[Editor’s note: This review may contain spoilers.]
Writer: Tim Seeley
Artist: Scott Godlewski
Reviewed By: Derek McNeil
Summary
The Emerson brothers, Michael and Sam, arrive at the Sea Caves to face the vampires that killed their grandfather and rescue the Frog Brothers. However, they find that a construction crew is blocking access to the caves.
Meanwhile, their mother, Laddie, and Nanook the dog are headed out of town. However, they are stopped by the police, who arrest their mom for travelling with a child who has been reported as missing.
Next, we see Star regaining consciousness in a cave, where she has been brought by Billy, the leader of the vampires. Billy tells her to feed on her blood, but she refuses. claiming to be unworthy. Billy affirms that she is worthy, indicating that she had only been pretending to be in love with Michael to infiltrate the humans.
Then Billy shows her where they are: the lost city of Xibalba, deep beneath the city of Santa Carla.
Back in Santa Carla, Michael and Sam attend a concert at the boardwalk, where the vampire hunter, the Believer is performing, hoping to enlist his aid. After the concert, they try to follow him but they are attacked by a vampire, but the Believer steps in to save them. As the brothers flee, the ground starts to rumble.
While below, Billy tells Star that the short tremor is merely a preview of what’s to come. The ancient city holds the sleeping bodies of ancient female vampires, which he calls their mothers, which he plans to wake before the ancient city is swallowed up in the coming earthquake.
Above, the believer kills the vampire he’s fighting and follows after the Emerson brothers, who are facing another pair of vampires. Sam manages to defeat the vampire he faces, but Michael is carried off by the other one.
Michael is taken to Xibalba, where Billy plans to use him as a sacrifice. He explains that waking the mothers requires blood from two beings. One has to be a vampire, and Michael has dormant vampire blood. The other needs to be a male virgin and that “these Frog brothers should do the trick.”
Positives
The character Niko, the Believer proves to be interesting. He seems to be quite the interesting take on a vampire hunter, different from the somewhat incompetent Frog brothers, or the members of the S.C.H.U. (killed off last issue). He seems to take the job very seriously and is very good at it.
Also, it was an amusing and effective idea that a vampire would regularly rub down his body with holy oils, essentially making his very skin toxic to vampires – in addition to looking sexy when he’s rocking the stage.
Also amusing is the Frog brothers’ reaction to Billy pointing out their virginal state, choosing to argue indignantly when they should be worried about their imminent demise.
Negatives
As I stated about the previous chapters, there is a presumption that the reader is familiar with the events of the movie, but it still is fairly easily to follow the plot anyways. It isn’t hard to find a plot summary online if necessary.
Verdict
This series is a fun ride and is turning out to be a worthy follow-up to the original movie.
