Writer: Darin S. Cape
Illustrator: Felipe Kroll
April 14, 2026
Publisher: SHP
Genre: Horror, Graphic Novel
ISBN: 979-8-9927499-1-5
Ages 16+
Sink your teeth into Woodstake a brilliant horror/comedy about three days of peace, music, and blood. In the summer of 1969, an old and deadly vampire awakens as hippies unknowingly gather for the historic Woodstock Festival. Amidst the backdrop of peace signs and protest anthems, festival-goers are hunted in a chilling but hilarious adventure filled with music, mayhem, and vampires tripping hard on hippie blood. Woodstake is a must-have series, masterfully blending 1960s counterculture, psychedelic imagery, vampire mythology, and biting humor into something truly special. Prepare for a wild ride of laughs and frights in Woodstake!
Woodstake is as shrewd as Shaun of the Dead and as haunting as a Hendrix solo!
Review:
O_O (my face when I was offered a review copy, LOL.) I mean, how could I not? Look at that title! Look at that cover...nom nom nom.
Okay, time to get serious. Let's talk story. Woodstake is Dracula-coded. The main vampire is never named, but it's Dracula. Other characters' names are plays on some of the original book characters. But there is a Van Helsing. The vampire lore is also consistent with the book.
The prologue might smell a little like Dracula but it is an imaginative, fresh take from chapters one to five. It covers the vampire's journey across the ocean to escape Helsing in 1927. He lands in upstate NY and almost dies (again). One groovy page is used to transition the story from 1931 to 1965 and the start of chapter one.
The story picks up with Jonathan Harper and Nina Murray making the cross-country drive to NY for Woodstock with two other friends. Over the course of the five chapters, our crew's story crosses paths with the vamp and the characters' relatives from the prologue. The songs playing in the background of each scene are shown so you can imagine the story's soundtrack while reading.
Does the vamp dress like a hippie and take acid? Does he meet Jimi Hendrix? And if so, does he eat him? You'll have to read it. This is a spoiler-free review.
At the end of chapter five, we are teased with Woodstake '99! How far-out is that sequel idea?
The artwork is a mixed bag. It looks like they used a 3-D model program and digitally painted them. I've seen it used in online comics. The characters look life-like in some panels, but sometimes stiff. In other panels, they look more painted, if that makes sense... Not my favorite style, but once I got into the story, I adjusted to it.
I was born in 1967, so I don't remember much about the '60s, except what I learned from the media (music, TV, movies), and the fashion made a cool Halloween costume "Peace out." Woodstake captures the '60s vibes, the good and the bad.
5 "And that's the way it is." Sheep
OMG! You can get the whole digital series on sale!
The print version is on pre-order.
SHP: A new kind of comics company
Website
SHP was founded by Shawn Hainsworth in 2021. He wanted to bring his thought-provoking screenwriting into the world of comics and enlisted the help of some world class talents. SHP already has 3 acclaimed series coming to comic shops in the fall with a brand new adventure slated for 2025.
The future looks bright. Won't you join us on the edge?
Website
SHP was founded by Shawn Hainsworth in 2021. He wanted to bring his thought-provoking screenwriting into the world of comics and enlisted the help of some world class talents. SHP already has 3 acclaimed series coming to comic shops in the fall with a brand new adventure slated for 2025.
The future looks bright. Won't you join us on the edge?
From https://booksforward.com/ Press Release:
SHP’s unique collection of horror, science fiction, adventure, comedy and reimagined classic stories are distributed by IPG, Lunar via Massive Indies and Diamond, available in comic book stores and at the publisher’s website.
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