Vampire Kings of corporate America (The jokes write themselves.)

[arbre_rieur]

Throughout DRACULA: THE COMPANY OF MONSTERS (by Kurt Busiek, Daryl Gregory, and Scott Godlewski), there have been three power players. There's Conrad Barrington, CEO-turned-vampire who wants to usurp Dracula as king of vampires; there's Dracula himself, who's staging a takeover of Conrad's company in retaliation; and there's Marta Stefanescu and her family, the greatest vampire hunters in all of Romania (which, according to the series, is like being the greatest sumo in all of Japan.)

Our protagonist, Evan Barrington-Cabot, has been pulled in three directions throughout the series, each side wanting him for its own. He's remained indecisive, unsure of where to stand all this time. That is, until the latest issue, where events finally push him to make his choice. Or does he?

One idea the series is exploring is that in order for Dracula to become Dracula, he had to enter into a contract of sorts between himself and the Devil, and that in return for his power, the Devil expects a specific thing in return. What that thing is is still unknown, but one scene provides some heavy hints:





In the present, Dracula's making his move.













At the Barrington offices, Evan discovers that Conrad turned Evan's mom so that she'd side with him on the vote over Dracula's buyout offer.



The next day, Evan walks into company HQ to discover Dracula's latest move against the company in his conquest efforts: He's impaled a number of the employees on metal poles.

And that's it. Finally, Evan makes his choice.

Comments

[blackruzsa]

It took me about half a minute to get the joke in completing the mercury symbol. Ironic.

Question, does the Dracula here abhor crosses or is it just one of those things he laughs at?

[cainofdreaming]

He seemed to be amused when Evan tried to shield himself with one. Conrad on the other hand went with the hiss, burn and recoil approach.

So, conflicting information. Drac's probably a special case, or that'd be my guess anyway.

[featheredserpent]

So Taurus becomes Mercury. Somebody's been reading their Aleister Crowley.

[midnightvoyager]

I'd imagine "Dracula is considerably older and awesomer" may cover it.

[cainofdreaming]

Ah, the age old question of which side to choose between three totally fanatical groups of people.

Of course the only real answer has always been "your own", but that doesn't mean the execution isn't always fun to watch.

[tsunamiwombat]

Kudos if this ends with him blowing up the building with everyone in it. I can imagine Dracula laughing and congradulating him.

[midnightvoyager]

I still vote Dracula.

Hey, he's got an unexpectedly great sense of humor! Seems like he'd be a fun boss. Just don't betray him and you're good.

He kinda fucks up people who betray him.

And hey, Conrad's a dick. Marta's a bit of a bitch. Dracula's rather likeable, especially in comparison.

...Man, when you're likeable when compared to Dracula, you need to seek mental help.