art & story: John Byrne

Well, this is actually Angelus vs. Dracula, as it takes place before he got his human soul back. The beginning of the tale parallels a Hammer Dracula movie. Angelus checks in to an inn in Geneva, Switzerland and transforms the innkeeper's buxom daughter into a vampire. Then the Monster of Frankenstein shows up, furious because Angelus had betrayed him. Via a flashback he relates to the innkeeper how the vampire has betrayed him. The Monster wants access to Dr. Frankenstein's inheritance but needs a human-looking accomplice, which happens to be Angelus. However, Angelus proceeds without him and passes himself off as Wilhelm Frankenstein so he'll inherit the Estate. When the monster shows up there's a fight to the death and they both plunge over a cliff into the ocean...

What I like about this Angel story is that it doesn't hold back on his ferocity. He casually kills nearly everyone he meets. Byrne also styles it like one of the old Universal monster movies, like HOUSE OF FRANKENSTEIN or FRANKENSTEIN vs. THE WOLFMAN, which is very cool. My only gripe is that I wish the story was longer.