“The simple truth is, there’s only two kinds of objects in this world…
the ones that shine and the ones that don’t.

My name is James Finnigan and I mostly concern myself with objects from the first category.”

Set fifty years after Bram Stoker’s seminal novel, Dracula, Stephan Franck’s graphic story, Silver, focuses on the efforts of a famously illusive con man who assembles an eclectic team to infiltrate the castle made famous in Jonathan Harker’s journals to pilfer a horde of silver from the vampires who hold it dear.

Simple, right?

Prior to the weekend of August 13th, 2016, I was wholly ignorant of the artist Stephan Franck, despite his rather prominent work on films like The Iron Giant and How to Train Your Dragon. On the evening of load-in for the Kansas City Comic Con, I met and briefly spoke with Mr. Franck, and throughout the weekend was repeatedly drawn to the powerful black and white imagery that dominated his booth.

And yet I was wary.

Numerous are the experiences at comic conventions where art has captured my fancy, only for story to let me down. I had already spent more than was planned and I was reluctant to commit. Near the end of the day on Saturday I walked by for the nth time, gazing at Franck’s art, only to stop and pick up the first graphic novel for perusal. While so doing, his daughter’s impassioned support of her father’s work, coupled with the information she provided regarding his storytelling credits, came close enough to pushing me over the edge that I determined to return the next day to pick up the graphic novels while Stephan Franck was there to sign them.

Even then, I went home and searched for reviews, which only further persuaded me that it was necessary for me to pick up this series. I did so that Sunday, and promptly read the first volume cover to cover. This Labor Day weekend provided me with the opportunity to finish the story as presented thus far and I have to say I am quite impressed.

There are two things you need to know about me in judging my assessment of Silver:

1. Dracula, for reasons too numerous to expound upon here, is a novel I cherish above nearly all others.

2. More often than not, I steadfastly avoid vampire stories, in every medium, because of my devotion to Stoker’s creation.

Stephan Franck’s series succeeded in capturing and keeping my attention in large part because the story keeps its historic foundation firmly in the past. This is not a re-imagining of Dracula, nor is it an effort at a sequel. Silver is a character study wrapped in the story of a heist set in the era of the pulps. The vampires are in some manner no different than the character actors who make up the criminal motley crew, their existence points the spotlight on the character whose inner dialogue fuels the narrative–James Finnigan.

In the first volume Stephan Franck reveals that Silver began its life as a screenplay. It is apparent from the very beginning of Silver that Stephan Franck understands how to tell a story in a visual format. There is absolutely nothing amateur about this production. Every panel and every word showcase an economy of storytelling that keeps the story moving forward while not sacrificing plot. The angles of view in single panels and full splash pages are visually arresting. Each of the first two volumes of Silver contains a three-issue story arc, out of a planned twelve, and each issue contained therein demonstrates a command of the medium, with suspense properly built so that the reader is left in great anticipation for the next issue.

Additionally Franck includes the kind of behind-the-scenes glimpse in each volume that will thrill those of us accustomed to digging into the extras of our favorite films. In these he reveals early designs for panels and story layout and explains in detail what changed and why it was necessary for things to change. Given what is included in the first two volumes, those who follow through to the end will be provided with an educational insight into the craft of successful story telling.

I am reluctant to so do, but I cannot help but make mention of the work of Mike Mignola when contemplating the manner in which Silver attracted my attention. There is a kinship in the way in which each artist uses stark blacks and bright whites to evoke mood and atmosphere in their work. Stephan Franck does an interesting thing with light in certain panels which adds a unique depth to this monochromatic palette. It is rare that a comic book, a graphic novel, will elicit such a strong pull because of the atmosphere created by the way the inks are laid down on the page (digitally or traditionally). Mike Mignola’s work on Hellboy creates that kind of aura, and I feel something similar when reading Silver.

The heist may be the central idea around which this story revolves, however Stephan Franck skillfully creates the kind of eerie, unsettling atmosphere that makes Dracula such a pleasure to read. It is that level of impending doom, that air of barely-contained menace, that compels me to look carefully in the shadows of every panel, afraid of missing some important detail. And like any good storyteller, Franck knows just when to use humor to lighten that tension before it once again builds.

While James Finnigan is the central character, there are other characters in Silver with mysterious origins and possible ulterior motives that keep the reader fully engaged. While reading you get the sense that at any moment the whole scheme is going to unravel, and that tension makes for anxious reading.

You can find out more about Silver and its creator at the Dark Planet website. While there you can order issues 1-6 in digital or print format as well as the collected graphic novel volumes.

I am pleased that Stephan Franck chose to attend KCCC, as Silver has been a fun discovery, particularly as the days are slowly getting shorter and the nights longer. I now wait in anticipation for the release of issue #7 and the continuation of Finnigan’s story.