Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Baltimore: The Curse Bells #2

Written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
Art by Ben Stenbeck

When in the mood for melancholic, uber-gothic vampire comics, you can't go wrong with Baltimore.  In this issue, we are really treated by artist Ben Stenbeck to a number of fantastic visuals, as Lord Baltimore investigates a convent that had been taken over by his enemy, Haigus, although that's not the case anymore.

There are great scenes of Baltimore infiltrating the convent as the nuns stand sentry on the roof.  There's an even better scene, where Baltimore and his new companion, the journalist Hodge, attempt to consecrate their weapons at a church, only to learn that it has been taken over by another entity.  I also loved the shout-out to Madame Blavatsky.

In a lot of ways, I find that I prefer Stenbeck's brand of creepiness to Mignola's.  They are similar artists, but having seen Mignola work on much the same stock of images for so many years, Stenbeck's approach feels fresher and more interesting.

Despite having collected comics my whole life, I've never started collecting original artwork, and have only rarely felt the need to.  That said, I would love to own the last page of this comic.

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