Written by Mike Raight

Illustrated by Guiu Vilanova

Published by Dynamite Entertainment

In which Barnabas steps up his investigations into who is behind the vampire attacks in Collinsport, whilst some townsfolk are making conclusions of their own as to the perpetrator’s identity…

So far, this new story arc has explored some of the more mundane aspects of Collinsport and the Dark Shadows universe than usual, and ironically it’s that much more compelling as a result. As the show delved deeper into the bizarre and supernatural, its everyday elements (and character development for “ordinary” characters) diminished commensurately; now, the two worlds are colliding head-on with interesting results.

For instance, the desperate father and mother who only want their daughter back safe – as well as their terror and confusion – are a definite change of pace for a property where one is typically rooting for a vampire or immortal werewolf! And by concentrating on the viewpoints of the police and their procedurals, we get a refreshingly different perspective on familiar characters.

Despite its relatively slow pace, quite a bit happens in this issue. We come closer to working out the perpetrator’s identity; more details of Willie Loomis’s mission are revealed; and we discover that Collinsport isn’t the only town suffering these terrifying attacks. The artwork may still be hugely variable – even from frame to frame in some cases – but the plot is coagulating nicely as Barnabas realizes he faces threats from several fronts.

VERDICT: Dark Shadows continues to improve slowly, and the fleshing out of Collinsport and some of its “regular folk” inhabitants is a welcome move. 7/10

John S. Hall

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