Mr. Higgins Comes Home

December 1, 2017

A pair of vampire hunters seeking a guide through the crypt of the nefarious Count Golga find their man in Mr. Higgins, an asylum patient whose encounter with the count years earlier left him tortured, broken, and perhaps even cursed. A promise to free Mr. Higgins once the vampire lord is eliminated coaxes him back to the scene of his previous torment, where much to our band of heroes surprise they find themselves invited guests to an annual vampire celebration. Mignola (Hellboy; B.P.R.D.), comics' greatest practitioner of horror and supernatural tales, pens something between homage and lighthearted satire of classic Hammer vampire films. This story is perfectly suited to Johnson-Cadwell's (Solid State Tank Girl) creepily angular illustration style, which manages to be at once slightly cartoonish and darkly atmospheric. Readers might feel as though the tale here is a bit slight as they approach its conclusion, but the ending has bite. VERDICT Every release by Mignola is an event, and while this lacks the epic scope or foreboding darkness that most of his work is known for, fans are sure to find a lot to love.--TB

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 15, 2017
Grades 9-12 It starts out like any good vampire storya creature lurks at night; a team of vampire hunters plans their next move; a horde of the undead gathers to worship Satanbut Mignola and Johnson-Cadwell playfully upend many classic vampire tropes for a graphic novel that's as surprising as it is delightfully ghastly. Professor Meinhardt and Mister Knox are on a mission to defeat Count Golga, the most evil of all vampires, but to do so, they need to enlist the help of Mister Higgins, who lost his wife to Golga's nefarious schemes and was transformed into a werewolf. With off-kilter shapes, smudgy shadows, pools of brilliant red blood, and plenty of exaggerated body shapes, Johnson-Cadwell's illustrations are certainly eerie, though the sunnier palette and stylized figures are in compelling contrast to the grim story line. When Golga invites Meinhardt, Knox, and Higgins back to his home, the action picks up in an over-the-top, disembodied-limb-strewn twist. Simultaneously a loving homage to and send-up of classic horror, this will surely delight fans of the genre.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)