Writer: David Dastmalchian
Artist: Lukas Ketner
Colorist: Lauren Affe
Letterer: Frank Cvetkovic
Publisher: Dark Horse Comics

Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter introduces us to Jerri Butler, a local news reporter who has a family history working for the station KSKB in 1980s Missouri. Unfortunately, Jerri also has a personal history with booze. After a puff piece at a local fair turns into an exposé over cheap wine, Jerri’s brother has no choice but to … reassign her job duties. Rather than stay fired, Jerri reluctantly agrees to stand in for the missing Rich Barnes and play host for the station’s late-night horror movie runs as Count Crowley. Except, a big detail is left out of her job description.

If you don’t recognize the name David Dastmalchian, you’d probably recognize him from a wide-range of movies. Recently, he starred as Kurt in both Ant-Man movies (the Russian dude), but he’s also had small roles in The Dark Knight, Bird Box, and Blade Runner 2049. This freshman effort into the comicbook realm shows a lot of promise.

The book itself feels like a Frankenstein’s monster of Bruce Almighty, UHF, and An American Werewolf in London. There are certainly a few hitches to the book. First, the dialogue feels a little stiff, especially toward the beginning. Second, it uses some tired plots devices, like the protagonist who can’t hold down a job and their rent. Third, it starts off with that sorta *record scratch* Yep, that’s me, I bet you’re wondering how I ended up in this situation trope, which normally I’m all for that kind of introduction, but in this case, I think I would have preferred the surprise at the end as opposed to having the reveal upfront and then backtracking.

I say that, though, with the utmost respect for the cast of characters we’re given. Jerri, as a character, is a lovable jerk (similar to Bill Murray in Groundhog Day) who you want to see do well but fails to get past being her own worst enemy (so far). As the book continues, I felt like her dialogue got a lot sharper and elicited a few chuckles from me. The overall concept of the story is also intriguing, and while I’ve brought up a lot of familiar titles, it still feels wholly its own beast. Because of all this, I almost didn’t need that opening hook to really grab me. It spoils the surprise at the end that would give the reader a reason to keep going in the series, but it’s not a show-stopper for me.

The artwork is fantastic and right up my alley. The sharp lines from Ketner work together beautifully with Affe’s retro color palette. There’s a lot about this book — story and art-wise — that leans heavily on classic horror comics and late-night Creepshow binges, and the result is stellar. Related to that, the creative team does a nice job showing us the ’80s setting without beating you over the head with exposition or blatantly obvious nostalgia pegs.

Count Crowley: Reluctant Midnight Monster Hunter might have a few bumps along the way, but the retro monster tale straight out of your VCR is a fantastic and original love-letter to classic horror that freaks and ghouls alike will enjoy.