Keenspot; $5.99  

Maldor, Malik, and the Tin Man have discovered the corpse of a giant fearsome beast, and it leaves the old sorcerer quite concerned. He and the Tin Man know of monsters that can feed on souls, and now they must traverse a twisting road to a castle and the dungeon that is supposed to hold those creatures prisoner.  

In modern times, the recently cloned Vlad the Impaler confronts the imposter Dracula. Each believes he is the more powerful iteration of the king of vampires, which they will try to prove as Frankenstein's monster watches. 

Big strides are taken in the war of monsters, when Maldor makes bold moves, new threats are revealed, and the two Draculas throw down. As always, Mark Spears handles the art in this issue, delivering a lot of action as Vlad and imposter Dracula try to rip each other to shreds, and the team in ancient times are on the trail of a soul-consuming monster. For the fight, Spears illustrates the ferocity of the monsters and draws page after page of panel angles that present the intensity of their exchange.  

The issue doesn't skimp on dialogue or scene setting. While Spears has been the sole writer on previous issues, this time he shares writing credit with Lucas Spears. The wizened Maldor tells young Malik what he knows about the monsters they are pursing, making the story more foreboding with each revelation. The writing duo also include some exposition that could come off as heavy handed, but works in the context of this story.  

–Amanda Sheriff