American Vampire #23 – Review

By: Scott Snyder (writer), Rafael Albuquerque (artist), Dave McCaig (colors), Jared Fletcher (letters), Gregory Lockard (assistant editor) & Mark Doyle (editor)

The Story: The Death Race arc gives us a little background on our new vampire hunter, Travis.

Four Things: [SPOILERS]

1. This is a background issue. – Last issue introduced a bunch of brand new characters, so the creators had some background work to do.  They do a pretty nice job of showing us bits of that background in scenes that bounce back and forth with the titular “present day” death race between Travis and the vampire.  Honestly, this is a hard issue to pull off.  We readers DO need a little background on new characters, but getting that background can be like eating your vegetables.  The creators make those vegetables about as tasty as possible and remind me of a cooking truism: If you cook something in bacon fat and garlic, just about anything tastes good.  I’m not sure who of Snyder and Albuquerque is bacon fat and who is garlic, but the same truism applies.  Not only does the background give us information about Travis and the other characters, but it also opens up interesting mysteries for the creators to play with in future issues.

2. Very nice art. – As some of you know, I bind my single issues into hardcovers.  One really cool thing about that is you get to revisit early issues and appreciate how much an artist’s style changes over time.  I’d observed this in AV as Albuquerque’s style had changed a little by the end of the Ghost War arc.  But the art in this issue looks very much like what he was doing at the beginning of the series.  I almost wonder if he went back to revisit those first few issues and found himself inspired.  The characters in this issue go back to that smoother look that they had in the beginning and I like it.  There’s so much to love about Albuquerque’s work.  Just seeing the work he does with the brush on his backgrounds and the way he scatters ink and white-out (?) all over the place is kinda mesmerizing.

WCBR’s Top Picks

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batman #5 – It seemed that all anyone wanted to talk about with this comic was the twisting orientation of the pages, and it was an interesting gimmick, but behind this trick was a really great comic book.  It takes a really gifted creative team to effectively sell madness and insanity, but that’s what we got in this issue.  You really believe that Batman is cracking up!  And the Court of Owls is much more interesting than any of the established Batman rogues just because we don’t know what to expect from them.

Most Anticipated: The Walking Dead #93 – After a slow story arc, Robert Kirkman uncorked a promising new concept in his last issue that may jiggle a status quo that has become stale.  I’m pretty intrigued by the idea of clusters of survivors remaining separate and interacting with each other like the old Greek city-states.  Plus, you just know that something BIG will happen this summer in issue #100 and it’ll probably start building now.

Other Picks: Creepy Comics #7, American Vampire #23, The Unwritten #33.5, Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred #1, Elephantmen #37, Captain America and Bucky #626

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Batman #5 – Basically, this comic was insane.  Which is good, given that its story was the gradual loss of sanity. Great art, creepy as hell atmosphere, and a really cool use of the physical medium really made this a comic to remember.  Snyder’s ability to deliver creeping horror is really something to behold.

Most Anticipated: Justice League #5 After one week’s delay….well, after that last page in Justice League #4, I really couldn’t pick anything else. I mean, it’s Darkseid.  I cannot wait to see what happens as the JLA meet their first adversary in the new DCU.

Other Picks: The Flash #5, Aquaman #5, American Vampire #23, Fantastic Four #602, FF #14, Mighty Thor #10