Thus far, Universal Monsters: Dracula has been a wholly sensuous experience. The creative team of James Tynion IV and Martin Simmonds have spent the first three issues slowly and methodically reworking and remixing that famed novel, trying to wring new truth like blood from a stone.
It’s also been a deeply impactful process along the way (if not a touch too deliberate for some), as they’ve turned the world’s most famous vampire story (that’s not Twilight?) into this profound story of humanity. As we close out the fourth and final issue, Tynion and Simmonds deliver a kind of killing blow for our hearts and minds alike that’s endlessly satisfying.
With issue #1, I was struck by just how much of this story focused on Renfield, which felt like a novel way to both enter into this universe and reframe some of its core elements. So I was more than excited to see that issue #4 really focuses even more on Renfield, and what his place in the story and specific depiction does for the finale. That’s mostly about driving home this book’s biggest thematic interests; namely, these notions of our own redemption, the permanence of what Dracula really represents, and how we can save ourselves from these fates worth than death. It’s clearly a rather novel interpretation of the Dracula source material, and added proof that Tynion spent a lot of time not only trying to streamline this story for the specific readership but also delving into what this tale might provide to us in 2024.
Was I touch mad that some of the characters felt almost secondary at the very end where it’s most crucial they earned a proper landing? Maybe. Mina, especially, is almost regarded as a kind of plot device, especially in the finale, and her whole “transformation” is really all about supporting the plots of others (namely Renfield). And don’t even get me started about the non-importance of Jonathan Harker here. Still, none of that should be regarded as a failure; instead, it was about remixing this novel in a new and deliberate way.
Aside from the really great stuff with Renfield, this issue really drives home a novel approach for Dr. Seward and Van Helsing — they not only get more spotlight than I think you’d expect (and that feels fully in line with this “deeply human” interpretation), but it also feels novel to connect and contrast them with Renfield and his whole “shtick” of humanity’s value amid our shortcomings and notions of grace. Then, you add in the way Dracula is regarded — mostly a kind of myth even through #4, and his treatment in this finale casts him less as this monster and more a symbol for the darkness that man must counter to be truly good/decent. Together, this more “focused” cast felt like the best way to make this Dracula decidedly new, and to show us that there’s still something to find here if we just see the kind of brilliance underneath traditional interpretations (i.e., a twisted love story, for instance).
Variant cover by Jenny Frison. Courtesy of Skybound/Image Comics.
Tynion’s brilliance, then, was not to force us into some new understanding, but highlight a deeper truth about this rich story. And none of that could have been possible without Simmonds, who across the first three issues facilitated the kind of depth and intensity that scared and shocked readers while playing with those ideas of romance, sensuality, and robust humanity.
Issue #4, though, felt like a massive step up artistically, and perhaps the shiniest example regarding this book’s deeply special accomplishments. In fact, there may have been too many achievements here overall to really count each in earnest.
The “transformation” of Mina, for instance, connected her to what Renfield represented, and gave that character power and significance from a narrative perspective (even when she wasn’t always given as much direct sunlight). The moments with Seward and Van Helsing, meanwhile, felt quiet and stark amid all the maddening red spaces and undercurrent of violence; it was here that a lot of these massive energies got a time to resonate in some important ways and really ground that idea of how much this book was about our imperfect humanity. And, of course, Renfield’s visual depiction was once more essential. After his deeply unsettling turn (especially in #1), we saw a more endearing side of the man, and that brought home his journey in a truly disarming way.
Simmonds was clearly the perfect choice of artist for this book; no one approaches horror with the same kind of overarching drama and heart-smashing intensity. But issue #4 especially just crystalizes the vivid power and depth he brought to this project, and how he was able to scare and shock while also purveying the kind of glowing heart the story needed to really shine.
His approach has always felt especially gripping to me, but here it grabbed our brains in new ways as he tried to capture something dark and primal but also decidedly warm and whimsical. In threading the needle, as it were, he was able to capture something essential about this book (and the grander vampire canon) and give it the edge and heft it needed to live as something new entirely. It’s such a novel reinterpretation without feeling lost in its own glorious pursuits.
As the publishers tell us, the whole Universal Monsters line isn’t nearly done with its horrific agenda. But whatever’s already come, and whatever’s still lurking in the shadows, Universal Monsters: Dracula was clearly a watershed moment. Not only was it made for fans of the OG vampire, but it honored these stories by doing something new, daring, and about that which scares us and empowers us the most. Not only that, but it became something wholly original for the medium, and a story of immense emotional and visual power. It’s a clear winner in terms of scope, efficiency, and intent, and it’ll leave you drained in the best possible ways.
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