American Vampire: Issue One

by: RFR Casket Crew Denise

Greetings Deadites,

I think I was about 8 years-old when I began reading comic books. I started out reading Archie and Jughead before moving on to the harder stuff. But whether it was Archie or Wolverine, there was always two things I looked for. The first was a really great story. The second, really good artwork.

As I got older, I stopped reading comics because everyone thought I had outgrown them. I was also told they were for little kids. To fill the void, I switched to graphic novels. Once again, I was looking for really great stories and artwork. But at the time, even the graphic novels seemed to target a younger audience.

Luckily over the past ten years, the tide started to turn to the older target audience and I my heart soared knowing that when I picked up a comic book, I wasn’t going to be looking at something that was drawn for young children.

One thing I’ve always said is it doesn’t matter what medium is used to tell a great story. That is the one thing that will stand out above everything else. Along with the story, the artwork has to look great. And since graduating from college with a double major in English and Journalism and as a writer, I know it takes just as much work to write comic books and graphic novels as it does writing the next great horror classic.

American Vampire is a comic book series that bridges great artwork and a really great storyline. And to top all of this, this comic book series has the great Stephen King’s input and artistry. And I think the icing on the cake, so to speak, is that it is a series about a classic horror icon – vampires.

The first issue of American Vampire was released in March 2010. And has two stories within its pages although I suspect there will be some cross over. The first story is titled Big Break and written by Scott Snyder. The story takes place in 1925 and follows the character Pearl Jones. She is a young girl trying to break into the movies. She’s had some success but is still waiting for the big moment. Just when she thinks she might have gotten the chance to stand in the spotlight, life throws her a curve ball.

The second story is titled Bad Blood written by Stephen King. Set in 1880, it tells the story of Skinner Sweet. Nope, he’s not a very nice guy. In face when we first meet Sweet, he’s in handcuffs and being run out on the rails and back to New Mexico to stand “trial” for his crime spree. He doesn’t quite make it and like Miss Pearl Jones, his life is about to take a major detour.

Both stories start with a bang and hold my attention for start to finish. I’m looking forward to following these stories and the characters. So stay tuned each month for an update on Sweet Skinner and Miss Pearl Jones. Oh, and I must add, the artist for both stories is Rafael Albuquerque. He does an absolutely fantastic job capturing a raw picture of both characters.

And just one final thought. I would like to give a big shout out to David who works at Lone Star Comics in south Fort Worth. He helped me track down this comic book when I thought I never would be able to do so. As it turns out, David is part of the Deadite Army, so thanks David for your help.