Baltimore, Or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire: Mignola, Golden

This originally appeared as a post in May 2011.

This book was a gift from a writer friend of mine, and proof positive that surprises lurk everywhere. I never would have shelled out twenty-five dollars for a hardcover illustrated novel, even one boasting names like Mike Mignola (the illustrator behind the Hellboy comics) and Christopher Golden (Bram Stoker Award-winning author of multiple novels, including Waking Nightmares and The Myth Hunters). I would have thought the price too high…the title too bizarre…the subject (vampires) “done to death”…and I would have been dead wrong on all of it.

From the first line of the Prelude, Golden drags the reader headfirst into a grim, apocalyptic world:

On a cold autumn night, under a black sky leached of starlight and absent the moon, Captain Henry Baltimore clutches his rifle and stares across the dark abyss of the battlefield, and knows in his heart that these are the torture fields of Hell, and damnation waits just ahead.

From cover to cover, Mignola sets another hook and yanks hard, his abstract artwork all the more powerful when set against the grim detail of the accompanying story. The tin soldier depicted at the beginning of each section is grim and faceless, and its amputated left leg bears mute testament to the horrors of war. The illustrations scattered throughout the book are in the same heavy black, abstract woodcut style, and darkly powerful against the matching text. Swirls of barbed wire and shadowy outlines of soldiers and skulls, buildings and bats, remain a subtle menace seen out of the corner of one’s eye while reading, adding remarkable depth to the story without distracting from it.

The interwoven meta-story format that predominates throughout Baltimore is a fascinating study all on its own; for example, each section is perfectly framed by quotes from the Hans Christian Anderson story, “The Steadfast Tin Soldier”, and that theme works throughout the book, not by way of symmetrical entries but potent all the same. The initial story of Captain Baltimore–who commits the gross offense of attacking a vampire as it is feeding on battlefield carrion and so sets off an apocalyptic war between vampires and humans–gives way to other points of view, pulling the reader around to all sides of the situation.

In a very “Canterbury Tales” fashion, after the initial introduction of Baltimore’s tale, the view moves to some years later. A group of his friends meet in Baltimore’s absence and discuss how they met the good (or perhaps bad) captain; at the end of the tale-telling, a decision must be made, and the group becomes a cohesive force to accomplish a single goal. It’s a remarkable achievement: the tension stayed constant throughout, with surprises neatly paced around every corner and an unexpected twist to the ending.

The story is unremittingly dark and tragic; not fluffy stuff, this, nor for the squeamish. No glittering vampires, or even romantically debonair ones. These vampires are pure evil, and not in the least handsome. The hero (Baltimore) isn’t handsome either; he’s a war-scarred old man with a bitter grudge and a towering hatred of vampires. His friends aren’t extraordinary in any sense other than having survived some awful moments of their own. It’s all horribly gothic and grim and gritty…and yet, the strong thread of heroic determination that runs through each character and scene brings with it an underlying sense of potential sunlight.

I’ve only been peripherally aware of Mignola and Golden before this; now they’re both on my shortlist to track down whenever possible. This turned out to be a more precious gift than I ever expected to receive: a great tale with matching artwork that I can read over and over without growing bored of the story.

And the friend who gave me this book…is on my shortlist of Damn Good People. I’ll buy him a drink next time I run into him. Or, more probably, return the favor with a Great Book he might not have read yet…best of all, maybe, I can do both.

In the meanwhile, if you’ll excuse me, just writing this review has made me want to reread Baltimore…and go buy some of those Hellboy comics…and read more of Golden’s writing.