Yes, we get it, vampires are done to undeath at this point. And, yes, it’s even more tired to acknowledge this. But sometimes when a certain craze is catching on, naysayers such as you and I need an example of why such-and-such a craze caught on in the first place, less we instantly dismiss anything associated with said craze. For zombies, it was The Walking Dead. For vampires, it’s American Vampire. Follow the cut for more on this Multiversity favorite.
Reminding readers why a certain kind of story caught on doesn’t necessarily mean bringing it back to it’s roots. Sure, sometimes it’s nice to, in the case of vampires, see Dracula as a Romanian in Victorian times, pursued by Jonathan Harker, Dr. van Helsing, and company, but the real reason we have grown to love vampire stories is because of the versatility they have. Vampires themselves are surrounded in themes that we always come back to – the corruption of power and desire, the fear of death, the seduction of the innocent, and so on and so forth – but the basic characteristics that distinguish them as vampires don’t necessarily tie them to any particular kind of story; there is, of course, usually at least a twinge of horror attached to them, but these days that isn’t even mandatory.
Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque’s American Vampire doesn’t return to old stomping grounds, but blazes new ground instead. The idea of different vampire “breeds” isn’t particularly unique, but American Vampire gives the history of a new strain, only slightly younger than the nation it originates in. What makes Snyder and Albuquerque’s approach unique is that by following this breed from it’s beginnings in a young America, we get to see the American Vampire’s development alongside the development of the nation itself. It’s a unique framework that makes for an interesting story; most horror stories span between a night and a week, but here we have one that spans decades.
Part of the reason that this approach works is because American Vampire isn’t a straight horror book. No, that isn’t a negative remark. While the title is a horror story first and foremost, there’s a healthy smattering of widescreen action that helps preserve the long-form tension. The aesthetics typically change with each story arc, resulting in a horror stories wearing the trappings of a western, a death race, a war story, and so on and so forth, and thus keeping the book fresh. More so than any other kind of title, a horror book cannot let its reader grow too comfortable with their surroundings, which is why most horror stories tend to be shorter rather than longer. By changing the setting and feel with each story, though, American Vampire makes sure that the reader never feels like they can turn their nightlight off at night.
By this point, you probably know who Scott Snyder is. While he writes one hell of a Batman story, though, this book is his true baby. Month in and month out, Scott Snyder is at the top of his game with this book, and every time he sets forth to scare me, his mission is accomplished. He’s a master of that horrific tone, and knows how to create tension and hold it for sometimes an entire issue. These days there are many comics – and, perhaps even more commonly, movies – that try to scare their readers with a sudden horrific image or act. Snyder is one of the few writers around these days who understands that horror isn’t in the moment where Jaws pops up and grabs somebody, but when we see that fin, and hear that “duuuuuhhh dun” – or, more importantly, that minute or two when the fin has disappeared.
Of course, comics are a visual medium, and art deserves to be mentioned just as much as writing. Snyder has found his perfect complement in Rafael Albuquerque, who brings his A-game to every issue and somehow takes Synder’s unsettling scripts to even more terrifying extremes. Albuquerque’s interpretation of how vampires should look is perhaps my favorite visual incarnation of the blood-sucking fiends, being just grotesquely exaggerated enough to scare the viewer without losing the disconcerting, all-to-human core. Not only is his line work top-notch, his layouts are some of the clearest being published in mainstream comics today (I’m sorry for your indie cred, but Vertigo is mainstream). There are a handful of other great artists who make appearances throughout the series, including Multiversity favorite Sean Gordon Murphy in miniseries Survival of the Fittest.
A new story arc began last month, with the second part out this week, and provides a solid jumping-on point, but I would recommend starting from the very beginning. Here, let me help you with that.
Oh, and the first story also contains a backup by some guy named Stephen King, whoever that is.
