Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar’s Remedy #1
Written by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
Art by Ben Stenbeck
Colors by Dave Stewart
Letters by Clem Roberts
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: June 20, 2012
Cover Price: $3.50

I’m a big fan of the first two Baltimore miniseries that Dark Horse has released and I’m just as much of a fan of the first issue of the next entry in the series, Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar’s Remedy. This is just a two-parter between larger minis, and this issue gives a good look at what the series is all about.

The basic premise of Baltimore is that during World War I, a plague broke out that caused an outbreak of vampirism. The rise of these new vampires awoke some older vampires who had been sleeping for a long time. One of these older vampires attacks a certain Lord Baltimore and his family. However, Baltimore survives and swears vengeance against the vampire who ruined his life. Now, Baltimore travels Europe, seemingly always one step behind the target of his revenge.

This series sees Baltimore travel to Croatia where he runs afoul of a certain doctor who is trying to find a cure for the vampire plague. Baltimore persuades himself to track down the doctor after finding out what happens to his “patients.” I don’t want to go too much into what happens next, but you’ve got a monster hunter and a bunch of monsters; you do the math.

It’s easy to compare the Baltimore series to Hellboy, and there are a lot of similarities, beyond even the creative team. Both series follow monster-hunting adventures and have a lot of action mixed in with great human drama. However, Baltimore is certainly, shall we say, bleaker than Hellboy. It doesn’t have the same humor that Hellboy is known for and instead focuses on a darker hero. Baltimore as a character who shares more in common with Jonah Hex. He does what he needs to do to get his revenge, and it doesn’t matter who gets in the way. It makes for a series that isn’t always fun, but it makes me want to see what happens next.

If you like Hellboy or other horror comics, any of the Baltimore stories will be right up your alley. If you haven’t read any of the series before, it looks like this two-issue mini will give you a good idea of what the series is like. I give this Baltimore: Dr. Leskovar’s Remedy a well-deserved 5 out of 5.