American Vampire #5

Written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

This issue wraps up the introductory arc of this title which means a few things.  1.  Stephen King has finished his back-up feature, and one would presume, his continued involvement in the title.  2.  Subsequent issues will now have 22 pages of story, not 32 like the first five, although the price will remain at $3.99.  I imagine that these changes may have a detrimental effect on sales.  I know that I'm not happy about the price point, especially after this book has trained me to expect a thicker story, but I intend to stick around for a while, as I've really liked what Snyder has done with the comic.

This issue has Pearl finish her quest for revenge in the main story, while the narrator of the back-up story finishes off his tale of Sheriff Book and Skinner Sweet.

This title is poised to go a number of places.  From the solicitation text for the next issue, it appears that the story will be jumping forward ten years, and moving to Las Vegas.  I like that, as it means that there will be plenty of opportunity for Snyder to fill in some gaps as he sees fit, as this issue kind of made things feel like they were finished.

As always, Albuquerque's art on this title is nothing short of phenomenal, and I can't wait to see him draw Vegas in the thirties.

Stephen King's The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger Born

Written by Peter David and Robin Furth
Art by Jae Lee and Richard Isanove

I have fond memories of reading Stephen King's first Dark Tower book back when I was a kid.  There was something about the way he approached the novel that really spoke to me.  Of course, at the time I was reading a lot of crappy Dragonlance novels, so it's no real surprise that a better writer would grab my attention.  The second book was okay, but I found the third hard to get through, and I was done.  I didn't really expect to be reading any Gunslinger stories again, and had no real interest in Marvel's mini-series when it came out, despite the fact that I have a lot of respect for both Peter David and Jae Lee.

Then, on Free Comic Book Day, I got a copy of the hardcover of the first series for free (thank you, Labyrinth), and figured it was worth giving it a go.  It's okay.

Really, that's about all there is to the book - I found it exceptionally mediocre.  David (with Furth, who is apparently an expert on all things Dark Tower) gives us a decent enough story about Roland and his friends, and their first mission.  The book starts with Roland challenging the guy who trains Gunslingers, so that he can become one.  He's mad that his mother is sleeping with his father's evil best friend (why is he so close to someone who is very obviously evil?  No clue), and figures that proving his manhood is the appropriate next step.

Anyway, he and his friends are sent to some town to count horses, but really they are there to spy on people to see if they are sided with The Good Man, who is also evil.  Roland falls for some girl who is promised to become a concubine to the Mayor, who works for the Good Man.  Stuff happens, although very slowly.

The problem with this book is that people basically just stand around posing for most of it.  It's a very static comic.  There is a lot of narration, but little in the way of actual events for long stretches, and it gets a little dull.  Jae Lee's art doesn't help in this area.  Lee is a great artist, and is able to fill his pages with atmosphere and foreboding, but things feel really stiff in this book.  Richard Isanove's colours look a little too digital here, like he was really intending to get his work noticed with this book, which is unfortunate, because a good colorist shouldn't really stand out.

I don't think I'll be looking to pick up the trades for the subsequent books of this series.

American Vampire #4

Written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

I've been liking this comic a lot, as Snyder establishes the tone and direction of the series, and King fills in the back-story and helps set up the rules and regulations by which this story functions.

In this issue, Pearl faces off against the Euro-Vamps, and recruits a compatriot in her cause against them.  In the back-up, Jim Book and his friends confront Sweet, and things go very badly for him.

As I've mentioned for every issue so far, Albuquerque is turning in some terrific artwork.  In addition to that though, I really appreciate the sense of time and place that the writers and the artist imbue this book with.  I feel like a lot of research was done on the two time periods these stories depict, and I always like that level of authenticity in my wildly impossible stories.

American Vampire #3

Written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

I have really been enjoying this new series.  The lead story continues with Pearl's journey of self-discovery, as she figures out what her new abilities are, and begins to use them for revenge on the creatures that attacked her.  The back-up story continues to give us the story of Sinner Sweet, the first of the American Vampires, and Pearl's sire.

I like the system of telling the two stories at once, and the way in which information is being slowly revealed, the most interesting piece in this issue being that the 'American' vampires are weakened on evenings where there is no moon.

Of course, the best thing about this comic continues to be Albuquerque's art, which is phenomenal, but the story has completely drawn me in, and I look forward to future issues.

American Vampire #2

Written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

While vampires are as over-played as zombies these days (probably more, thanks to Twilight), American Vampire is a very good comic.  I like the way that each issue is split into two stories, the first set in 1925 and featuring Pearl, a newly-turned vampire; while the second is set before that, and is slowly filling in the back-story for Skinner Sweet.

The element that has garnered the most press and attention for this book is that Stephen King is writing the second story, in his original comics debut.  His writing feels natural here, as he provides the backdrop to the main story, and works at developing Sweet's character.  In the first issue, I found I enjoyed Snyder's half of the book more, but now I'm pretty evenly torn between the two.  Snyder has saved most of the set-up for his story to this issue, as Pearl 'changes' and has to learn what those changes entail for her.

What makes this book move from good to amazing is Albuquerque's art. The entire book is gorgeous, with the Stephen King story getting a more textured, burnished approach.

Highly recommended.

American Vampire #1

Written by Scott Snyder and Stephen King
Art by Rafael Albuquerque

I came into this book with mid-level expectations. Aside from a few New Yorker pieces, I haven't read any Stephen King since I was a teenager, and I don't know who Scott Snyder is. The big draw for me was Rafael Albuquerque's art, more on which in a moment.

This is a pretty good comic. The first issue (I haven't read any of the interviews or internet puff-pieces about this, so I don't know if this is going to continue) is split between two stories, set forty-five years apart from each other.

The first story (written by Snyder) focuses on Pearl, a wannabe-starlet trying to break into the silent movie industry in 1920s Hollywood. She's holding down three jobs, and maybe finally gets her big break when she is invited to the producer's house for a party (avoiding the warnings of a strange drifter-type who hangs out near her apartment complex's swimming pool).

The second story (by King) is set in 1880s Colorado, where a group of Pinkertons are transporting the leader of a bank-robbing gang to jail by rail. They are attacked by his crew, who are attempting a daring rescue. As it turns out though, the mine owner who hired the Pinkertons is not what he seems.... There is one character who appears in both stories.

The art in this book is awesome. Albuquerque's stuff looked good when he was drawing the much-missed Blue Beetle series, but this is a step above that. The first story has a classic Vertigo look to it, while he changes his style a little in the second story, giving it a more burnished feel.

While there is nothing particularly ground-breaking about this comic, (it is classic Vertigo), and the world is not really crying out for another vampire franchise, there is more than enough going on here to grab my interests, and I'll definitely be sticking around for at least the first arc.