I finally got the third graphic novel in the Batman/Dracula trilogy, and I was glad to see that it finished strong after a so-so second installment. From the first page, the layout and artwork was outstanding, and the story line a good one, starting with the staked vampire Batman musing on eternity tormented by the lust for blood while staked, slowly decaying to his coffin. The idea that vampires might remain conscious after being staked, but before their heads are struck off is an original one, and the authors make the most of it, using it as a chance to do some exposition on who and what Batman is.
When Alfred, concerned that Gotham City needs its crimefighter, even if he's a vampire, unstakes him, Batman rises from the dead and as a horrific half-human half bat half wolf (you have to see the artwork for it to make sense - he changes from page to page) beast proceeds to terrorize the villains of Gotham, including the Penguin, Scarecrow, Two-Face and several others. And he's not screwing around here - he kills and dismembers each and drinks their blood, without any remorse, and knowing that sooner or later he's going to run out of bad guys and will start on the good people. He is a little concerned that eventually he'll run out of humans - he's that far gone.
Alfred and Commissioner Gordon eventually are able to trap him after he'd killed almost all the bad guys, but Batman still has to voluntarily step into the light to take himself out.
Overall, I thought this was a terrific graphic novel, and one which explored the darkest aspects of the story that it bit off in part 1. One of the unsung heroes of the story is the batsuit itself, by the way, which, by the way the cape and cowl drape over the cadaverous form of the vampire Batman, show just how far he's come from what he was back in the good old days when he was just a billionaire with an oddball hobby. Won't make me a regular reader of graphic novels, but it sure is a creative accomplishment - a riff on a well-worn theme - and was a pleasure to read.