Family Feud: Van Helsing vs Dracula's Daughter

Throughout the course of her career, Liesel Van Helsing has run up against her share of foul creatures. But now she may have met her equal, in a battle that has been generations in coming.

When her safe house is burgled, Liesel finds herself on a two-week tear through the city, following clues and taking out demons while trying to recover that which was lost.

But while the thief has a personal connection to the stolen property, Liesel herself finds herself serendipitously in the possession of a lost family artifact when she busts up a demon-run fencing operation.

The titular conflict of VAN HELSING VS. DRACULA'S DAUGHTER doesn't quite happen in this first issue, but that doesn't mean either lady isn't in the thick of it. While Van Helsing has her hands full of hellspawn, her future opponent is making herself known to two of Liesel's friends -- visiting newlyweds, Jonathan and Mina Harker!

This first chapter from Raven Gregory and Allan Otero features just enough of a taste for readers to know the threat level both femme fatales bring to the table, The artwork is finely detailed, and Robby Bevard's colors are perfectly eye catching. And while I of course would have liked to have seen the issue end with a bit more of a direct confrontation, the mystery is nonetheless put into motion.

The one nit I would have to pick, however, would be with Rachel Bishop's editing of the story -- most noticeably when Jonathan and Mina are discussing Liesel, and we use the phrase "not like" in reference to Liesel no less than three times in the same scene. It's annoyingly repetitive, which interrupts the flow of the dialogue.

VAN HELSING VS. DRACULA'S DAUGHTER #1 hits your local comic shop Wednesday, August 21, from Zenescope.