How did the idealists of the ’60s become the yuppies of the Reagan era? What happens when a generation obsessed with peace and love collides with a creature defined by hunger and power?
Davin S. Cape serves up the storyline, and Felipe Kroll illustrates ‘Woodstake: Three Days of Peace, Music and Blood,’ a graphic novel that follows the exploits of a malignant spirit who transcends time. The prologue begins with the “Creature” awakening in a decrepit house in upstate New York in 1927, desperate for sustenance in the form of blood. As it turns out, human blood is not required in the initial stages of the creature’s emergence from a decades-long slumber necessary to regenerate his immortal yet damaged body. Instead, we learn that a squirrel will do for starters, sort of an appetizer, before moving on to more substantial fare.
As with other forms of literature and film, the plot elements jump back and forth across various times and locales to advance the action before delving into the plight of the central protagonists – in this case, Nina, Artie, and John, who are unwittingly consumed by the creature’s machinations. The bulk of the proceedings takes place in 1969 as a new generation – the children of World War II veterans – gears up for the epochal three-day Woodstock music event, a sort of follow-up to the somewhat less well-known Monterey Pop Festival held two years earlier out west. Such a large gathering of youth represents a veritable buffet on which the creature can feed and groom adherents. In the interest of avoiding spoilers, not much more needs to be said. As the 1996 OMC song goes, “Wanna know the rest? Hey, buy the rights.”
One of the key strengths of ‘Woodstake’ is Kroll’s artwork with its richly detailed characters and appropriately moody atmosphere, which makes for compelling viewing in the way a good cinematographer can take a movie to an entirely new level. At the same time, the mix of vampire lore and rock-and-roll leans far more heavily toward the former, and so consequently, the music and culture of the day take a back seat to the blood and gore. The lettering of the scene descriptions and dialogue can be a challenge to read as well, but the intent is obviously purposeful so as not to obscure the excellent illustrations.
‘Woodstake: Three Days of Peace, Music and Blood’ will appeal to fans of graphic novels featuring the Dracula legend that anchor themselves to pivotal points in human history. Not necessarily for everyone, but enthusiasts will no doubt eat up the narrative with gusto, so to speak.
Available to ship from SHP Comics on March 10th, 2026
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