LEONIDE THE VAMPYR: A CHRISTMAS FOR CROWS

Story: Mike Mignola

Art: Rachele Aragno, Dave Stewart

$3.99, 32 pages

Dark Horse Comics

What It Is: Another stellar one-shot outing for 2022’s breakout character, LEONIDE THE VAMPYR, from Mignola and artist and co-creator Aragno.

The Good: Every panel and page, every word and line.

No one crafts comics like Mignola and his crew of collaborators. Full of atmosphere and subtlety, where the striking images convey as much meaning as the snappy dialogue. No one cares about the single-issue comic as much as they do either. Complete, nuanced and satisfying. Quiet character moments balanced with gonzo monster mayhem.

This second LEONIDE one-shot, in what is hopefully a long stream of them, plays into the tropes established by the first (MIRACLE AT CROW’S HEAD) and almost immediately subverts it and morphs it into something far more interesting.

Telling ghost stories at Christmas is an old tradition that’s all but forgotten, save a new Dickens’ adaptation every few years. Imagine that—something else Mignola is single handedly keeping alive in the comics market. Remarkable.

For such a singular creator and visionary, Mignola blends his voice well with the artists he’s working with. Staggering talents as varied as Guy Davis, Duncan Fegredo, Ben Steinbeck and Tonci Zonjic. Rachele Aragno can now add her name to the list. What a glorious, gloomy wonder she brings to the page. Her character designs are pitch-perfect gothic whimsy and her storytelling and page design flow in synchronicity with the tale.

As usual, Dave Stewart supplies those ten time Eisner-winning colors to give the whole thing not only a chilly, wintery vibe, but to fit it snuggly within the Mignolaverse funny-book catalogue.

The Bad: Not a thing, honestly. This is the best single issue of the year in my opinion and just in time, too.

The Score: 10 out of 10

Further Reading: Go back and read LEONIDE THE VAMPYR: MIRACLE AT CROW’S HEAD if you missed it this October. It’s not comics, but Jeanette Winterson is keeping spooky Christmas stories alive in literature. Check out her CHRISTMAS DAYS (2016), a collection of twelve of them.