Book Review: Blacula: Return of the King by Rodney Barnes and Jason Shawn Alexander

Blacula: Return of the King
by Rodney Barnes (writer) and Jason Shawn Alexander (artist) (741.5 Bar)

Many years ago (back in the 1980s), I saw the 1972 film Blacula, starring William Marshall as the titular black vampire…an African prince (Mamuwalde) in the 1800s, who tried appealing to Transylvanian Count Dracula for help in stopping the slave trade, only to be attacked by the vampire and lose his wife. Dracula turned Mamuwalde into a vampire, then imprisoned him in a coffin in Dracula’s own estate. In the film, Mamuwalde’s coffin is moved to Los Angeles in 1972 and opened, and mayhem happens. The name “Blacula” was actually a derogatory slur from Dracula, and the film Blacula was one of a wave of “blaxploitation” films in the early and mid-1970s. It was actually successful enough to inspire a sequel, Scream, Blacula, Scream (1973).

 

In this brand-new graphic novel sequel, set in contemporary times (2020s), the name “Blacula” has been showing up in urban graffiti all over L.A., but especially in the Watts neighborhood. A paranormal blogger, Tina Thomas, investigating the rumors of the return of a serial killer not heard from since the 1970s, connects with a group of other “vampire hunters” seeking vengeance for lost family members.

 

Meanwhile, Prince Mamuwalde, in Hell, appeals to Lucifer to be released — he is only there because he was cursed beyond his own control. Though denied by Lucifer, Mamuwalde somehow escapes and returns to the world of humanity, pledging his “undead” existence to finding and destroying Dracula. The bulk of this graphic novel follows Mamuwalde’s quest in search of Dracula, and the actions of the team of amateur vampire hunters who have to decide whether to oppose Mamuwalde or aid him.

 

The painted artwork in this graphic novel is absolutely gorgeous — atmospheric and haunting. Alexander manages to capture the looks of both the actors William Marshall (Mamuwalde) and Charles McAuley (Dracula) as they appeared in the 1972 film, and all of the new supporting characters are also extremely well-realized. Although the storytelling is done in such a way that you don’t absolutely have to have seen Blacula (1972) or Scream, Blacula, Scream (1973) in order to understand the modern update, I strongly urge readers to see at least the first film before indulging in this excellent sequel — there are many callbacks in the artwork and storytelling to the events and characters of the original film. (*Spoiler alert* — though much of the plot of this graphic novel is brought to an end, it does actually end on a cliffhanger, meaning the creative time intend for Blacula to return!)

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try the films Blacula and Scream, Blacula, Scream.)

 

( official Rodney Barnes web site ) | ( official Jason Shawn Alexander web site )

 

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library — Public Service

 

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The Massacre of Mankind by Stephen Baxter

The Massacre of Mankind
by Stephen Baxter

This is the first-and-only authorized sequel to H.G. Wells’ classic 1897 SF novel, The War of the Worlds. Though numerous unofficials sequels and follow-up volumes have been published over the years, The Massacre of Mankind is the first approved by the Wells estates. Baxter has been writing acclaimed SF for decades, both on his own and partnered with such genre luminaries as Arthur C. Clarke and Terry Pratchett.

The Massacre of Mankind is set in the1920s, some 14 years after the events in Wells novel. In most ways, this novel is not only science fiction but also “alternate history”, as the events of 1897 have had a severe impact on England (and most of the rest of the world) — government has become more dystopian, and across the planet, preparations are underway to fight back, if a new wave of Martian invaders is detected. Many don’t believe it will happen again, but Walter Jenkins, the narrator of the Wells’ original novel, has been researching and studying, and he believes the earlier invasion was merely a scouting mission, and that the full-scale invasion is still to come. Though he is correct, he’s having difficulty getting anyone to believe his outlandish theories. Fortunately, he convinces Julie Elphinstone, his ex-sister-in-law, and an American investigative journalist…just before the little puffs of smoke on the surface of Mars indicate a new invasion fleet has launched — and this time there will be hundreds of them coming to our world.

This is a fast-paced adventure, with fascinating explorations of the scientific concepts that the characters could have debated at the time, based on what was known to them — sure, from our time period nearly a century later, some of the science looks a little shaky, but for the 1920s, it was fairly cutting edge. Baxter does an incredible job of matching the style of storytelling that Wells employed in the original novel — this really does feel like a classic genre novel from 100 years ago! And yet, unlike the majority of fiction from that era, The Massacre of Mankind features a number of very strong female characters, who are shown to be just as, if not more, capable then their male counterparts. This novel is huge — a bit of a doorstop of a book — but in the end, I enjoyed it very much, and I do highly recommend it, especially if you’re a fan of Wells’ original novel.

[If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Time Ships, an officially authorized sequel to H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine, also by Baxter.]

[ publisher’s official The Massacre of Mankind web page ] | [ official Stephen Baxter web site ]

Recommended by Scott C.
Bennett Martin Public Library

Have you read this one? What did you think? Did you find this review helpful?

New reviews appear every month on the Staff Recommendations page of the BookGuide website. You can visit that page to see them all, or watch them appear here in the BookGuide blog individually over the course of the entire month. Click the tag for the reviewer's name to see more of this reviewers recommendations!