WOODSTAKE begins in upstate New York in the 1920s, with an eerie prologue that sets up one vampire as a formidable antagonist. Known only as “The Creature,” the vampire stirs up chaos and tragedy whenever he awakens. After being defeated by Van Helsing—a descendent of the legendary vampire hunter in Dracula—and the local sheriff, The Creature must slumber for decades to recover. Fast forward to 1969, when The Creature awakens just in time to find over a hundred thousand youths descending on the land for the Woodstock music festival. As The Creature starts to build his vampire army, festival attendees Nina, Artie, and John get caught up in the paranormal struggle while navigating their own complicated web of love, ambition, and music.
WOODSTAKE closely follows a standard slasher movie formula, with The Creature slowly picking off people who wander off into the forest to get high and hook up. Although there are plenty of bloody and creepy scenes, the graphic novel never veers quite into on-page gore. Author Darin S. Cape’s love for vampire lore and rock-and-roll culture alike is clear throughout the story: the pages are peppered with wordplay (like Van Helsing changing his name to Van Halen to fly under the radar), and many scenes with music list a specific song to play while reading them. Characters follow classic horror archetypes in a way that feels like an homage to the genre rather than derivative, with fresh twists and moments of introspection sprinkled throughout. To say any more would spoil some sweet and unexpected character arcs!
Felipe Kroll’s artwork supports and elevates the narrative through a fascinating mix of styles. Photorealistic illustrations combine with pulp art to create bold, eye-catching scenes that particularly highlight characters’ expressions. Layers on top of the primary images include hazy fog, shifting shadows, and swirling blood splatters—building an increasingly spooky atmosphere. Occasionally, this effect can obscure character details to the point that it gets difficult to tell them apart. Thankfully, characters frequently refer to each other by name and rarely change outfits, which helps with distinguishing between them. This volume of WOODSTAKE includes five chapters, and each one features gorgeous cover art that mashes up 1960s horror movie poster styles with psychedelic drug culture. In one gloriously hallucinogenic sequence, The Creature drinks the blood of someone on LSD and Kroll uses blurs, cutaway images, and neon linework to emulate The Creature’s acid trip. With the way the visuals and song recommendations infuse the narrative, readers who love immersive horror will especially enjoy this book.
Darin S. Cape’s WOODSTAKE features a blood-soaked, action-packed story full of rock-and-roll references with a dash of romance and some well-placed puns. The photorealistic artwork with layered horror and psychedelic elements adds a unique vibe to the story, too.
~ Cameron Gillespie for IndieReader