The End of Dynamite Dark Shadows (or Is It?)

There's been much chatter all over the Dark Shadows-concerned interwebs about the imminent demise of Dynamite Comics' DS series (which, at 23 issues, plus six of Year One and five of the Vampirella-related spin-off, isn't a bad run).  But here's a discovery I made today while perusing Amazon:

DARK SHADOWS Volume 2

Release Date:  December 24, 2013

The haunting tale of Barnabas Collins, television's original reluctant vampire continues! As staunch companion Dr. Julia Hoffman Collins conducts experiments in a desperate search to cure his bloodthirsty curse, the noble but guilt-ridden patriarch of the Collins family journeys into the nearby town... and discovers that he is not the only unnatural creature stalking prey. Following a mysterious woman into the night, Collins finds himself confronted by sinister forces from his past, each with a personal vendetta to settle!

Interesting choice, isn't it, to release a second collection after they've cancelled the series?  Oh well ... who am I to complain?

And here, in case you missed it, is the cover art and summary for the series' last hurrah:

 

ON SALE DATE: November 27
FINAL ISSUE!!! It is a turning point in the lives of the residents of Collinwood. Reeling from the aftermath of their confrontation with Dark Barnabas and his family of vampires, no one has been left unscathed. With no place else to turn, and little hope of surviving another vampire encounter, Willie is forced to call in help from the most unlikely of sources... vampire hunters.

I have complicated feelings for the Dynamite DS -- they've gone the Dark Horse Buffy route, theoretically picking up where the original series left off.  Unfortunately, the majority of comic book consumers are probably unaware of the intricacies of those storylines, which means that the writers, also probably unaware, are creating new stories with a jarringly different tone.  This is problematic only for readers familiar with the show, who are often loyal to Dark Shadows to a fault; for people familiar with the Burton/Depp film or who picked up the comic because they dug vampires or were attracted to the beautifully rendered covers, confusion undoubtedly reigned.  Therefore, I'm not at all surprised that the series is coming to an end; indeed, I'm surprised that it made it this long.  I'm mildly bummed that they probably won't do a sequel to Year One, which I've been enjoying very much -- I was hoping for an exploration of Angelique (portrayed in the Dynamite world as a close literary cousin to Glenn Close's character from Fatal Attraction with the depth of a mud puddle), or even a re-examination of 1897.

Ah, well -- I'll add them to the Gold Key comics, and those from Innovation in 1991, and the Paperback Library gothics, and Lara Parker's books, my old copy of TWODS, etc etc etc ...