American Vampire vol. 7
Savor this volume folks, because it’ll be the last one we see for at least a year as Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque pursue other projects at DC and work to get some issues in the can before the series returns. Yes, I’d have preferred it if Snyder had kept this title on the front burner instead of going off and do a new “Superman” series for the company. Doing it this way at least allows them to preserve the series momentum and prime the fanbase for its inevitable return. As opposed to the hash that Bendis and Oeming made of the “Is it ever coming out again?” schedule that “Powers” has had over the years. In that respect, the hiatus is a smart move. So what about the actual volume? While it continues to maintain “American Vampire’s” usual standard of quality, it’s the final issue that will really stick in your head here.
Like the mostly disappointing third volume, this collection brings us issues of the regular series and the miniseries published alongside it. “Lord of Nightmares” once again brings us back to Felicia Book, half-vampire former agent of the Vassals of the Morning Star. She’s been living in Paris with her adopted son Gus after he was cured of his own vampirism many years ago. Things get going when one of the oldest and most secure VMS bases is attacked in London and the ever grizzled Agent Hobbes is forced to seek out Felicia’s help in tracking down and containing the vampire that was removed from there. If you’re wondering what vampire was being kept there under secure lock and key and presented a big enough threat to prompt this team up, you need only know that it is THAT vampire.
“Lord of Nightmares” gets points for being markedly less silly than its predecessor as there are no “NAZI VAMPIRES!” and having fewer action-movie shenanigans to try the reader’s patience. However, I can see the inclusion of THAT vampire rubbing some people the wrong way in a series that has largely been about carving out its own unique vampire mythos. Snyder does a respectable job of outlining how THAT vampire fits into “American Vampire’s” mythology, tying him to Agent Hobbes’ background, and giving us a wonderfully smarmy incarnation of his latest manservent, and I’d be lying if my twelve-year-old-self didn’t like the way all of it was accomplished here. Of course, my twelve-year-old-self would’ve likely been disappointed with the subdued nature of the final confrontation, not realizing that when you’re dealing with something that has been depicted as being UNREPENTANTLY EVIL it’s better to keep them off-panel as much as possible to let their reputation speak for themselves. The overall conflict is generally entertaining though the fact that the bad guys are characterized as absolute evil without any redeeming qualities does make less interesting to read about as a result. At least the good guys are a little more complex.
Dustin Nguyen provides the art for this miniseries and while I’ve enjoyed his long-term contributions to various “Batman” titles over the years (as well as his less-remembered stint on “Wildcats 3.0”), his work here is stunning. There has always been an unassuming stylishness to his work in the way that it catches your eye and makes the rare times he resorts to fancy panel placement stand out all the more. However, he also brings an impressive level of detail as well as an ink-wash approach to his art that really makes his work here memorable as it gives the scenes of vampire violence a grimness that they don’t usually have under regular artist Albuquerque’s style. There are a few times in the later issues where it looks like Nguyen was pressed for time and things appear a bit thin as a result, but his work here is very impressive overall. I’d certainly like to see him tackle more projects like this in the future.
As for the issues collected from the main series, “The Blacklist” brings us back to vampire Pearl and her husband Henry who is recuperating in a hospital after a savage attack left him near death at the end of the previous volume. In order to keep him safe, Pearl agrees to finally work with the VMS and help root out a secret coven of vampires in Hollywood. Her partner in this operation? None other than Skinner Sweet, who explains his surprise return (to her) in his own inimitable style.
Though the story takes place at around the same time as the actual Hollywood blacklist and Joseph McCarthy’s HUAC witch hunts, there’s not much to link them thematically. Instead, we get some Grade-A vampire hunting and killing action as Pearl and Skinner root out the hidden threats and a whole lot of character drama as the former faces what she knew would eventually happen when she fell in love with Henry. The narrative has plenty of twists and turns as well as some typically striking art by Albuquerque, and represents a nice climax of the story to this point. Though the characters will undoubtedly show up at some point again, it’s left up to your imagination as to what form they’ll take.
Mostly, anyway. The final story here, “The Gray Trader” catches us up with a character (or two) we last saw in the first volume as she’s paid a visit by a member of the VMS. She was bitten by a particular species of vampire and thought to have precognitive visions as a result of surviving it. The VMS bookkeeper is visiting her to find out if she knows anything about the story’s title character being in the United States. What follows is the creepiest sequence I’ve seen in this series to date as well as a two-page spread showing images that will undoubtedly play a part in “American Vampire’s” second half.
It’s these parts that really stuck in my head after reading the volume. Most comics generally don’t unnerve me like this one did here and that sneak peek at the shape of things to come was genuinely tantalizing. As to what all of those images mean… all I’ll say is that the idea of Skinner Sweet as a Hell’s Angel is more than enough reason to keep reading this series. Yes, it’ll be a while, but I’m certain that “American Vampire’s” return will be worth the wait.