American Vampire #27 Cover Reviews 

Review: American Vampire #27

By | May 31st, 2012
Posted in Reviews | % Comments

In a last-minute substitution, Italian artist Riccardo Burchielli has replaced Roger Cruz to tell the story of Calvin Poole, the kind-of-but-not-really Shaft of the vampires. In fact, the only real similarity is that they are both black and bad mother-shut-your-mouths. Burchielli wowed Multiversity with his work on “DMZ,” but will he be able to do the same when he leans more toward the supernatural?

Written by Scott Snyder
Illustrated by Riccardo Burchielli

“The Nocturnes” concludes here! Calvin Poole is a haunted man with a secret, but it’s nothing compared to the secret he uncovers in a small Southern town. Plus, a major character steps back onto the stage!

Scott Snyder is a writer who can rarely be accused of “phoning it in” – even on secondary tales such as this one, it is clear that Snyder really cares about the story he is telling. Every issue tries to create at least one major bridge between the reader and one of the characters, rather than just serving as vehicle for a plot. It would be very easy for this issue to be an example of the latter; even though it is not given much attention, a major plot point is made through dialogue that could very well be the “point” of this mini-arc, but nine out of ten readers would never know it – Snyder does an adequate job of convincing the reader that this story is solely to let us know more about Henry’s brother-in-arms Calvin, even if we will only be hanging around him for two issues. Calvin gets more than one character moments in this issue that help plant hopes in the reader that he will be around in future issue. Snyder is often praised for his grasp on horror, but characterization is a major component of horror – why would we gasp with terror when a character opens that door we know they shouldn’t if we have no connection to the character in question?

That being said, the connection is just as much as many horror films – including some of the best – care to give: we see and understand why we are supposed to care about Calvin, but it is up to us to make that connection – Snyder does not exactly make the reader care as some masters of characterization are able to do. Still, the story is a fun and interesting enough one that will hold fans over until the hyped-up ‘Blacklist’ arc that begins next month. Unlike other side-plots, such as the critically acclaimed “Survival of the Fittest,” however, this two-parter probably will not be enough to win over any would-be readers.

It feels almost unfair to say it, but this issue’s weak link is artist Riccardo Burchielli. Burchielli has proven himself to be a very solid sequential artists in comics such as “DMZ” and “Northlanders,” with a style that stands apart from the slightly homogenized American crowd, but the great compositional qualities that made Burchielli a name are not present in this issue. The storytelling begins relatively decently, but with each page, it becomes more and more sloppy. Finally, we reach the pages of the climax, which are nigh indecipherable. Were there two old man vampires? Three? It is easy to lose track in the final action sequence, something Burchielli could have fixed. The other major artistic offense is the final page, wherein a familiar face tells a Calvin of her horrible plight, one where the script even specifies that she “sobs,” and yet the two panels of that characters face show quite the contrary – the face is not even expressionless, showing instead extreme disinterest. Burchielli has proven himself to be a truly excellent artist before, capable of both great storytelling and a masterful grasp on body language in expression, so this issue begs the question: what happened here?

Burchielli was, of course, the fill-in artist for scheduled artist Roger Cruz. This was already a problem in and of itself – both Cruz and Burchielli are excellent artists, but their styles are different enough that even someone with only the most basic comics knowledge could tell the difference in seconds. It could be that Burchielli had a limited amount of time to churn this issue out – as Cruz was originally solicited, Burchielli could only have two months’ notice, at most – and thus was not at top form. Whatever the reason, it defeats the purpose of these secondary stories, which already relieve one artist, series co-creator Rafael Albuquerque, if the guest artists need their own fill-in artists, and causes the reader to ask: can Burchielli really be judged that harshly for this issue?

“American Vampire” is still one of Vertigo’s best series, but this issue may very well be the weakest one yet. The story, while interesting, is one that will probably only appeal to fans who have been reading since issue #1, and even then only in a sense of getting the whole picture. Snyder is still doing a great job, even if he is not firing on all cylinders, but Burchielli’s seemingly rushed art brings down this issue significantly. Still, if this is the worst “American Vampire” gets, it speaks volumes about the rest of the series.

6.5 – Good, but not great.


Walt Richardson

Walt is a former editor for Multiversity Comics and current podcaster/ne'er-do-well. Follow him on Twitter @goodbyetoashoe... if you dare!

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