First let me say, it’s about damn time! I am so sick of the glowy, crying pussy vampires that have been the staple in current movies and media. I don’t know when everybody decided that a race of humans that suck blood to survive should be teen models and be so indecisive on how much their soul will suffer by taking the blood of some whiny-assed woman. Now that I have dug my hole to all the fans of those bloody pussies, we can get on with a real set of vampires. Scott Snyder’s creator owned title starring a new kind of vampire called Skinner Sweet, is one of a kind. First off, he got Stephen king to do the back story in these first five issues, detailing Skinner Sweet’s origin. Second he got the amazing artist Rafael Albuquerque to bring all the characters to life in a vivid style that makes this title in a league of its own. Starting out in the 1880’s and continuing to 1926, the story is based around the well known killer vampires of old, that are rich aristocrats, that mistakenly make Skinner Sweet a vampire when they attempted to kill him. Here is the unique part, Skinner awakes as a different kind of vampire, one that gets weak and vulnerable when the new moon is up, but can walk in total sunlight. The story continues as Pearl Jones is made a vampire like Skinner, and takes revenge on those that originally killed her.The cast of characters are unique and original for an ages old tale about vampires. Scott Snyder nails it on the head with gruesome and blood thirsty vampires set in a time frame when America was coming into the modern age. Rafael adds several background images that chill you bones on top of his haunting visuals, and unique character designs. Plus, come on, Stephen King is your writer to flesh out your main characters origin? How could you go wrong. In my opinion, I give the first five issues of American Vampire by Vertigo, Five out of Five for it’s uniqueness and innovative story-telling. This is one you really should be adding to your read list.
