees to help the Morning Star destroy an individual who was an inspiration to the forces of light. The newly reborn Lord Dracula must kill King Arthur Pendragon.

The crossover is a convention well known to comics fans but it’s a slightly more rare occurrence when it involves literary characters. I’ve always been fascinated by this kind of crossover fiction, from The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen to the "Wold Newton Universe" websites that tie various adventure heroes into a single reality. I was thus quite interested by Silent Devil’s new miniseries Dracula vs. King Arthur, one of the more bizarre but outright fun comics I’ve read in a while.

The concept seems a little ludicrous on the surface but if you are a fan of both characters and can accept this good-natured melding of styles, this issue is a very enjoyable read. After a "split-screen" prologue that gets the readers up to speed on our two protagonists, the story delves into Dracula’s downfall and the sense of betrayal he feels towards God. When the scene shifts to the time of Camelot, the Beraneks do a fine job establishing the principal players and tying their tale into Arthur’s quest for the Holy Grail. All the key Arthurian elements are here. There’s a hint of tension in the Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot triangle, Merlin is raving prophecies, and Arthur’s half-sister Morgana le Fay is launching her latest scheme. Yet when Dracula is introduced to the mix, intriguing new wrinkles and variations begin to develop and alliances are forged. It should be interesting to see how the legend takes new shape in this creative team’s hands.

The one thing I question in this story is Lucifer’s exact motive for sending Dracula back to Camelot. It seems a rather large span of time to transcend simply because Arthur’s piety offends the Prince of Darkness. Will Arthur’s destruction be of specific gain for the Devil or is he just stirring up trouble for its own sake?

On the art, Chris Moreno uses a number of impressive techniques to blend the worlds of the lead characters. His solid illustrative style has a hint of the macabre that suits the story well. This is aided and enhanced by Jay Fotos’ murky colors. I enjoyed the elaborate borders that surround many of the panels, depicting weapons and chivalry on Arthur’s side and fire, skulls, and dragons for the Vampire Lord. Often, these intermingle and a cherub that looks upon Camelot happily will be seen shielding its eyes from Dracula’s depravities. I also enjoyed the designs for many of the characters. Especially fun are Merlin, a mad druid with a goatee and a cloak of raven’s feathers, and Lucifer, whose head is topped by a crown of horns and a wreathe of fire yet remains forever in shadow.

Strange as it may sound, Dracula vs. King Arthur looks to be an entertaining adventure tale and a great "what if" scenario for fans of fantasy literature.

-Eric Lindberg