American Vampire: v. 1 [Hardcover]

This hardback edition brings together the first five issues of the acclaimed Vertigo series American Vampire. It charts the creation of the first truly American vampires and in particular the outlaw Skinner Sweet. Sweet is a particularly nasty outlaw who draws the attention of a cadre of European vampires by raiding their banks and railways. They hire Pinkertons detective agency to capture him but when his gang try to rescue him it falls upon a vampire to kill him before he escapes. Sweet is exposed to vampire blood in the struggle and so the first true American vampire is born. The new vampire can walk in daylight and is only weakened by the waning of the moon. The story follows Sweet in two eras, firstly from his creation and secondly in Hollywood in the 1920s when he encounters a struggling young actress called Pearl Jones. This volume is the first part of an epic graphic novel which will span generations as the two genetic variation of vampire battle for domination of the New World.

Much is made of Stephen King's contribution but in all honesty there aren't enough words in a graphic novel for the master wordsmith to really shine. That is an observation and not a criticism, this is a great read and is beautifully drawn. It is a worthy addition to a genre swamped with teenage vampire romanticism. The book itself is a pleasure to read with a silky smooth cover and will find a place on many bookshelves. I can't wait for the next volume.

Six words which will make you want to read this: "Original Stephen King comic. With VAMPIRES."

In actuality, this is a two-part comic -- one part is by King, while the other is by a guy I had never heard of named Scott Snyder. But both halves of "American Vampire Volume 1" are united by a common theme -- vintage Americana is mingled with some gruesome, bloodthirsty vampires, in the 1920s and the Wild West. And it is AWESOME.

Snyder follows a young starlet named Pearl, who is invited to a party thrown by a film producer. The next day, she is found covered in bites in the desert and dying of blood loss. But then she wakes up to find vampiric cowboy Skinner Sweet next to her, and he informs her that she's now a vampire.

But she's not the same kind of vampire as the ones who attacked her -- like him, she's a newly evolved "American vampire" with claws, monstrous teeth and immunity to the sun. Now Pearl is out for revenge against the "old-style" vampires who killed her -- and along with her new love interest Henry, she's got some bloody revenge, treachery and a brewing war to deal with.

King's story goes further back in time to the late 1800s, and shows us the original "American Vampire" -- the infamous Skinner Sweet, an outlaw who runs afoul of a vampire in the desert. When a flood washes out the town where he's buried, the newly undead Sweet returns to the world... and he's more dangerous than ever before.

"American Vampire" is a pretty unique kind of comic book -- two brilliant writers (one famous and one unknown) writing two intertwined story arcs about vampires from long ago. Even better, both King and Snyder manage to do something unique and special with the vampire mythos that doesn't involve pale, wangsty aristocrats.

And while the stories are closely connected, King and Snyder have very distinct styles. King's is faster, brasher and earthier, adding sudden splatters of horror to a seemingly simple Wild West story. Snyder's is a slower, more refined story that suddenly bursts into a bloody revenge tale. And there's a clever undercurrent to his story -- predatory Hollywood bloodsuckers as REAL bloodsuckers? Not bad.

Snyder also has a knack for creating likable characters -- Pearl is a thoroughly likable protagonist, a strong young lady who has to make the best of being transformed into a bloodsucker. King's characters are less endearing, but no less vibrant -- his depiction of Skinner is of a ruthless, grinning cowboy covered in dust and stubble ("I want candy!").

And Rafael Albuquerque is well suited to both stories -- he relies heavily on shadows, black profiles and dark figures, but also suffuses the daytime parts with strong desert light. He also does some brilliant things with color -- our first glimpse of the vampires takes place in a room filled with bloody background, and the train battles take place against a slow-burning sky that fades into the color of flames.

"American Vampire 1" is an excellent start to a promising new series -- and Snyder and King are quite a formidable storytelling team. Vibrant, creepy and wonderfully bloody.

American Vampire is a very bold enterprise. It aims to re-establish the vampire as a fearsome predator, the very incarnation of evil, not a limp-wristed fop or a doe-eyed adolescent. It also attempts to tell significant tales of American evolution from the past 150 years, highlighting key points in that nation's development. There's a huge sweep being covered here, encapsulated in episodes at different times in the life-story of the series' anti-hero, Skinner Sweet.
This first anthology takes us from the outlaw days of the wild west, when Pinkertons agents hunted down murdering scum and dealt vicious justice upon them, to the early Hollywood years of the roaring Twenties. The ancient evil of European vampires have their claws in the movie business and feast upon the strays and waifs of the industry -- and slowly it is revealed that Skinner is their sworn enemy, and an entirely new breed of vampire.
It's awesome, gripping, fabulous story-telling. The artwork is superb; the characterisation deft and certain. These vampires aren't cute or cuddly; they are blood-splattered, unnatural beasts. But they are also intelligent and articulate, which makes for a very interesting stand-off between Skinner and his foes. As with the Sandman series, the 'incidental' characters play a huge part in each story arc -- so this collection majors on the transformation of a young actress, while Skinner's story is told in parallel. It's artfully accomplished and bodes very well for the rest of the series.

You have to pace your reading here; it pays to take your time to absorb the detail of each panel and examine the language and the expressions on the faces of the protagonists. I've read American Vampire three times now, and find more textural detail each time.
However, if you prefer your vampires to be involved in youthful love triangles, to be lovelorn and desirable, then this may be rather too hard-faced for your tastes. Fans of Salem's Lot, Morpheus, Preacher, Sin City and such will be happy, though.
9/10