American vampire

Review by Booklist Review

This volume generously collects two discrete story arcs set during WWII. In the main thread, drawn with plenty of splattering viscera by series regular Albuquerque, a band of vampire hunters discover and are decimated by a new breed of bloodsuckers on a Japanese island. Antihero Skinner Sweet joins in on the fun but may have bitten off more than his slavering jaws can chew. Murphy draws the supplementary story, which takes place in the war's other arena, as the Nazis hoard a scientist with the cure for vampirism. Good, gory wartime horror on a level with Mike Mignola's B.P.R.D.: 1946 (2008).--Chipman, Ian Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

A bloody reinterpretation of American history animates this ultraviolent horror comic. The wide-open gambling and prostitution that accompany construction of Boulder Dam in 1936 are corrupting the town of Las Vegas, Nev.; feeding on human degradation-and blood-is a swarm of vampires, one of the many rival varieties that pass undetected in the transient population of the unsettled West. One local lawman who just wants to protect the innocent finds his comforting certainties stripped away as an outlaw vampire exults in pure wildness. Meanwhile, a female vampire tries to maintain a loving domestic relationship with her mortal husband when she's not ripping the heads off their enemies. Although Stephen King contributed to the early installments of this saga, Snyder now carries the action along with gusto. Albuquerque (in the first four chapters) and Santolouco (last two) deliver art that's appropriately raw and brutal. Exploring how dreams and temptations have shaped America, this series offers thoughtful content alongside the grotesque shape-shifting and spurting gore. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by Library Journal Review

Snyder and Albuquerque return to their protagonist Skinner Sweet, the first vampire of a new type that is unaffected by sunlight, garlic, or crosses and is at war with a group of older European vampires who have all the traditional weaknesses. The previous volume's cowriter, novelist Stephen King, is gone, and Santolouco (Fall of Cthulhu; Cover Girl) splits the art with Albuquerque. Despite the changes, readers who liked the first book will probably enjoy this one, although some might feel it's too conventional. Volume 1 pieced together a narrative by hopping around in time; here, the progression is mostly chronological. Also, the story falls into cliche with the introduction of a secret society of vampire hunters whose members include a craggy old man with a crew cut and a woman with a crossbow. Verdict Although this volume is less original than its forerunner, the characters are sufficiently developed. The art is excellent-horrifying in the right places-and colorist Dave McCaig adds the right historical atmosphere. Recommended for libraries that own the first volume. Note: there's a little nudity and a lot of blood.-Robert Mixner, Bartholomew Cty. P.L., Columbus, IN (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by School Library Journal Review

Gr 10 Up-It's the 1930s, Las Vegas is becoming "Sin City," and the American vampire, a new breed born in the Wild West, is at the heart of it all. Vampires are feuding over investments in the dam being built that will bring Vegas to life, and the human population is caught in the crossfire. With complex, conflicted characters, fast action, and bloody vampire fights, this noirish series entry, inked in dark, moody tones, is a gripping read. Because it includes sex, nudity, and violence, this title is best suited for older readers.-Lisa Goldstein, Brooklyn Public Library, NY ~ (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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