Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov
Illustrated by Andrea SorrentinoAcross the country, bodies litter the streets as the Queen of Blood builds her army. A weakened Andrew must seek the aid of an old ally, but the game of death has a new wild card who may help Andrew tip the balance of power — or decapitate him.
I’ll be honest, this was the dead last book I expected to enjoy in the DCnU. When it was announced, nothing about it seemed appealing. I mean, vampire love stories aren’t exactly hip amongst those that are not soccer moms these days, and every bit of the pre-release information on this one left a sour taste in my mouth. However, out of respect for Fialkov’s previous work I read an advanced copy of the first issue, then a friend’s copy of issue two, then went back to buy 1 & 2 and picked up #3 on the day of release. Forget what you’ve heard, this book ain’t your mama’s vampires, and it sure as hell is no tween dream.
Click on down to find out why.
As one of the (I am assuming) many that were unfamiliar with the original House of Mystery-era Andrew Bennet, this book is a completely fresh start for me and the character. However, Fialkov has taken a somewhat subtle, drawn out approach to character introduction with this book. Rather than front-loading the book with introductory exposition and character history, he is instead weaving it in amidst the growing plot of vampire revolution. While this helps in preventing the story being bogged down early on, I feel like I wish I knew more about the creatures I am reading about at this point than I actually do. This is one of the very things this issue loses points on.
One of the things it absolutely gains points on is the fact that this is very much a super hero vampire book as opposed to a vampire book that features super heroes. Sure, vampires and super heroes have coexisted in the same universe since the beginning of the medium, but most of the time they do so unrelated to each other. While the two worlds have interacted, they have never fed back onto each other. This book is very much aware of the fact that its creatures exist in a world where super strong aliens can leap tall buildings in a single bound, and that creates an entirely unique circumstance for it’s bloodsuckers.
Another thing the book gains points on is actually creating the most unique take on vampires since Scott Snyder brought us American Vampire almost two years ago. There are growing trends amongst the horror comic scene to “take back” vampires from the clutches of certain pop-cultural phenomena that have appropriated them for decidedly non-horrific uses. Some more blatantly than others. In Fialkov’s hands, we find the once rulers of the night in a pretty bad state. Beaten down and subjugated by humanity, its clear that it has been many moons since the race held anything that could resemble dominance. Given that, the fundamental core of the book becomes blatantly simple to understand: the vamps are angry, and they just aren’t going to take it anymore. However, unlike some other persecuted minorities, vampire revenge involves blood.
Lots and lots of it. Oh dear.
Depending on how you look at things, one could say the violence contained in this book is subtle. However, as I see it, this is one of the goriest books DC puts out, period. Sure, your average Vertigo books has more violence and far more gore inherent in the story itself, but the level of passive horror in this issue alone is immense. Simply put, there is blood EVERYWHERE and the story treats it as part and parcel of the trajectory its on. Its as natural to this story as grass is to other stores, and that is truly terrifying. When your standard scene is one drenched in blood, you are starting from the right place if you want to tell a vampire tale with any (pun intended), meat to it.
Continued belowI think a lot of that has to do with Sorrentino’s gritty, frequently uncomfortable artistic style. Creating art that conveys emotion as brutally as this one is no easy feat, however his Jae Lee-esque, impressionable style is as emotive as can be. It’s a tricky thing, replicating emotion in art, and is usually done through character facial expression. However, everything Sorrentino puts on the page is incredibly expressive, from the backgrounds to the character design to the ways in which those characters move across the page and interact with their surroundings. On top of this, the gore factor is uniquely hidden within the overall scene such that you really have to be looking for it in order to realize how grim some aspects of the story actually are. Once you look a little closer, the “oh my god those are bodies…LOTS of bodies” moments become more and more frequent.
Ultimately, the one nagging bit that keeps returning to my head when reading this book relates to sustainability. From the very beginning, this story has had a timestamp on it that has been hard to ignore. The circumstances these characters find themselves are unquestionably set towards a very concrete ending that needs to come sooner rather than later. It leaves me wondering how long the war of Andrew Bennet against his nocturnal brethren can really go on before it starts to lag. However, with the first instance of another major DCU player appearing in the book happening next issue, its possible that all the dimension of this book have not been revealed yet. At the moment, at least, I’m intrigued enough to keep reading.
Final Verdict: 8.5 – Buy
