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A vast conspiracy has made it nearly impossible for the CDC's Dr. Ephraim Goodweather to convince the world that there's a vampiric epidemic spreading across Manhattan. His only hope is to go head-to-head with the ancient evil responsible for the wave of bloodthirsty vamps set to drown the Big Apple... but can the strain be stopped?!

Adapted for comics by Eisner Award-winning writer David Lapham (Kull: The Hate Witch, Stray Bullets) and artist Mike Huddleston (Butcher Baker, The Coffin)!

Collects issues #7 through #11.

144 pages, Paperback

First published June 18, 2013

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David Lapham

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5 stars
322 (36%)
4 stars
305 (34%)
3 stars
212 (24%)
2 stars
29 (3%)
1 star
6 (<1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews
Profile Image for CS.
1,215 reviews
June 5, 2015
Bullet Review:

So many cliches. Why does the Master Vampire give two f@#$s for Ephraim and his family? Answer: Because the plot says so! Why is Nora even in this? Answer: Because we need to have a sex scene!

Oh, and don't expect to see many female characters; pretty much the only ones are ones romantically tied to Ephraim (ex-wife and sex partner/"coworker" nudge-nudge-wink-wink).

At least Vasiliy Fet is in this; he is by far the BEST character and made this a better read just by his presence.

Don't ask me exactly what happened in those last few pages though!
Profile Image for Paul.
770 reviews23 followers
July 5, 2013
(in mr. Bill voice):oh, noooooo, it's the attack of the killer hairless naked-mime vampires... with Gene Simmons tongues(end of mr. Bill voice)

The best part: the covers... they're really nice, but aren't really representative of the story.

The "OK" parts: the story and maybe the art.

The story's OK, and I get that this is a serial and more will be revealed in the following trades.
But there are so many holes in this story you could fit a VW Bug through them.
They may not be your run of the mill vampires (and hey, at least they don't seem to glow), but the "heroes" are pretty cliché... 90-year-old nazy camp survivor vampire-hunter with a head-chopping sword, the divorced and fighting for custody of his kid ex-alcoholic CDC scientist that's always too busy to show up to court, his ex-wife (guess they dont end up together after all), his "assistant" girlfriend, the ex-wife's jerk of a boyfriend, and the cute kid.
Still a couple of good concepts which I'm hoping will be explored a little further in further trades.

The art's "OK" as well, but defnately goes down in quality as the story progresses.
Profile Image for Angharad.
509 reviews16 followers
March 22, 2016
Del Toro described these vampires as the "anti vampire." your classic vampire is beautiful, seductive, and worldly.

there's nothing redeeming in del toros vampires. you would have to be insane to want to be one. they are pure total monsters.

this issue was good but not quite as gripping as the first but that's often the case in series. middle books tend to be the weakest.

I definitely want to read the novels now because certainly some things had to be changed
Profile Image for Kieran McAndrew.
3,081 reviews20 followers
August 11, 2020
The Beginning of the End

As the Strain takes hold and Dr Goodweather is on the run framed for murdering the vampiric victims of the lethal disease, New York can no longer ignore the growing horror the city is becoming.

Disturbing imagery and dynamic framing make this an excellent adaptation of 'The Strain'.
Profile Image for James.
4,314 reviews
October 10, 2020
Excellent story. The characters are turning into real heroes. The conflict between vampires is also getting more complicated and intriguing.
Profile Image for Angela.
1,089 reviews53 followers
June 28, 2013
Decent adaptation of the novel by Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan.
The artwork is fantastic and portrays the sense of impending doom on mankind very well. My only niggle really is that although I like the graphic novels and the original book, I wasn't completely blown away by them. I do think however, that the graphic novels tell the story in a much more succinct way than the novel.

An advance reader copy was kindly supplied by the publisher through Netgalley
Profile Image for Micaela.
68 reviews39 followers
May 15, 2015
Las ultimas partes son tremendas D: ! Ese final! Necesito arrancar el tercer volumen YA.
Profile Image for Jennifer Juffer.
315 reviews11 followers
February 6, 2018
Propelling the plot onward, new characters are introduced. It's difficult getting a handle on who exactly they are and what roles they will play together.
The art is truly awesome!
However, I can't seem to stop thinking that I should have read the books first before reading the comics...

Maybe the 3rd will help tie everything together better!
Profile Image for Persy.
1,078 reviews26 followers
July 3, 2023
“This is just the beginning… the beginning of the end.”

I’m a HUGE fan of The Strain trilogy, okay? The books. The show. The stinkin’ pop figures! And I’m happy that I can add the graphic novels to my fandom.

Great art and a perfect condensed read to hit all the major plot points you need to keep up with the overarching story. Highly recommend!
Profile Image for Micah.
61 reviews3 followers
October 21, 2023
It's alright. It's trope-y and I think the graphic novel medium is perhaps taking away things from the original novels. Art-wise the weird body proportions shifting when a character is in the background isn't really my cup of tea. But it's fun and gross. This is basically my review of the first volume too. It's not the best graphic novel I've ever read but I will finish the series for sure.
Profile Image for Zach.
144 reviews2 followers
August 28, 2017
Just as good as the last one!
Profile Image for Giovanni Faga.
98 reviews17 followers
March 1, 2013
Trasposizione in fumetto della trilogia di Guillermo del Toro e Chuck Hogan (The Strain). Contiene in numeri da #7 a #11.

Non ho letto i libri, quindi non posso giudicare il risultato della trasposizione.
In tempi non sospetti, avremmo letto The Strain come una storia di vampiri, perché di fatto è proprio una storia piena zeppa di succhiasangue. Oggi, dobbiamo fare i conti con la produzione sterminata di fiction vampiresca, e quindi capire se c'è qualcosa che differenzia questa storia dalle altre.
Sì e no.
Intanto, i vampiri sono immaginati come creature pallide (bianche) e che si alimentano in modo decisamente peculiare. Per il resto, c'è la luce del sole, l'argento (non era per i lupi mannari?) e qualche altro classico del genere.
La storia viene affrontata dal punto di vista di un ricercatore del C.D.C. di Atlanta che si trova a dover comprendere e poi fronteggiare l'epidemia che colpisce Manhattan. La narrazione scorre molto velocemente, e ogni episodio finisce con un cliffhanger ben architettato. C'è da dire che a volte, la storia scorre troppo velocemente, e alcuni passaggi sembrano forzati. A voi giudicare il finale. I disegni sono ottimi, e devo ammettere (da lettore di fumetti) che riescono a creare una buona atmosfera (leggetelo a letto la sera...)
Lo consiglio in generale agli appassionati di fumetto horror. E' divertente e non lungo.
Profile Image for sixthreezy.
923 reviews21 followers
August 2, 2013
Again my reviews of this graphic novel series may be a little biased because they're based off of one of my favorite books, but I enjoyed the second volume of The Strain. The only problems for me is that two things that were big to me in the book, are lost in translation here in this comic book interpretation. The fact that the recently turned seek out their loved ones is not even explained really and just assumed, when in the book it's a very big part of the story and finding Eph's son Zack. I wish it would have been touched on a little more for those who haven't read the book, because it was part of what made the story different. The other thing I disliked but sort of liked at the same time is that The Master was finally given a face, and a look. In the book he is vaguely described enough to let your imagination fill in the blanks and it's a very terrifying image. In the comic he's pretty much drawn out to be about as evil a vampire as you can get, and while it's cool to see how scary he was supposed to look, your imagination can almost always think of something more terrifying. The art is pretty much the same as the first go around, at times kind of cartoon-looking for the story but I can tolerate it because it still looks good. Both of these volumes of The Strain have read fairly fast too, so I know there's a lot missing from the books but it's a very good adaptation and easy to read.

Originally posted at sixthreezy at the movies & more!
Profile Image for Sakebushippo.
563 reviews96 followers
December 12, 2023
LEER RESEÑA COMPLETA EN MI BLOG: https://www.blogdivergente.com/2023/0...

The Strain, Book One, escrito por David Lapham y basado en la novela homónima de Guillermo del Toro y Chuck Hogan, es una novela gráfica ilustrada por Mike Huddleston y Dan Jackson que sumerge al lector en un mundo oscuro y aterrador de vampiros y epidemias.

Con una narrativa inquietante y una presentación visual cautivadora, esta serie se destaca como una buena combinación de terror y ciencia ficción, pues nos narra la historia de un avión aterrizando en el aeropuerto de JFK en Nueva York, aparentemente sin vida y sin ningún signo de comunicación con la torre de control.

El epidemiólogo Dr. Ephraim Goodweather y su equipo del Centro de Control de Enfermedades son llamados para investigar este misterioso y perturbador suceso. Lo que descubren dentro del avión es una escena aterradora: los pasajeros y la tripulación están muertos, pero sus cuerpos están aparentemente intactos, sin signos de violencia o lesiones externas.
Profile Image for Meran.
826 reviews41 followers
January 1, 2014
The Strigoi (there are only 7) are the old ones, and still resemble, can pass for, human. Yet those they infect are VERY different. Why?

The 2 original CDC docs have met up with the only adversary of the strigoi, a rather old man, Abraham, who knows more about the enemy than probably anyone on Earth.

But there are 2 adversaries, one about the same age as that old man who believes he can control the virus and live forever-- by becoming the 8th strigoi. And he's try rich, has many men at his beck and command.

"The Master", the strigoi, has been told by that rich accomplice about the CDC doctors and has taken everything they do personally -- he infects Matt, Ephraim's ex wife Kelly's husband and takes Kelly away to taunt Ephraim.

They all come together; there's a fight' but the result is unexpected. And there's a bigger consequence...
Profile Image for Vikas.
Author 3 books178 followers
March 2, 2021
nice comics based on the book. I love the graphics and storyline. This was very nice.

My dream of being a writer is realized and I am now a Goodreads Author. I have always loved comics, and I hope that I will always love them. Even though I grew up reading local Indian comics like Raj Comics or Diamond Comics or even Manoj Comics, now's the time to catch up on the international and classic comics and Graphic novels. I am on my quest to read as many comics I can. I Love comics to bit, may comics never leave my side. Doga is one of my most favorite character and I love him to bits and don't leave any chance to devour any of his stories. So here goes again my mission to read as many Raj comics from the beginning. My childhood re-run. I love reading this and more, you should also read what you love and then just Keep on Reading.
Profile Image for Andrew Schladetsch.
6 reviews
December 31, 2014
I thought it was a breeze to read and I also enjoyed a lot of the drawings, I liked a lot of the concepts.
I'm in the unique position as to have watched the TV show first so my TV watching experience wasn't as 'bad' as a lot of other 'Strain' fans.
Too long have I heard that the TV series kind of derails the character of Nora and Eph in some cases and by reading this comic book I see that.
Nora in the TV series is similar to Nora in the comic books but Nora in the comics is much more 'relatable' and far less... well, damsel in distress.
In fact, she was the first to take initiative against The Strain, Eph was reluctant (somewhat). I'm glad to see that in these comic books.
I can't wait to read the third issue.
Profile Image for Mike Jozic.
555 reviews30 followers
June 17, 2013
Nowhere near as good as the books but still a nice sidebar to add some extra colour to the trilogy of novels. The adaptation is supervised by del Toro so it is essentially 'canon' although creators Lapham and Norton were encouraged to make the story their own. A worthwhile read for fans of the books or newcomers just looking for an apocalyptic vampire thriller where the vamps are horrible killing machines that give the humans a real run for their money.
Profile Image for Erick Mertz.
Author 35 books23 followers
June 10, 2016
My comments for the first issue carry over, although I think my 4-star review here is a touch lighter than it was on Issue #1. Just a touch, like 3.75-stars.

Once the origin reveals and the back story manages to creep through the cracks, this becomes "just a good story" rather than a ground breaking piece of vampire/zombie styled storytelling. I'm going to read the next one, for sure, but I'm less dogged in my pursuit of volumes going forward.

www.well-lightedetcetera.com
Profile Image for Nathan.
420 reviews7 followers
January 20, 2015
A good read, but not as great as the first book. Without having read the novel, or watched the tv series, one might be confused about characters as this book jumps around a bit and the introduction of the newer characters is lacking. A lot of action too, which is good, but we don't delve into the lore as much as I would have liked.
Profile Image for Kari.
4,026 reviews96 followers
June 16, 2013
Just as good as the first volume. The illustrations really bring the story to life. While not completely like the novel, still an enjoyable read. I think fans of the novel series and lovers of graphic novelizations will enjoy this volume.
Profile Image for Sergio.
156 reviews1 follower
October 7, 2013
Like the preceding volume, I can`t find anything wrong with this graphic novel. Both the author and the drawer are top notch in their attempt to put into the comic medium Del Toro and Hogan's work. Highly recommended.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 41 reviews

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