The Confessional: A Graphic Novel

Hender debuts with a sly tale of guilt and manipulation. In Prohibition-era New Orleans, Cora is a new member of a vampire coven operating out of a speakeasy and brothel, having been turned by her sister Dolores a year prior. Struggling to adjust to the life of a vampire, she only feeds off her sister’s kills (“Hit the guilt phase, have you, chére?” Madame Mercedi quips) and frequents the local church, wracked by her desire to be cleansed. In the confessional, she becomes infatuated with the rakish Father Orville. After her unchecked hunger drives her to murder a man in the street, Father Orville discovers her with the body. She confesses her sins, secrets, and love (“Jesus Fucking Christ,” the priest responds). This sparks a psychosexual romance, in which the duo hunt and kill people who have revealed terrible sins to Father Orville during confessions. Amid their vigilante crusade and lustful dalliances, he leads her to believe she is redeemed by using her curse to do God’s work—until Cora begins to suspect that the priest’s manipulations make him the greater monster. The art mixes gothic details with a charming, lithe Art Nouveau style and a muted palette of blue, pinks, and then a bloodier red. It’s a playful mix of raunch and gore that readers will enjoy sinking their teeth into. (Mar.)