Source: DC Comics | Review By: Dan Geer

American Vampire is an original comic book series from DC/Vertigo written by short story writer Scott Snyder (Voodoo Heart) with a special writing contribution from none other than Stephen King (The Dark Tower series) for the first five issues. The series debuted last May, but the issues will be combined together and released in hardcover volumes starting with the first five Snyder/King issues in Volume #1 on October 5th. The first volume was sent to me from DC for review. Read on to check it out!

American Vampire is undoubtedly a tale to quench the thirst of true vampire fans. While Twi-Hards everywhere are swooning over ‘Edward Cullen,’ this series reinvents vampire mythology once again, merging traditional European lore with an all-new mythology consisting of American vampires. As Stephen King says in the forward to the first volume, “…it’s all about giving back the teeth that the current ‘sweetie-vamp’ craze has, by and large, stolen from the bloodsuckers. It’s all about making them scary again.” How true that is.

Each of the chapters in Volume #1 tell two separate, albeit related stories – one written by Snyder and the other by King (who followed Snyder’s detailed outline). Snyder’s story focuses on the character of ‘Pearl Jones’ – a young, American woman struggling to become a successful actress among all the glitz and glamor of 1920s Hollywood. She winds up getting much more than she bargained for when she attends a party of celebrities and encounters a gang of traditional, night-wandering vampires out to satisfy their uncontrollable urges to feed on the blood of the living.

Her only “hope” lies in the hands of the first American vampire, ‘Skinner Sweet’ – a bank-robbing, cold-blooded killer from the Old West whose origins are explored in Stephen King’s contribution to the story. While your traditional vamp cannot stand sunlight, Sweet somehow can. However, with this unique privilege also comes an unfortunate weakness that the enemies from his past have been looking to exploit in the decades leading up to his encounter with Pearl Jones. As the stories of Jones and Sweet start to interweave, they develop a common enemy who will stop at nothing to see the both of them destroyed.

I will not say any more about the story, since it is definitely the kind of story where the less you know going in, the better. I will say, however, that this is one of the best comic series I have ever read, and that, as a huge fan of vampire lore myself, this is really the story vampire fans have been waiting for.

Skinner Sweet is one of the coolest, most interesting new vampires ever created. He is a character who constantly keeps us guessing his true agenda, making us question whether or not we, or the characters he interacts with in the story can even trust him. After all, he is not just a horrifying new breed of vampire, but a thief and a murderer as well. He’s menacing, and simply not the guy you want to meet in a dark alley. If Skinner Sweet is the first American vampire, then he is truly the essence of what legends are made of.

The artwork by Rafael Albuquerque is sensational, to say the least. His realization of the world that Snyder has created really helps the story come to life, especially with his incredible depiction of the vampires – who, by the way, not only have vicious fangs, but also elongated, spider-like claws for hands. Unlike the wussy vamps that plague pop culture today, these creatures are mean, nasty and terrifying. In this American tale, vampires are back with a vengeance to rule the frightening world of monsters once again – and nothing makes this more apparent than Albuquerque’s magnificent contribution to the series.

Even though Snyder says in his afterword that the story of Skinner Sweet only works in comic book form and that a screenplay just didn’t make sense to him, I beg to differ. With every frame I looked at and with every word I read, I could not help but wish that it were a film. It was as if I were looking at storyboards. In fact, I think Josh Holloway (LOST) would make a fantastic Skinner Sweet (hint, hint)! Granted, I’m no screenwriter, but the story and artwork seem tailor-made for the film medium. Each volume could probably be one movie in a series of films, in my opinion. Hmm… one can only hope Snyder will eventually change his mind…
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American Vampire Volume #1 will be in comic stores on September 29th, and everywhere else books are sold October 5th. If you love comics, and you love vampires, this is a series not to be missed. The first volume is put together quite nicely, and actually comes with the great variant illustrations for each of the five original issues. It also contains excerpts from the original script with corresponding artwork, as well as other sketches and conceptual art, which is quite awesome. Even if you have already picked up the first five issues, this first hardcover volume is still worth purchasing. I couldn’t put it down, and I guarantee you won’t be able to either!

Rating: (out of four)