Sensual, Seductive And Shocking: Reviewing NSFW Erotic Gothic Horror ‘Vermley Keep’
by Olly MacNamee
Summary
‘Vermley Keep’ is a highly polished erotic gothic horror grapioc novel recently funded on Kickstarter by creators Rich Carrington and Brian Dawson which tells a sexually-charged tale of terror set in the suitably evocatiove 19th century. If Hammer horror film were made today but produced by Playboy. A seductive read from cover to cover.
Overall
10/10Vermley Keep is a new 64 page graphic novel by writer Rich Carrington and artist Brian Dawson that was recently successfully crowdfunded but is very much a departure from Carrington’s previous work in the superhero genre with the two previous comic book series, Mahoney’s and The Guys and Limits, being published under his Hardline Comics banner. This, on the other hand, is the first title to be published under a new imprint, Darkline Comics. And its not just a departure of genre but also a rather nature readers’ title from the opening page.
CONTENT WARNING: NSFW CONTENT BELOW
A NSFW vampire horror set in the 19th century and following there women whose husbands have been captured by the mysterious residents of Vermley Keep. A castle compound straight out of one of Bram Stoker’s fevered nightmares. Or possibly one of his wet dreams. This is a highly erotic horror comic not for the faint of heart. Hammer Horrors if done by Playboy. But, equally the kind of film Hammer film could get away with today in our more progressive society. Just as the sexual mores of the sixties were present in that era’s horrors (i.e. implied rather than shown), so too are out less buttoned-up society’s acceptable levels of sex projected onto this gothic graphic novel.
The script sizzles with sexual tension and sexually explicit scenes dominate the book as the seductive and sensual Countess of Vermley Keep beds each of the three captured brothers in the hope of gaining immortality through the act of coitus. A script that evokes the classic Hammer vampire foils of the sixties, with a coterie of buxom and beautiful women hunting for their husbands. Itself something of a role reversal with the women in the role as saviours while their hapless and helpless husbands are the ones that need saving. Again, another nod to contemporary storytelling. This is your quintessential vampire story, with the gothically grand setting and seductive counts and countesses all familiar tropes of the vampire sub-genre of horror, but filtered through a modern lens. And all beautifully rendered by Dawson, a real find by Carrington when he was recruiting for an artist on this book.
Dawson’s art is in itself seductive.He has a slick, clean and refined style that immediately reminded me heavily of Nathan Gooden’s art on Barbaric (Vault Comics), with some suggestion of photographic references that only help elevate the art further. It’s a wonderful looking graphic novel that’s one of the more erotic expressions of vampirism I have seen in recent years, particularly in comics, but also delivers on thrills, spills and evocative and erotic art throughout.
A great gothic story with seductive and sensual art to match. For fans of erotic horror who aren’t afraid of the dark.
Vermley Keep will make its debut air this years’ High Vis Comic Con on Saturday, June 21st. For more details of this con, follow me on instagram here.