VAMPIRE: THE MASQUERADE: WAKE IN HATE #1 / Script by JOHN LEES / Art by TOM MANDRAKE / Colors by WALT BARNA / Letters by ANWORLD DESIGN / Design by MATT BOOKMAN/ Covers by ANDREA SORRENTINO, ANDREA OLIMPIERI, SETH ADAMS & TOM MANDRAKE WITH JUSTIN PROKOWICH / Published by TITAN COMICS

My hopes were high when I first heard that Titan Comics had acquired the Vampire: The Masquerade license. From Doctor Who to Blade Runner to Conan, the publisher has a solid track record in adapting popular franchises for comics. However, they still have big shoes to fill after the brief but excellent run of World of Darkness comics by Vault Comics a few years ago.

The first issue of Wake In Hate opens in Seattle, Washington, in 2020. It’s a time of turmoil in the city, with tension building between the local police and those protesting their apparent brutality. People are disappearing mysteriously after attending public rallies and the finger of suspicion has fallen on the cops.

This is a matter of concern to the local vampires, who live under a strict code of secrecy known as the Masquerade. Those who can pass for human do so. Those who cannot lay low. And woe unto any of the Kindred who is careless in their feeding habits or covering their tracks. Particularly if that puts those authorities not easily bribed or threatened on the road to discovering that vampires exist.

The task of determining if the missing protesters are the result of a vampire getting stupid is assigned to Simon “Silky” Ladock; owner of a local bar and the official leader of the Brujah clan in Seattle. Usually that job means keeping a leash on his clan-mates when they lose their tempers. In this case, it means him going undercover since the local Sheriff of the vampires is too much of a cop to pass for a protester.

Writer John Lees does a fantastic job of capturing the spirit and tone of the Vampire: the Masquerade setting. The plot plays out like an adventure straight from a modern module or storyteller prompt book. The book also utilizes a lot of the terminology from the game, but falters in not explaining much of the lore behind the various clans and vampire society. Most of this can be researched on-line, but it wouldn’t take much more effort to include some exposition in the story.

Thankfully, the story itself is engaging regardless of how well it adapts the World of Darkness games. Silky is a likeable protagonist, who fits the classic mold of a Brujah warrior poet still searching for a better way of living. The fact that he isn’t technically alive anymore is besides the point.

The artwork is a bit more mixed. Tom Mandrake’s style has always seemed uneven to me. However, in this comic, where so many of the characters are inhuman, the disparate visuals seem fitting. There is quite a lot of difference between how Silky looks when he’s trying to have a conversation and when he lets his inner animal out to fight. There’s also a subtle difference when he’s trying to influence people, presumably using the Presence ability that is a key power of the Brujah Clan.

The rest of the art team does a fine job bringing the neo-Gothic world of Vampire: The Masquerade to life. Colorist Walt Barna manages some impressive effects that shift the focus with how the background is colored compared to the foreground. And Andworld Design does a fantastic job avoiding obscuring the artwork with action effects and word balloons.

Wake In Hate captures the essence of the Vampire: The Masquerade games. Unfortunately, I don’t think it is as successful in making the setting accessible to newcomers as the previous Vault Comics’ series. Horror fans should be able to tough it out after consulting a wiki, but this comic was definitely made for existing fans of the World of Darkness.

Vampire: The Masquerade: Wake In Hate #1 arrives in comic shops on November 11, 2026.