American Vampire Book One

by Scott Snyder, Stephen King, Rafael Albuquerque (illustrator)

Genres: Graphic Novels

352 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2024

About the author

Scott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.

Reviews

[Chloé · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting take on the vampire figure !

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have mixed views about "American Vampire". I like the worldbuilding, the overall plot, some of the characters, and the action. However, I have issues with some of the characters and their relationships and how much was crammed into this book.

First, I felt the worldbuilding was great. The story is primarily set in the 1920s and 1930s and vampires are integrated well into this historical setting. Snyder and King do a good job in showing the various types of vampires and the hatred between European vampires and American vampires. We learn about their weaknesses and strengths as well. It's an intriguing world and historical events, like the Great Depression, the Hoover Dam, etc. fit in quite well.

The plot of the story was good too. It dragged a bit at times, but most of it was fast-paced and intriguing. There were multiple storylines and each of them individually were good. I was engaged for much of the book.

With that said, there were a lot of stories to keep track of. As a result, there were also multiple characters to remember. It got a bit confusing and difficult to remember everyone and the various threads.

The characterization was a mixed bag. Most of the characters were morally ambiguous, which led to complexity and helped to keep the stories interesting. I also like Pearl and her arc. Her struggles were depicted well. I like Cashel and Felicia and their arcs also. The conflict between the vampire killers and vampires was depicted well too, and I can see the motivations of both parties.

However, some of the characterization and relationships were not done well. Abi and Jim's relationship was incredibly problematic particularly given that Jim's her godfather! . Skinner Sweet had some interesting storylines, but at the same time, he was also a bigot. Some of the antagonists were one-dimensional though I do like that they were largely taken down, especially the most repugnant ones .

The art was good though. The colors were done well and fit the dark tone of the story. The character designs were solid. Plus, the action was great. I felt that all of the fighting scenes were drawn well.

Altogether, while I did enjoy the overall plot(s) and some of the characters, I disliked how parts of the story were confusing and the characterization could've been better.

[Mariano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Con la fama que tiene la serie, la verdad que esperaba un poco más. O bastante más. Es una historia del montón de vampiros. Sí, tiene el setting de la América del siglo 20, pero después del primer arco medio que no sabe para dónde ir. Son vampiros y son malos. Esperaba algo un poco más profundo que eso.

[Jacob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not for me. Very gruesome but at the halfway point there's not a single character I found intriguing or worth following deeper into the story. Basically everyone is evil and most are violent demons. Didn't see much nuance.

[Dani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite enjoyed this.

[Marcos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredible illustrations and nice storyline too.