Review: Van Helsing ‘Sword of Heaven’ #3
Liesel is after the fabled sword which will supposedly end vampirism. While on this noble quest she learns that she isn’t the only one after the famous blade. She encounters all sorts of miscreants that want to obtain this precious scimitar. Will she be able to find the weapon before one of her opponents? Read on!
The Creative Team:
Chuck Dixon opens this issue with Agent Dara and our fearless Vampire hunter walking through the desert on the way to the next town. The banter is clever and rich between our heroines. Dixon creates a female buddy story not unlike Thelma and Louise in these opening pages. He keeps the tension strong as the ladies are running out of water in the scorching heat. Dixon keeps us reading by making us care about the protagonists as they face the desert heat and possible heat stroke. Great stuff includes the secret behind what appears to be a group of tourists and the revelation from one of the “tourists” that Van Helsing, by her very existence, has set unknown forces in motion.
Julius Abrera gives us some great action scenes and pays close attention to detail, which any artist would have to do in a successful horror/action title. It’s always a thrill watching Van Helsing leap into action and Abrera puts some strong obstacles in our heroine’s way. Leaping onto roof tops and finding a much-needed rifle to take on this issues antagonist(s). Highlights include the explosion which sends Liesel into another panel and the pages which show how she gets the “tourists” to play into her hands.
In Conclusion:
Van Helsing fans will be happy with this issue. Not to much is revealed here, but the stuff that is revealed is important to the story. The chemistry between Van Helsing and agent Dara is the real strength of this issue even as Liesel can’t deal with Dara’s attempts at forcing a friendship. They need each other even if Van Helsing doesn’t like to admit it. The set up for the next issue leaves us wanting more. ***1/2 (8.8 rating)
Van Helsing ‘Sword of Heaven’ #3
Writer – Chuck Dixon
Art – Julius Abrera
Colors – Maxflan Araujo
Letters – Saida Temofonte
Publisher – Zenescope
About the Author
Kevin Given Kevin Given has studied with "Longridge Writers Group" and "Writer's Boot Camp" a speech/communications major from the University of Maine Presque-Isle/Orono sites. He has created the "Karl Vincent Vampire Hunter" franchise which includes 2 novels and 8 comic books. They can be found on amazon, Indyplanet and Kindle. For a limited time you can get digital copies of "Karl Vincent: Vampire hunter" #1 and "Files of Karl Vincent" #1 for free on Indyplanet. Kevin is producing the third novel in the series "Dracula Rising" (working title) and developing "Foul Blood" into comic book form.
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