“Vampire The Masquerade: Winter’s Teeth” Volumes I & II

Review By Talia Heart, 11-24-2021

The latest comic venture in The World of Darkness’ “Vampire The Masquerade” line, published by Vault Comics, “Winter’s Teeth” is an amazing study in blood, politics, and betrayal. It is also a study of meager survival and the struggle to keep one’s humanity while facing enemies on all sides, while desperately seeking the blood you need to survive.  To set up the story for review, there are truths ahead that the leeches (vampires) don’t want you to know (i.e., minor spoilers). You have been warned.

            “Winter’s Teeth” covers all these subjects and more via a divided storyline: the main story, which follows Cecily Bain (an enforcer of The Camarilla) and her presented childe Alejandra Deluna (who while weak, has a power not even The Prince can describe) set in the Minnesota “Twin Cities” of Minneapolis and St. Paul. Meanwhile, in a separate story, “The Anarch Tales”, a different group of vampires (mostly so-called “Thin-Bloods”) just trying to get their nightly blood to survive (mostly bagged blood rejected by hospitals) and on their way to Minneapolis-St. Paul following a tip to pick up a whole cooler of rejected bagged blood).  As the story progresses some characters move up, some move down, and some die – standard Kindred events but the writers manage to throw in a few surprises (at least things that I didn’t work out on my own).  Volume II picks up where Volume I left off and ends with a cliff-hanger to be continued in “World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw”.

            In addition to the stories, the comic also features roleplaying supplements. The supplements are cannon and can be used in your own games.  Volume I includes four Lore Sheets, four new discipline powers, character biographies and game statistics for five characters featured here in Volume I, and even a special Winter’s Teeth character sheet. Volume II’s roleplaying supplements include character biographies and game statistics for three characters, one Lore Sheet, two new coterie types, four discipline powers, and another Winter’s Teeth blank character sheet.

            “Winter’s Teeth” Volumes I & II are 176 pages each, and have a suggested retail price of $17.99 each, though they can usually be found online for even less. For telling two separate storylines with solid writing, amazing, full-color art on premium paper, these collections deliver strong value as well, and I give it a 4.5 out of 5.0 only to leave room for improvement in “World of Darkness: Crimson Thaw” or other future comics/graphic novels. If you are a “Vampire The Masquerade” fan, particularly of Fifth Edition, I believe you’ll want these comics in your collection and I highly recommend them both.

            NOTE: “Winter’s Teeth” was published in ten separate issues, each with unique covers and features; Volume I is a collection of issues 1-5 and the cover art and roleplaying supplements that issues 1-5 came with. Volume II comprises issues 6-10.  “Crimson Thaw” is a special three part World of Darkness comic series that has now finished it’s run (and not available in a collected volume, or at least not yet). A new World of Darkness comic series has been commissioned based on “Werewolf: The Apocalypse” set to start in 2022.