Comic Book Review - Helga Frankenstein: Blood & Taxes

Rob reviews Helga Frankenstein: Blood & Taxes...

Helga Frankenstein is a 44-page full-colour comic that charts the world of the title character; Helga Frankenstein. 

As the daughter of the infamous Victor Frankenstein, Helga is a patchwork doll made out of an amalgamation of body parts, and mysticism. Now shocked to life in a world that's full of monsters, werewolves, and boogeymen, Helga has to contend not only with her "father's" reputation as a "tax dodger", but the steely eye of the vampire overlords. 

The story behind Helga Frankenstein: Blood & Taxes has been brought to life by John A. Short and Gabrielle Noble. From its opening page, Short wastes no time in delivering plenty of world-building. Vampires rule the economy of this un-named country, as such, each citizen is required to pay a blood tax to the ruling elite. However a strange contaminant is affecting the local's blood, and Helga could be exactly what they need. 

What then follows is a good old-fashioned medieval adventure story as Helga falls foul to the vampire, Lady Mircalla. However Helga isn't alone in this adventure as her (pardon the pun) saving grace comes in the form of Sister Genevieve, a Nun who has a dark secret of her own. The mismatched duo then find themselves teaming up to protect Victor Frankenstein from both Lady Mircalla and her many minions. 

What Helga Frankenstein: Blood & Taxes does well is that it subverts all those tried and tested medieval/fantasy tropes and gives them a new spin. I enjoyed the notion that the vampires are demanding their payments with blood, and that Jekyll has managed to manufacture a pill that gives everyone Hyde-like powers. It's an interesting premise that can certainly call upon a lot of horror aspects to flesh out the universe.

The narrative flows at an even pace that's equally filled with character dialogue and action. Short manages to not only drive the narrative ever forward but allows for stops along the way to sneak in some exposition or character building. While this is mainly Helga's tale and our patchwork heroine gets a lot of characterisation, we also touch upon Genevieve and her history. It's ever so brief and only forms as a way of explaining why she's seeking out Frankenstein, but it's enough to pique interest into picking the thread apart. 

Gabrielle Noble's art is clean and crisp throughout and does a good job of building a degree of beauty to Short's gothic world. Action sequences are also of a similarly high value, with each being well choreographed and moving with a pace. While a climactic battle within the battlements of the castle isn't a unique thing within the horror-fantasy genre, Noble builds the scene well with a pretty awesome rain effect, with great use of purple to highlight the lightning in the clouds above. 

While I am yet to read the further adventures of Helga Frankenstein, with 'Blood & Taxes', John Short sets his Hammer Horror-style universe off to a great start. Now excuse me while I check out 'The Half Moon Killer' and 'Vampire Science' - reviews coming soon! 

Want to check out Helga Frankenstein yourself? You can do so by clicking here for a physical copy, or here for digital copies.

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