We have all heard of the vampire Count Dracula, a staple of horror and pop culture ever since Bram Stoker first put pen to paper. Not as well known however, is the vampire known as Graf Orlok. Orlok was the vampire from the film “Nosferatu” and the characters were once one and the same. Orlok was created as a knockoff when the director of Nosferatu didn’t want to pay royalties to Bram Stoker’s Widow and tried to get around the rights issues by creating his own characters.
Over the years, Dracula and Orlok have evolved into two different archetypes. Dracula as the charming suave vampire, and Orlok as the hideous monster. While there has been a large amount of romanticizing of vampires in recent years, with books and films like Twilight portraying them as misunderstood creatures who aren’t that harmful, Orlok is another story. Far more like the traditional Slavic folklore about vampires, he is monstrous and not at all misunderstood. He is instead an incarnation of evil and destruction and a force that needs to be opposed.
Nosferatu Plague of Terror is a story that works to further separate Dracula and Orlok and give the character his own unique story and purpose. The comic begins on a night when a group of homeless people have died of what seems to be the plague, one of whom has a book in his hand about an English knight from the crusades named Sir William Longsword, which tells the story of the unsealing of Graf Orlok the Nosferatu and how Longsword became immortal. What follows is a series of flashbacks of Longsword’s conflict with Orlok over the centuries, from India, to Vietnam and other places, intertwined with the main story as the forensic investigator tries to deal with the plague and the Mayor wants it covered up. She becomes drawn into Longsword and Orlok’s centuries spanning conflict and the results going in a surprising direction.
Orlok is not a typical Hollywood vampire, even though he is one of the earliest depictions of a vampire in movies. He comes across as a demonic force of nature. Something that must be fought but can never be stopped fully. He is inhuman in more than appearance and comes off as a true agent of an evil power. No character in this is a good guy, but we become drawn into their story. This isn’t a fantasy comic, its Horror and we see it for that. This is a disturbing at times look into humanity and really deserves more attention than it has gotten. The black and white art is striking and evokes a chilling mood and the depictions of the various actions committed by the characters, and sheer carnage they endure and witness stand out even more. This is some of the best black and white artwork in a horror comic and most definitely ensured the story worked as well as it did.
I highly recommend checking it out.
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