A Dramatic Conclusion for Part One In Vampire the Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth #5
The first plot arc in Vampire The Masquerade Comics ends with Vampire the Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth #5. The World of Darkness has again come to life, telling two unique tales of vampires and politics.
As with the rest of this series, it is split into two parts. Unlike the rest, readers can now see how the two are connected as crossovers occur. Winter’s Teeth is the first plot, revolving around Cecily Brine, a Camarilla courier. The second plot is The Anarch Tales, which follows a misfit group of vampires.
One thing I can tell you right away: now that the first plot arc is over, I can’t help but hope for more. Here’s hoping the wait won’t be too long!
Winter’s Teeth
The first half of Vampire: the Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth #5 starts off right where the previous issue left off. That is to say, the world that Cecily Brine has come to know so well is about to be shaken all over again. She’s a courier for the Camarilla, better known as the Prince’s Boot. Or rather, she was.
Written by Tim Seeley, this is such a compelling plot. It was intriguing all those issues ago, but now it is truly captivating. It took a while to set up the story for the full depth and complexity of the world to come alive. Now that it has, I want to read more of it. Seeley has done a delightful job of capturing a part of this world.
Devmalya Pramanik (art), Addison Duke (colors), and Andworld (letters) continued their amazing job of bringing the story to life. Bold colors and harsh lines combine brilliantly, making the story feel dark, occasionally morbid, and something other than human. In short, it’s absolutely perfect for this series.
The conclusion overlapped slightly with the next story, wrapping up everything that has gone wrong. While leaving room for another plot to pick up where this one left off. In case I haven’t clarified enough, I hope that happens.
The Anarch Tales
Next in Vampire the Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth #5 is the fifth installment of The Anarch Tales. The first half of this plot has always focused on city life and the vampires in charge (and those who work for them). That is not the case for this tale, though, as it follows a vampire coterie that has seen better days. Probably.
Tini Howard & Blake Howard wrote something really compelling and shockingly human here. Yes, it follows a group of vampires as they make their way through a mission (that could have gone better), but you can see the remnants of their humanity nonetheless.
The whole story is in striking opposition to the first, even after they both have been tied together. Even as this one concludes, I find myself curious to see how it could carry on.
The artwork was created by Nathan Gooden (art), Addison Duke (colors), and Andworld (letters). All of them nailed the characters’ rundown look and their world. Even looking at them is exhausting.
Conclusion
Vampire: the Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth #5 may wrap up this current plot and series, but the World of Darkness will always live on. Hopefully, so do these characters and the events that they have found themselves tangled up in.
Either way, this is a series worth checking out, whether you’re a longstanding White Wolf fan or are simply curious about what the world has to show you.
This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.
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