Mammon

by Michael Hague

Michael Hague is an American illustrator and writer, primarily of children's fantasy books. He has illustrated such classics such as The Wind in the Willows, The Wizard of Oz, The Hobbit and the stories of Hans Christian Andersen. He is renowned for the intricate and realistic detail he brings to his work, and the rich colors he chooses. A horrifyingly beautiful vampire story, this lavishly illustrated adventure starts on the streets of 1920s London and ends at the gates of Hell.

A horrifyingly beautiful vampire story, this lavishly illustrated adventure starts on the streets of 1920s London and ends at the gates of Hell. Writer Jonathan Meeks is captivated by the story of Dracula. On a quest for immortality, to discover if there is truth at the heart of the vampire myth, Meeks discovers there is far more truth in fiction.

Genres: Horror, Comics, Graphic Novels, Fantasy, Fiction, Vampires, Graphic Novels Comics

136 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2017

About the author

Michael Hague is renowned as the illustrator of many children's classics, including editions of The Wizard Of Oz, Peter Pan, The Hobbit, and The Velveteen Rabbit. He also illustrated The Book of Ghosts, Where Fairies Dance, The Book of Wizards, and The Book of Fairy Poetry as well as wrote and illustrated the graphic novel in The Small. Michael lives with his wife, Kathleen, in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

Reviews

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! Captivating story of Mammon, the son of Satan, his vampire sister, two friends, who became demon shapeshifters and his bodyguard who was transformed into a monster. They were all created by Satan and tasked with seeking out and destroying not only Jesus Christ, but the whole of mankind. Instead they embrace Christianity and do everything to thwart Satan. This graphic novel is not only a retelling of Dracula, but much more. It's written AND lavishly illustrated by Michael Hague. I very highly recommend this for not only the story, but also for the visual enjoyment.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique graphic novel. The horrifically beautiful art really stands out. The writing seems very basic and familiar at first, but the story unfolds in very interesting ways.

[Shane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the artwork. Very detailed and macabre. However I felt the story could have used more exposition at times. There were some moments where I thought my copy was missing some pages because there were time skips. The premise was definitely intriguing, but it could of had maybe 50-100 more pages to make the story more cohesive

[Jesse Baggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the strangest, most beautiful, disturbing and boring books I’ve ever read lol The artwork is an absolute marvel, managing to be metaphorical and realistic, flawed and perfect at the same time. The story was slow and not as interesting, but the contradictions of the art kept things moving. Sometimes the art was repellant—sometimes reading this book made me feel soiled, disgusted. A low-key masterpiece of dark vibes.

[Juho Pohjalainen · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bunch of hellspawn wage war against Satan, nominally Christian yet with a remarkably warped idea of what it truly means. It's an interesting enough premise, but the story then proceeded to plod on its designated route without any twists, any real character growth, or anything else truly interesting.

It felt more like an excuse to show off some really great art, and a few of the best demonic designs I've seen anywhere. That absolves a lot of its shortcomings and made it worthwhile to read through it anyway.

[Connor Rooke · Rating 1 out of 5]

A plot that could have been intriguing, but unfortunately the author has an unsteady grasp of plotting and visual storytelling both.

[Sral Noim · Rating 1 out of 5]

I honestly can't wrap my head around the difference in quality of Hague's sketches in the appendix and the utterly childish art throughout the book. Other than that, this story is too much based on dracula and lacks originality. To top it off, dialogues and story progression were terrible. Steer clear.

[Ophelia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mammon was held up by its moments of breathtaking visual storytelling; true life seemed to come from the pained eyes of its characters.
Sadly, this came at the expense of the rest of the elements, making the story appear mediocre and the dialogue flat.
That art though...

[Jordan · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is captivating but the story is complete shit

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Hell is empty, and all the devils are here.”-- William Shakespeare, The Tempest

Hell is, indeed, empty, and all of the devils are here on Earth, as told in the new Dark Horse title, Mammon, a graphic novel by writer/artist Michael Hague (Eye of Newt). Launching from Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula, Hague builds his own vampiric mythology around the title character Mammon and his relationship with a human, Jonathan Meeks. Meeks comes from a wealthy family; however, he is driven by the desire to make his own way in the world as a writer. From an early age, he has been drawn to vampire lore and the potential of eternal life. Meeks' interest is rekindled after watching the Broadway production of Dracula, as a result of being enchanted by the narrative structure, as well as the subject matter. Some months after seeing the play, Meeks received a letter that would lead him on a life-altering journey.

Mammon delivers story and visuals...

Please see my full review at Fanbase Press:
https://fanbasepress.com/index.php/pr...

[Beronika Keres]

I really loved the dark artwork in this comic, especially the full pages that had intricate and busy depictions. Some of the images would make great wall art. I got a few chuckles from Mammon too. The changes between some scenes were a little abrupt and made me think I missed something a few times, but other than that I thought the premise for the story was really interesting. I'd like to know what happened at the end as it seemed a bit unresolved. It was definitely worth the time to read.

[Christopher McKenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

A solid vampire tell that cribs some things from Dracula, but manages to add some fresh takes on the lore. Its sort of jumbled and the pacing is off but it culminates in war of vampires vs. hell which is pretty cool. The art is great, Michael Hague being an illustrator for kids books and novels. His style is great to look at and interestingly translated to a more adult setting. I dug it, but I think the story could have been tighter and more engaging.

[Katherine L · Rating 3 out of 5]

gorgeous illustrations, but as others have mentioned, this feels like an incomplete story. the pacing is off and a lot of important details are either skipped or given only the briefest of considerations. i found the ending very puzzling because of this.

overall: the artwork and concept are what earned this novel stars, for me. it’s a shame such an interesting idea was such a flop 🙁

[R. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was beautifully drawn and I really like that part of it. I'm not as much of a fan of the plot. It was interesting, and I liked the cliffhanger, but it was anticlimactic in a way and I would have liked another 50 pages of detail in between the events that were covered maybe to help tell the story a bit more.

[Jesse Richards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flawed, but original.

[Heather Culley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful and terrible

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story is somewhat intriguing, but some of the artistic choices were not great.

[Jinx · Rating 3 out of 5]

The art is so very beautiful

[Jiro Dreams of Suchy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A creepy vampire story- great art

[Nadine · Rating 4 out of 5]

A retelling of Dracula runs completely out of hand. The art is creative and gruesome and epic. The story is reminiscent of old myths but bleding many sources, which makes it refreshing.

[Hannah]

Came for the cool horror art, stayed for the Christian vampires. The story is nothing to write home about but it’s very obviously just an excuse to draw monsters so I got what I came for.

[Musebeliever · Rating 1 out of 5]

If you like grotesque/horror art, this is definitely for you. I found the story staggeringly bad and the fetishisation of the only Asian woman disgusting.

[Tyler Dunleavy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love religious themes in horror so much... Finished reading on friday the 13th too. Love the bloody erotica stuff. Being uncomfortable without just showing someone torn to peices is my favourite genre. Super messed up. Also the sketchy art style is so fitting, the little details!!

[Kaitlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unique spin on Dracula and the Christian mythos, with lavish art.