Graphic Novel Review: 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: 30 DAYS ‘TIL DEATH

There have been approximately over ten stories to the undying 30 Days of Night franchise and with each subsequent series brings new artists brings their tale on the iconic vampires of the original series.

In this new series 30 Days of Night: 30 Days ‘Til Death with story & art by David Lapham, the Elders are tired of the ripple effects of the incident that happened in Barrow, Alaska (the original series) and believe that the American vampires need to be thinned so that all vampires will know what real fear is. The Elders send a death squad to America to kill all the “cowboy” vampires (so-called because they are descendents from the first vampire turned in America which was a cowboy).

This story takes a departure from the other stories as it puts a vampire at the forefront of the story. Rufus is a vampire who knows that the only way to avoid being detected by the death squad is to blend in with the humans, so, he gets a lame dog for a pet, takes a junkie woman as his fiancée, and decides to forego killing any humans (at least within city limits) all for the sake of blending in. His plan begins to work perfectly to the point where he begins to like the humans who share his apartment complex. His tranquility is threatened when other vampires from his past decide to crash in on him.

Now Rufus must prevent these new vampires from his past from destroying everything he created before the death squad comes pounding on his door.

I didn’t really care for Lapham’s story as it was so far removed from the original 30 Days of Night series. Although there is a lot of blood flowing throughout (which will keep the fans happy), one of the things I liked most about many of the previous series is the sense of “location” which this series does not have. Most of the story takes place within Rufus’ apartment complex.

Another thing I didn’t like about the series were the cliché characters. I just never became vested in the characters and therefore never really got into the story. It feels as if the series is finally running out of steam and that it should be laid to rest for a time before another series is crafted to cash in on the current popularity of vampires.

Graphic Novel Review: 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: BEYOND BARROW

It has been several years since Barrow, Alaska was plagued by vampires into the original graphic novel 30 DAYS OF NIGHT by Steve Niles & Ben Templesmith. Now Niles returns to Barrow, almost, in the new graphic novel 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: BEYOND BARROW (the ninth graphic novel in the ongoing series). Although Templesmith is missing in action on this adventure celebrated artist Bill Sienkiewicz is on duty to bring new life to the vampire menace.

Niles and company have decided to take the mythology of the series into a whole new arena by presenting a menace that is even more deadly then the original vampires of the first series. In this new story a group of tourists manage to barter their way just outside Barrow during the infamous 30 days of night on the hunt to capture a picture and evidence of the existence of vampires that they have heard about from the newspapers and books. To bad for them that a gang of vampires seeking to stop over in Barrow for a quick snack are themselves killed off by something that seems to hide in the snow and strike out when least expected.

Survivor John Ikos, from the very first attack on Barrow, soon finds his hands full facing a new menace that’s older and more dangerous then anything ever encountered before and he will have to travel outside the safety of Barrow’s secure gates in order to save the tourists and hopefully survive one more time.

Much like the very first 30 DAYS OF NIGHT series, BEYOND BARROW was originally a three-issue limited series that was fast and furious with more mood and horror then character and story and the just like that series it works well again here. I’ve only read a handful of Niles’ best known stories (as he writes more then just about any other comic book writer working today), so, I’m not totally numb on his storytelling style yet. My only problem with this story is that I actually didn’t care whether any of the tourists lived or died and had more fun seeing Sienkiewicz kill them off in great artistic ways. This is definitely a “colder” experience (if it can get any colder) and not as dynamic as some of the previous stories in the series.

Regardless, Niles thinks there is more life in this series and as long as people keep reading, there will be more stories to tell.