American Vampire #2 – Review

By: Scott Snyder & Stephen King (writers), Rafael Albuquerque (art), Dave McCaig (colors) & Steve Wands (letters)

The Story: Fresh vampires are being “born” in America and they’re “new and improved” compared to the classic models.

What’s Good: Rafael Albuquerque!  Goodness, goodness what nice art!  After I read this, I actually started poking around online to see if the original art pages were for sale.  It’s that good!  (Didn’t find them, btw…).  What’s all the more impressive is that this two-story issue has slightly different artistic styles for each tale, and Albuquerque nails them both.  And what until you get a load of his lady vampire!  Bravo!

So, once you finish looking at the pretty pictures, you can enjoy the really fun story.  Like issue #1, the issue is split into two stories.  The first story again focuses on a struggling actress named Pearl in 1925 Los Angeles, whereas the second focuses (again) on a cowboy/criminal named Skinner Sweet in the wild west of the 1880’s.  I really enjoyed both stories and it helped indicate the direction for this series (it wasn’t clear after issue #1).

The cool thing about these stories is that Skinner spans both and seems to be a pretty neat character.  In his own tale, he’s the new vampire, but in Pearl’s story, he’s the father/mentor.  I especially like that he and Pearl seem to have new fangled (pun intended) abilities compared to old-fashioned vampires.  You’ll love the words of wisdom that Skinner gives to Pearl!

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

DS’ Top Picks

Pick of the Week: Batgirl #9 – Despite some strong competition, my surprise winner for pick of the week is Batgirl #9. This book is just plain fun, all the time. Solid craftsmanship on writing and art delivered speeding adventures, tense personal moments and lots of Batgirl’s self-deprecating one-liners.

Most Anticipated: Green Lantern #53 – a Brightest Day tie-in! Fresh off of Blackest Night, Brightest Day is the next big thing and Green Lantern is at the center. Watch this title this week and this year – lots of big things are happening as the DCU shakes off the effects of Blackest Night.

Other Top Picks: Justice League of America #44, Guardians of the Galaxy #25, X-Men Legacy #235 (Second Coming, Chapter 4), Power Girl #11, Avengers vs Agents of Atlas #4.

Joe’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week: Siege: Loki #1 – While far from essential to the overall Siege storyline, this one-shot from Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie really blew me away.  Pitch-perfect artwork supported by a script that made the decades-old character of Loki seem fresh pushed this one to the top of the pile for me.

Most Anticipated: The Amazing Spider-Man #628 – There’s lots of comics being released this week that I’m eager to flip open, but the last issue of ASM surprised me by entertaining me from front to back, so this one jumps to the head of the line.  Juggernaut, Spidey, Lee Weeks, and Roger Stern?  I am so there.

Other Picks: X-Men:Legacy #235, Green Lantern #53, Dark Wolverine #85, Doomwar #3, Marvelous Land of Oz #5, Supergirl #52, Blackest Night Director’s Cut #1, Guardians of the Galaxy #25

Alex’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week: The Unwritten #12 -Great artwork is only the icing on the cake for one of the funniest things I’ve read this year thus far.  Of course, it’s not all obscenities and jokes, as also get yet another theme of literary interpretation.  There is no limit when it comes to the awesomeness of this book.

Most Anticipated: Green Lantern #53 -This is my only pull for the week.  I can’t remember the last time I’ve had a week more dead.  So Green Lantern wins by default, though I’m sure it’ll be another solid outing for Johns.

Dean’s Top Picks

Pick of the Week: The Unwritten #12 – Learning that “real people” could be forced into stories was a pretty neat reveal, but the magic of this issue came from the foul-mouthed cartoon rabbit as he tried to escape story-hell.

Most Anticipated: Guardians of the Galaxy #25 – After last month’s cliffhanger I’m really excited to see how this leads into the Thanos Imperative.

Other Top Picks: American Vampire #2, Elephantmen #25, Amazing Spider-Man #628, X-Men Legacy #235