American Vampire #7 – Review

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

The Story: Las Vegas continues to have a vampire problem as the Hoover Dam is being built and something weird is going on with the two federal agents sent to help the local lawman.

What’s Good: This is a really, really good comic series and this issue is an example of why.  With this being the second issue of the second story arc, it wasn’t previously clear how much Snyder was going to use the foundation laid in issues #1 – 5.  Sure, we saw “main character” Skinner Sweet at the end of last issue and most readers realized that Federal Agent Felecia Book is the daughter of the old west lawman of the same name from the Stephen King back-up stories.  But, in this issue it becomes clear that Snyder is using every scrap of the excellent first story arc and is blowing things out to a whole new level.

By the end of this issue, there are just piles of moving goodies.  We have good (or at least not wholly evil) vampires, new fangled American Vampires, old-fashioned vampires AND some secret groups of vampire hunters.  Would any vampire story be complete without ancient societies of monster hunters?  And what is going on with this “deal” that Skinner seems to have with the hunters???  This comic also has a neat historical feel to it for anyone who loves history.  The next issue can’t come out soon enough.

Rafael Albuquerque’s art is again a true co-star.  He always manages to capture just the right level of hard edges or soft curves on his characters depending on the mood of the panel.  And his style change in a flashback scene is almost not fair to other artists. It also looked like he was experimenting with his styles in this issue a little bit.  That is really something to applaud because an artist as talented as Mr. Albuquerque could probably coast right on through his career with the art that brought him to the dance, so it is nice to see him continually trying to expand his look.

What’s Not So Good: This is an outstanding comic, so these are incredibly minor issues….  Very, very minor issues, but…

The second half of this comic reads and is paced much better than the first half.  The first 6-8 pages almost get a touch slow, but the revelations in the second half of the book more than make up for this.

It was also a little odd what Albuquerque was doing with the inking lines on the bridges of most characters’ noses.  Odd and it isn’t something that has been noticeable in his work before.  As mentioned above, it did look like he was experimenting in this issue a little bit, but this was the only part that stuck out as odd.

Conclusion: One of the best comics on the stands.  This issue really takes things to another level.  Must read!

Grade: A-

– Dean Stell

 

Weekly Comic Book Review’s Top Picks

DS’ Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Atlas #5/ Avengers: Prime #3 – It was a thin week and nothing really floated to the top for me, but if forced to take a stand, I’d say Atlas #5 (for the continuing originality) or Avengers: Prime #3 (for the art alone).

Most Anticipated: Brightest Day #11 – return of the Black Lanterns, origin of the new Aqualad and the secrets of the Firestorm Matrix revealed? Are you kidding me? Sign me up! PS: I know some people (including me) have been dissatisfied with the speed at which Brightest Day is rolling out, but issue #10 really felt like the wind had filled the sails again.

Other Top Picks: Other Top Picks: Uncanny X-Force #1, Chaos War #1, JSA All-Stars #11, R.E.B.E.L.S. #21

Dean’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Avengers Prime #3 – Fun stuff.  This comic had the moment of the week (for me) when Steve Rogers with a makeshift sword and shield saves a naked Tony Stark (who is riding a horse bareback) from ogres.  And, the Steve, Tony & Thor are now together.  This should be a lot of fun going forward.

Most Anticipated: S.H.I.E.L.D. #4 – This is just a packed week, but I’m most excited about seeing the next chapter in Hickman’s mind-bending story starring Leonardo da Vinci.

Other Top Picks: American Vampire #7, I Zombie #6, Scalped #41, Orc Stain #5, Chaos War #1, Uncanny X-Force #1, 28 Days Later #15, Incorruptible #10, Taskmaster #2

Alex’s Top Picks

Best From The Past Week: Action Comics #893 – Action Comics is quickly becoming my favourite book from DC.  The main feature was as good as always, awesome robot Lois and all.  That and it reaffirmed my love for Gorilla Grodd and also proved that he is completely underused.  Of course, at this point, Action Comics’ high quality isn’t news.

The real story here though is Nick Spencer’s Jimmy Olsen back-up, which was pure and unadulterated fun accompanied by equally fun artwork.  It was utterly delightful and I also really enjoyed Spencer’s take on Chloe Sullivan.

Most Anticipated: American Vampire #7 – With a cliffhanger like last month’s, I can’t wait for the next installment of Scott Snyder’s vampire epic.  I’m really curious to see how Sweet and Pearl fit into this new arc and what they’ve been up to.  If you haven’t been following this title, get to it!  It’s really, really good and one of the best new series of the year.

Other Picks: Wolverine #2, SHIELD #4, Madame Xanadu #27, Unknown Soldier #24, Sweet Tooth #14, Secret Six #26, Brightest Day #11, Scalped #41

Joe’s Top Picks

Best of the Past Week: The Stuff of Legend: The Jungle #2 – Mike Raicht, Brian Smith and Charles Wilson III have created a children’s tale for adults that can be best described as a mash-up of the plot of Toy Story with the dark and serious tone of The Neverending Story.  Wilson’s sepia-toned artwork never ceases to please and the script jumps from one nail-biting moment to the next as our heroes confront some dangerous foes this time around.  Not only will I be reading his again and again down the years, but my future kids can count on their dad reading this to them as well.

Most Anticipated: Richard Stark’s Parker: The Outfit HC – In a week where American Vampire, Uncanny X-Force and Secret Six are all released, you’d think it’d be difficult to choose which new comic I’m extremely excited about.  Darwyn Cooke proves that thought wrong by unleashing his second hardcover adaptation of Richard Stark’s Parker series upon the world.  Cooke’s clean, stark (pun intended) interpretation of Stark’s film noir world is a tour de force, and the artwork alone is worth the hype.  Lucky for us we get a kick-ass story, too, all wrapped up in a beautiful hardcover.  Wednesday can’t come soon enough.

Other Picks: Avengers Academy #5, S.H.I.E.L.D. #4, Shadowland: Spider-Man #1, Taskmaster #2, Uncanny X-Force #1, Wolverine #2, Back Issue Magazine #44, American Vampire #7, Brightest Day #11, Red Hood: Lost Days #5, Secret Six #26