I, Vampire #3 – Review

By: Joshua Hale Fialkov (writer), Andrea Sorrentino (artist), Marcelo Maiolo (colorist)

The Story: Thank heaven for little girls—who shoot arrows into your arms.

The Review: The last three years or so have been something of a revival for vampires in the media, everything from the grossly romanticized (Twilight) to the artistic (American Vampire) to those in between (Vampire Diaries).  In many of these works, writers have taken to humanizing these creatures of the night, emphasizing their capacity for self-restraint and love so you almost forget the risk of their constant bloodlust.

This series takes the opposite route.  The opening pages demonstrate what happens when the vampires decide to let their vices go unchecked: nationwide fear as four cities swiftly fall victim to Mary’s revolution.  In each of these cities, you see the bloody ruins of what the vampires leave behind in the wake of their attacks, a grim portent of the dystopia that awaits the world should they succeed in the long run.

For that reason, you become highly invested in Andrew, “the only man who can save [the world],” according to best friend and fellow vampire hunter John Troughton.  Previous issues pretty well established our hero’s merciless dedication to policing his own kind.  That he has a completely loyal ally who grew up learning to hate vampires gives credit to Andrew’s virtue, and it gives you a sense of relief that he won’t have to fight this battle alone.