By Ed Sum
(The Vintage Tempest)
*Spoiler Alert
The tides of the occult war is coming together very nicely in Rasputin: Voice of the Dragon #3. To see Dark Horse Comics put this title out twice in December is because of how the holidays are falling into place in this Gregorian calendar. This issue comes packed to let readers see how the conflict will come to head. Both sides are after the same thing. The question is who will get the secrets to reanimation first.
Issue four will not be till February. This issue comes out after Boxing day; the only punches being delivered are in waiting for this mad monk to deliver a blow to show which side is going to win.
In this issue, Trevor Bruttenholm’s encounters with the supernatural is only going to get worse when he decides travelling behind enemy lines is the only way to get answers. His guide is Sandhu and this issue nicely delves into how quick he has to learn about Magik if he is to survive. The horror this scientist finds is straight out of Frankenstein. Artist Christopher Mitten gets to go wild with imagining how vacuum tubes and other early 20th century tech would get inserted up where the sun does not shine (well, not really) to bring the dead back to life.
There’s a steampunk style kind of look which makes the undead even more scarier. In this era, Edison and Tesla are the pioneers of this coming technical revolution. While neither inventor’s style are the highlight in this comic, to know that both dabbled in occult technology only makes the thought of what terrors may emerge only scarier.
Also, Rasputin is just as interested in creating that super soldier. He also wants to communicate with the spirit of Mayhew to learn about the secrets taken to his grave (which Bruttenholm attempted to do last issue). His approach is more clandestine and now that he is in control, just what’s next will require waiting the long month for the showdown the next issue of this tale.
Writers Mike Mignola and Chris Roberson have consistently kept readers glued to this spy versus spy style adventure. Although these two adversaries have yet to meet, I’m beginning to wonder if they ever will. In this particular series, the “Voice” is being very deceptively quiet, and waiting to pounce. The real life figure may very well approve.
