Baltimore, Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire

Baltimore is a good work of horror. The plot concerns the titular vampire-hunter's career, as well as contextual stories from his colleagues. It takes place during and right after World War I, although it's really an alternate history. The war is fought against Hessians, not Germans nor even Prussians. The war takes place in Gaul, never France, and involves Nordic forces. A plague sets in at the end, a la the Spanish Flu, but it's actually a mass vampiric attack on humanity. I mentioned stories, and perhaps it's worth thinking of Baltimore as a collection of intertwined tales. The center of the book involves three people meeting in a deplorable inn, taking turns telling or reading stories, so it's not too far removed from the club tale genre a la Arthur C. Clarke's Tales from the White Hart or Spider Robinson's Callahan's series. The tone is different, though, as Baltimore is almost ceaselessly bleak and fierce, without any humor. Mike Mignola has many black and white illustrations throughout. It's not a graphic novel, as most pages are mostly text. What Baltimore has instead are many small, nearly marginal inserts that illustrate details of events, or offer atmospheric cues. In addition, there are several very good full-page drawings for key scenes and characters. One detail: the book is framed slightly by allusions to Hans Christian Andersen's "The Steadfast Tin Soldier." This seems a bit superfluous and doesn't add much to the overall story, especially with its resonance of children's tales, which Baltimore is not. Recommended for horror readers, as well as for Mike Mignola fans.