A one-shot well suited to the talents of Mignola and his unique vision of the dark arts, religious judgement and war.

Official Description from DARK HORSE:

The sadistic Judge Duvic, who we’ve seen serving God’s vengeance on women and children, nearly has Lord Baltimore in his grasp, but first he has to face Baltimore’s last few friends in this doomed, war-torn world.

Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden return to what they know best. Lord Baltimore, vampires, the Inquisition, witches and World War I and it doesn’t get written much better than this. The title, Baltimore The Inquisitor, conjures up visions of the well-known vampire slayer and while he bookends this title nicely it’s more a story of Judge Duvic and his quest to punish Baltimore for his crimes of darkness. Even as a slayer of evil Judge Duvic can only focus his laser guided judgement against Baltimore for even allowing the mere presence of such evil to touch one’s life. Mignola and Golden craft a well rounded tale and raise questions about what is true evil. Judge Duvic is a sadistic leader in the church and will stop at nothing to fulfill his quest to “cleanse” Baltimore. Save his soul at the expense of his flesh.

First Duvic must face down Baltimore allies, first and foremost his prisoner Hodge, who’s writings spurned Duvic’s punishment. We get a retelling of Duvic’s path to dishing out God’s vengeance and several displays of the Judge’s violent fortitude. Artist Ben Stenbeck work is perfectly suited for this story as it fits a mold of Mignola’s own work while establishing a style that is uniquely his. It’s dark, drab and eerie matching the tone of the writing note for note. Simply a beautiful piece of art.

This is a great one-shot and if you are a fan of Mignola then this will be a great read for you. If you are not familiar with his style and previous work then this is as good as any point to jump in and join in on the experience and you will be a fan too.

4/5