As a non-native English speaker, whenever I see an accurate representation of Romanian language & culture in a printed material for native English speakers, I am over the moon! This was the case with the graphic novel “Black Mass Rising”, by Theo Prasidis. The action is set in Transylvania, 1 year after the death of Dracula. Just as life is starting to get back to normal, “Zmeu” starts wreaking havoc in the region, but is met with resistance from 3 heroes.

The graphic is so well done, that if I wasn’t reading an electronic copy, I would have vouched that the images are painted directly on paper! Besides the appropriate cultural representation, there are also themes such as dark, faith, and horror. The only reason I didn’t give it a full 5-stars was the sudden ending of the novel. After all the tension built surrounding the characters, I was expecting a bit more. Good thin there’s always a volume 2, 3... where endings can be improved.

Special thanks to NetGalley, TKO Presents, TKO Studios, and the editorial team for giving me the opportunity to review the ARC and to you, my reader, for taking the time to read this honest personal book review.

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Black Mass Rising has a very interesting premise revolving around the after effects of Dracula's death, yet feels very similar to other stories recently published about vampires. There are several stories out recently that give off similar plot and storyline (though there are a few twists in this that are original), so I wasn't completely wowed by Black Mass Rising. Despite that, the animations are clean and very pretty. If you are looking for another vampire fix, this might be a great addition for you!

Quite cinematographic has great panel design, and the flow of a professional graphic novel overall. Amazing art, awesome story flow, and tension. Teenager Aurelia follows a healer after the brutal murder of her little brother by a demon that changes the child. Seeking an answer to what's ahead she travels with the healer to only find more aggravating signs of the cursed ones.
Awesome end to each chapter and fun repurpose of well-known characters. I liked the drama and the power of choice at the end.

3.75 ish stars

The artwork phenomenon, like it, was beautiful, and I just loved it.
It didn't flow perfectly with the story as it confused my perspective a little while reading.
I always hate Dracula and Mina storylines, and sadly, it did colour my enjoyment.

The artwork is impressive and memorable, fitting perfectly to the story. 3.5 stars rounded up.

I have been a fan of vampire stories ever since I can remember, and there's nothing more classic than the tale of Dracula. This sequel to that tale is intriguing, set in a religious heavy post-Dracula Transylvania.

As someone who has dealt with religious trauma from a Christian upbringing, this was certainly an interesting read to see the wickedness of God and his creation of Satan aligning with the creation of Dracula. A common theme throughout is "What sort of God would allow such darkness to prevail?" which is a question I myself would often ask as a child.

The ending was a bit rushed, but satisfying in the symbolism. Overall, I felt this was a worthwhile read.

Black Mass Rising is an interesting take on Dracula lore. This comic is loosely inspired by the original Dracula novel, following events after Dracula's death and based in Transylvania. A mysterious Healer finds himself with a young traveling companion, Aurelia, after her brother is killed by a demon and returns from the dead. They set out to discover what exactly is going on and run into Wilhelmina, a demon hunter.

The story is illustrated nicely, but the art doesn't feel as fluid as it should. I had a hard time distinguishing movement and telling the difference between characters. The story itself was very difficult to follow. And I felt confused a majority of the time reading it. I'm a long time comic reader, but this book felt jerky and too fast, as if all the events happen over a matter of a couple of hours at most with no respite. There is a lot of dialogue and what little action is shown goes by in a flash.

Plot-wise, I liked the spin on Mina and Dracula's romance, and I didn't see the twist until it happened -- so I will definitely give credit there. I enjoyed the few interactions between Wilhelmina and Aurelia, and I think they're very interesting characters.

Overall, an interesting and different take on Dracula but not for me. 2.5 stars.

Thanks to Netgalley and TKO Studios for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.

2.5/5, rounded to 3

I really loved the art. It's so beautifully gothic, almost ethereal--the character design, too, is wonderful. If the art had not been as stunning as it had been, I do not think I would have liked this graphic novel all that much. It really carried my experience.

I normally have an issue with the pacing of graphic novels--they either try to do too much or go too quickly, but the pacing here was something I really liked. It did just enough and didn't try to do too much. The interpretation of the vampire myth was interesting, and I did not see the twists coming at all.

The story was not to my taste. It bills itself as a sequel/reimaging of Dracula. Reimagining I agree--sequel I do not. It followed very little of the original Dracula story, merely taking the names of some of the characters and using them. I do not necessarily have an issue with that, but I do when something claims to be a sequel. It most certainly is not. "Reimagining" is a more accurate term, and even then, only barely--perhaps more elements of Dracula's original plot and characters will come in in later installments (which I do not particularly plan to read) but as-is the only thing this graphic novel takes from Dracula is the names. (And the love plotline from the movie.)

I also really hate the storyline of Mina and Dracula being together/in love. That particular storyline was not in Dracula, and it's one of those things that really rubs me the wrong way because everyone thinks it is a Dracula thing! But it is not, not at all, and was just popularized by the movie (which, if anything, was pulling the story from Nosferatu, not Dracula). It's also just a storyline I find really annoying since it ends up ignoring a lot of the *actual* implications of Dracula and Mina in the original book.

I am also not a fan of imagining Mina as a badass super athletic vampire hunter/warrior. I just like her original character too much to be on board with that sort of thing. I don't have any, like, deep reason for it or anything--just not my personal taste.

Sorry, rant barely applicable here. All I really mean is that it's a angle of interpreating Dracula I really dislike just on principle, making it hard for anything that uses those tropes to ever win me over. I probably would have loved this graphic novel had I been a fan of that particular choice but, since I am a fan of the original novel until I die, I was not. The art was really gorgeous and without it this probably would be a one star read for me.

I requested this book because I’m a total sucker for graphic novels with well done art. The Art was beautiful and consistent through out the whole novel. As far as the story goes I’m not hugely into horror stories as a whole so it could just be down to personal taste but I did find the story less than compelling at points but not so bad as to cause me to completely lose interest in the novel. Overall I loved the art it was beautiful and fit the tone of the story well and while I found the story as a whole fairly average.

black mass rising is a comic i requested purely because it mentioned dracula. i was pleasantly surprised to see it took place in transylvania and that the characters were wearing traditional clothes. in the first chapter the kids in the comic were playing a game called "omul negru" that i used to play when i was small, which was quite surprising to see. it's clear that the people involved with this comic did a lot of research and i truly appreciated they took the time to portray rural romania right.

the art style was absolutely gorgeous. i loved the paintery style the illustrations had. the gore especially stood out to me - it's so well drawn! the characters were beautifully crafted and the artist did such a good job at portraying different emotions.

the plot started out really interesting and then it fizzled out. the ending especially was abrupt and i truly hated the cliffhanger. the book features magic based on religion and a lot of religious symbolism, but they weren't explained very well. so, while the art style was extraordinary, the story itself lacked coherence, especially toward the end.

This was an interesting concept for a graphic novel, especially for horror/vampire fans! I loved how this was a re-imagined/retelling of Bram Stoker's Dracula. Despite the lack of flow throughout the novel, the artwork is beautiful and unique.

This novel is quite heavy on religion, so I would consider this more of a religious horror novel rather than a contemporary revamp on a classic. The artwork really made this an enjoyable read for me.