Baltimore,: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire

Baltimore,: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire
by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
Spectra
ISBN: 0553804715

I think I've been through just about all the Mike Mignola Hellboy graphic novels in the local library's collection. I enjoyed each of these a great deal. They packed in a lot of action, mystery, and humor into a package of fascinating artwork. This led me to look at other works by Mignola. I think there are a couple short story collections that I'd like to eventually read but, sadly, these were not part of the library collection. However, they did have Baltimore,: Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire which was written by Mignola and Christopher Golden. The cover featured artwork by Mignola, the book was peppered with pretty cool woodcut-type art by Mignola, and the story sounded pretty interesting. So, I picked it up and read a good vampire story over the holidays.

I really enjoyed the book. It was...I don't know...different. It doesn't follow a linear kind of "...and then this happened..." story. I don't want to give away much of the book as reading it really benefits from not knowing what's going to happen next. Essentially, though, the story follows a man named Baltimore as he transitions from warrior on a battlefield of man to warrior on a supernatural level. Much of the story is told by three of Baltimore's friends as they wait for him in a strange little inn. Each was summoned by Baltimore and each showed up without really knowing why they were summoned. None of the men previously knew each other so we, the readers, learn a lot about them as they learn about each other. As the talk, each man answers essentially two questions:

1. How do they know Baltimore?
2. Why did they show up when Baltimore asked? That is, why do they believe the strange things he says?

The first question prompts them to recall to their experiences with Baltimore. What's their connection? The second opens the door to the weird occurrences the men have experienced in their own lives. And these experiences are genuinely weird. While the world is normal on the surface, there's definitely something strange going on just below. Whispers of the unexplained.

The actual world reminded me a lot of the old Tales from the Darkside series..only a little less 80s and a little more bleak.



Anyway, in summary, I really liked the book. It's a pretty quick, intriguing read. Give it a shot.