Woodstake Book Review

Full disclosure: I was given an ARC of this book from BooksForward and SHP Comics in exchange for an honest review.

There are some books whose concepts sound so good that they need to be explored. For example, have you ever read a story that involves Dracula at Woodstock? Well, now there is the graphic novel Woodstake by Darin S. Cape and Felipe Kroll. Despite the great concept and funny bits, the story and illustrations were a letdown.

Written by Darin S. Cape (the pseudonym of Shawn Hainsworth) and illustrated by Felipe Kroll, Woodstake is a reimagining of the Dracula legend at the Woodstock Music and Art Fair in 1969. The vampire known as “the Creature” wreaks havoc in 1927, but he is defeated by Van Helsing – a descendant of the legendary hunter – and the local sheriff. He must slumber until he’s fully healed. Flash forward to 1969, the Creature reawakens to find hundreds of thousands of young people attending the Woodstock music festival on the land. As he starts to build his army, attendees John, Nina, and Artie get caught up in the paranormal struggle while dealing with their own complicated web of love, music, and ambition.

As I mentioned earlier, having a vampire at Woodstock is a great idea for a story. One can explore so many possibilities. I love how the police don’t believe that there are vampires because the attendees probably dropped too much acid. In addition, I enjoyed seeing the Creature hallucinate and hypnotize the hippies. There were also some funny bits too. For example, Artie and Nina get a guy to moon a cop while they search a van. One of my favorite lines from the book is when Artie says, “No, not Jimi! Take Pete Townsend [the guitarist from The Who]. Nobody will care if he’s a f**king vampire.”

Moreover, I like how it utilizes the music from the time period. Songs like “My Generation” by The Who, “Bad Moon Rising” by Creedence Clearwater Revival, “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag” by Country Joe McDonald, and “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix are not only chapter titles, but characters also are seen listening to them. The tunes reflect the mood at various points in the story as well. It can be a bit on the nose at times like how “Bad Moon Rising” plays while the Creature builds his army.

At the same time, the plot leaves a lot to be desired. The story feels rushed at times, especially towards the end. It needed to breathe and develop at certain moments. It also does more telling than showing. Normally, I wouldn’t care too much about this, but because this is a graphic novel, one would think the illustrations would have done the talking. Furthermore, the characters are either one-dimensional or unlikeable. I especially did not like John and Nina. They are supposed to be in a relationship, but he ends up cheating on her with someone else. And yet, she still refuses to leave him even though she never comes up with a good explanation. 

Since this is a graphic novel, I have to talk about the illustrations. They are a mixed bag. On one hand, the cover looks amazing with its colors and striking images. The backgrounds are just as stunning with how dark, real, and psychedelic they are. On the other hand, the character designs, to put it plainly, look weird. The people in the story appear like they came straight out of a video game, and their expressions are offputting at times. I know that it’s based on photorealism, but it still comes off as strange. It doesn’t help that the characters look too contemporary. They have iPhone faces, and their hairstyles are far more modern than they need to be. 

Woodstake by Darin S. Cape and Felipe Kroll could have been better. It contains a great idea with some funny bits, well-incorporated music from the time, and stunning illustrations. However, Cape and Kroll could’ve executed the concept better with a more fleshed out story and developed characters. I would only recommend it to those if the phrase “a vampire at Woodstock” peaks their interest. Even with its flaws, a novel can still sell with its concept. For those interested, Woodstake comes out on Tuesday, April 14, so grab it wherever you get your books.

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