TPB Review---Thats Alotta Bunn

I noted on twitter earlier, that I have been consuming a lot of Cullen Bunn, and I am a big fan.  After binging Dark Ark (right after "After the flood #2" dropped) I grabbed some additional trades (and I'm reviewing them in the order of release from newer to older).

Brothers Dracul (Aftershock)
By: Cullen Bunn, Mirko Colak, Maria Santaolalla, Simon Bowland

While I'm not a big fan of historical/historicized fiction most of the time, I do like some alternate history, or playing with a figure and flipping them.  And Brothers Dracul delivers on the rise of Vlad the Impaler.  The brothers Dracul are imprisoned by the Ottomans and forced to work for the Emperor in defending/being fodder for his son as he's on a quest to fight the Vampir.  You discover that Vlad is quite good at fighting the Vampir but wants none of the credit.  

There is so much more that can come from this story, I think there should be another volume, to continue the formation of Vlad, or look at each phase in his life.  It is so awesome!  It also has the same random ass "what should we write" origin like you saw Bunn explain in his essays from either this or Dark Arc. I want to know what other random side-ideas he has.

This creative team is also quite awesome, and I'll pine more about how great they are in the next review

Unholy Grail (Aftershock)
By: Cullen Bunn, Mirko Colak, Maria Santaolalla, Simon Bowland

That's right the same team on two wholly different titles!  (Ok, I don't know how common or uncommon that is)....

I also didn't know that I would like plays on the Arthurian legend.  I am enjoying what's happening in Once and Future, but that's a pseudo-modernization, or at least a restoration of the legend to modern times.

But playing with the idea of what if Merlin was evil or a demon took the form of Merlin?  This is an awesome premise.  Watching him literally train and puppet the new king is awesome.  This is a book I am loving so much, and again, like Dracul, I need more than 6 issues.

In terms of the art, colors and every thing visual about the book, it just hits, the moods, the facial expressions, I just cant put it into words (and it might be because I'm exhausted) how exceptionally good it is!  

Maybe I'll polish this up a bit later, but both of these books are good, and several folks have suggested Harrow County, and I think that's my next stop on the Bunn trail.

​(woof, its been a while since I've written something)