Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter #1

Publishers:
Hammer Comics
Titan Comics

Writer: Dan Abnett

Artist: Tom Mandrake

Somehow I missed all mention of this title and didn’t know about it until about a week before it hit shelves. Once I learned, I quickly scrambled to make sure my LCS put it on my pull list so I could get my excited hands on my copies of ALL the covers.

Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter starring Horst Janson, John Cater and Caroline Munro is my favorite Hammer Horror film period. And that is saying a lot considering I have a huge Hammer Film collection. So when I say I was excited when I learned of this title that is no understatement.

But does it deliver?

The title opens with Kronos and his companions (Prof. Grost and Carla) hunting down a vampire, then finding themselves helping out a city with a peculiar vampire problem of their own. The story takes place only a few months after the film and is narrated by Carla, who is still new to this ‘vocation.’

For those not familiar with the original 1970’s film, Carla’s narration gives enough back story without overwhelming the narrative.





The book gets off to a fast-paced, action packed start and only slows down to allow for the setup of the real story and the characters to determine what might really be going on.

The best part of this for me is that very little has seemed to change with the main characters from the movie. Carla is a beautiful, tough-as-nails woman with a chip on her shoulder and fiery will. Prof. Grost is the wise hunchback mentor and occult expert who perhaps talks too much.

Kronos is a stoic, almost mythical figure, who only talks when he needs to and seems to have something supernatural about him, himself. But also know that even he needs help.

Tom Mandrake’s art is solid as always, with properly muted colors that mimic the Hammer look by Sian Mandrake. Carla looks like Caroline Munro (Thank You)!

My only minor issue with the art is that Kronos looks MUCH bigger than Horst Janson.

Dan Abnett’s script is solid, or at least becomes solid. While the story presented so far has no issues, and what characterization we have is good for the characters (matching the film), it’s the dialog that I have problems with.

The dialog in the first quarter of Kronos is a little stiff and unnatural. It just doesn’t feel right. The good thing is, this changes as we go along and the dialog flows better by the end of issue one.

Of course the issue ends on a cliff hanger, promising more action, danger and horror for Kronos and crew.

I have no idea if this is a mini-series or planned as an ongoing, but only time and sales will tell.

FINAL THOUGHT:
Nice first issue. It captures the feel of the original movie and should appeal to Hammer fans. May struggle to find a wider audience though.

A good introductory issue, but only the following issues will truly reveal how good this tale is.

RATING: 6