I don't spend a whole lot of time covering individual comics, as if I did, I'd be writing micro reviews all day. You burn through those expensive little suckers in 15 minutes!! I may bend my rules for American Vampire though, since Stephen King is attached to a Vampire story under the Vertigo mast!"It's been nearly 20 years since notorious outlaw Skinner Sweet was buried on boot hill. But when a group of grave-robbing collectors of Western memorabilia uncover his final resting place, they find much, much more than they bargained for. And: Pearl Jones was attacked and left for dead by a cabal of powerful Hollywood vampires. Now, a mysterious stranger comes calling and Pearl gets a second chance at life - and at revenge. "
If you aren't familiar with the title yet, half the book is written by Scott Snyder and the other half by King in two tales focusing on the charismatic but insanely super evil Skinner Sweet. This guy raises the game to an art form and makes most DC villains look unimaginative and old. The first half of issue 2 sees our poor little Pearl wandering through the desert, looking much like something nature took a bite out of. It seems like she's going to pass on from the wounds she sustained at the hands of rich elitist vamps who nearly ate her alive, but Skinner has other plans for her. What's interesting is we still don't know if Skinner has "reformed" in the more modern age (of the roaring 20's that is) or if he just enjoys setting events in motion that make trouble for the old vampire hierarchy. Something tells me its the latter. The second half of the book rejoins Skinner 6 feet under in the old west as the law man who hunted him in life tries to rebuild his life. Meanwhile, Skinner tries to figure out how to gather enough strength to escape from his pine prison. It's been revealed clearly now that Skinner is a vampire (though he didn't start the book that way, at least in the old west half), but he's not like all the other pale boys and girls. For a monster like Skinner Sweet, being different means a whole new world of possibility. If you thought the book was deliciously twisted now, the thought of where it could go could drive a horror loving mind into overdrive! Mark the dates of American Vampire's release on the calendar and make it a monthly event!
As a little bonus, the back of the comic includes a sneak preview of IZombie which follows the adventures of undead Gwen who must eat brains to retain some semblance of a "normal" human demeanor. The catch there is, when she chows down, she gets the former owner's thoughts and in finding out how they died, she gets herself involved in wrapping up their unfinished business. So..this is a sort of hipster zombie tale with a detective twist. Hmmmm. I'd say the "vengeance for the dead" angle has been done to ....umm...it's been beat into the ground. 6 FEET UNDER!! Wow, really couldn't avoid the pun there. Sorry. I don't recall it being done with a brain eating chick drawn by Madman creator Mike Allred, so it's all going to come down to story. This had better have top notch writing with excellent twists or you are going to lose that small window of opportunity very quickly. Honestly, I pick on the concept, but if they announced this as a TV series with Joss Whedon at the wheel, I'd be all for it. Personality can go a long way! Check out the preview below. IZombie drops next month.
American Vampire #2 from Vertigo is in stores now. Pick one up when you grab your stash of comics on FREE COMIC BOOK DAY this Saturday, May 1st!!
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