Stephen King, Rafael Albuquerque and Scott Synder will release a new vampire comic book series this week entitled “American Vampire”. According to the official press release on King’s website, the series, published by Vertigo, “will introduce readers to a new breed of vampire-a more muscular and vicious species of vampire with distinctly American characteristics. The series’ first story arc, to be told over the course of five issues, will feature two different stories, one written by Snyder, the other by King.” The overall concept is intriguing, exploring the glamorous facade of the American Jazz Age through the eyes of an ambitious woman who has her sites set on Hollywood stardom. Through speakeasies and dance-halls she searches for her chance to “make it big” only to stumble upon a vampire’s dark secret. Skinner Sweet, the “first American vampire”, according to Stephen King’s tale, is a bank robber and cowboy whose roots hark from the 1880′s. Equipped with startling rattlesnake-like fangs, Skinner gets his power from an unusual source, for a vampire that is: the sun. Following the conclusion of the first story arc, Snyder and Albuquerque trace Skinner’s bloodline through various decades of American history.


Timothy Callahan, a staff writer for the Comic Book Resources website, posted a review of the first issue of “American Vampire” yesterday. His one complaint was “the slightly unwieldy and admittedly minor time-switch captions”, but overall gave “American Vampire” #1 a standing ovation. Especially when it comes to the artwork by Rafael Albuquerque whose previous resume includes the titles “Blue Beetle” and “Superman/Batman”. From “excellent” to “wonderfully nasty” it appears Callahan just can’t get enough of “American Vampire” leading me to definitely add this series to my subscription at Dragon’s Lair Comics here in Austin, TX. To read Callahan’s full review click here.


“American Vampire” debuts in comic book shops on Wednesday, March 17. For more information click here. I will be posting my own review of the comic book series as soon as I can score a copy so be sure to check back soon!

Tags: American Vampire, comic book series, comic books, Jazz Age, Reviews, Stephen King, vampries

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