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30 Days of Night #3
30 Days of Night: Annual 2004
All the terror that made 30 Days of Night and Dark Days breakout hits thatredefined horror comics for the modern age is captured in four short tales written by Steve Niles, and illustrated by a veritable witches' brew of talent, both established and new! Regular 30 Days of Night and Dark Days artist Ben Templesmith is joined by three relative newcomers, each with their own unique style. A must!
50 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 4, 2004
3 people are currently reading
216 people want to read
About the author
Steve Niles
828 books462 followersSTEVE NILES is one of the writers responsible for bringing horror comics back to prominence, and was recently named by Fangoria magazine as one of it's "13 rising talents who promise to keep us terrified for the next 25 years."
Niles is currently working for the four top American comic publishers - Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse. He got his start in the industry when he formed his own publishing company called Arcane Comix, where he published, edited and adapted several comics and anthologies for Eclipse Comics. His adaptations include works by Clive Barker, Richard Matheson and Harlan Ellison.
Steve resides in Los Angeles in his bachelor pad with one cat. While there's no crawlspace, there is a questionable closet in one corner and no one is quite sure what is hidden in there...but we have an idea.
--from the author's website
Niles is currently working for the four top American comic publishers - Marvel, DC, Image and Dark Horse. He got his start in the industry when he formed his own publishing company called Arcane Comix, where he published, edited and adapted several comics and anthologies for Eclipse Comics. His adaptations include works by Clive Barker, Richard Matheson and Harlan Ellison.
Steve resides in Los Angeles in his bachelor pad with one cat. While there's no crawlspace, there is a questionable closet in one corner and no one is quite sure what is hidden in there...but we have an idea.
--from the author's website
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
October 10, 2023
Great addition to the series!
Another fun book in the 30 Days of Night series! I'll definitely be continuing on with this graphic novel series! Four stars!
Another fun book in the 30 Days of Night series! I'll definitely be continuing on with this graphic novel series! Four stars!
November 30, 2017
The reader descends from above. The reader is shown a suburban book club that becomes a lynch mob when their selection of the month convinces them that an unlikable neighbor sports fangs after dark. The reader is teased twice with snippets about two stern-faced strangers who happen to share the commonality of wanting to avenge the deaths of their brothers in the upcoming sequel 30 Days of Night, Vol. 3: Return to Barrow. The reader catches up with a familiar vampire in need of a hand transplant. The reader also learns how a bug-eating, and previously deceased, FBI agent randomly becomes a vampire, and only at the expense of anything resembling internal logic in this half-baked franchise. The reader floats away from these pages with general indifference.
March 17, 2019
The aftermath of the Barrow massacre is explored from the point of view of several characters, some of them new to the series. Most people bieve the media, but some have had their eyes opened to the threat the vampires pose. The latter are fighting back.
Stella's book was labeled fiction by pretty much everybody. Members of a book club have their doubts and even suspect one of their neighbours of being a vampire for only being active at night.
FBI agent Norris survived his encounter with Stella's hunters, but he gets captured by the FBI.
Wayne Kitka lost his brother in the Barrow massacre. He gets hired as the new sheriff in Barrow. His story is continued in 'Return to Barrow.'
Dane threatens a doctor into attaching a new hand in place of the one he lost in the previous volume.
John Ikos's brother was killed in Barrow. He believes in the existence of vampires and has taken an active role in killing them.
Stella's book was labeled fiction by pretty much everybody. Members of a book club have their doubts and even suspect one of their neighbours of being a vampire for only being active at night.
FBI agent Norris survived his encounter with Stella's hunters, but he gets captured by the FBI.
Wayne Kitka lost his brother in the Barrow massacre. He gets hired as the new sheriff in Barrow. His story is continued in 'Return to Barrow.'
Dane threatens a doctor into attaching a new hand in place of the one he lost in the previous volume.
John Ikos's brother was killed in Barrow. He believes in the existence of vampires and has taken an active role in killing them.
March 2, 2021
One interesting story, the rest were mediocre at best. Just something to fill out the pages, nothing new or exciting.
December 25, 2018
The annual has five different stories about various characters from 30 Days of Night or Dark Days, or related to them, of varying length. They all take place after Dark Days. (I would assume they are before Return to Barrow, but I haven't read that one yet.) All in all, a solid addition. The different artists really make this as far as I'm concerned. While I do enjoy Templesmith's style, it's was interesting (and appropriate) to see these snapshots done differently, as each of these perspectives is different from who we've been focused on to this point. (He is also present in the annual!)
The only one that seems mostly unrelated is the first one, which is about a suburban book club. Even that is in-universe, as the book club selection is the in-universe "fiction" 30 Days of Night novel from Dark Days. The twist ending to that little story might be a little predictable, but honestly, there were really only three ways that could have ended. I still enjoyed it. Mob mentality as its finest.
The second story is one that seems to be inconsistent with the rest of the in-universe canon, but since it's not my universe, I suppose that whatever happens, happens. It revisits one of the characters from Dark Days that we see die. But then, given what this mythos's vampires can do in terms of regeneration and healing, it's not out of the realm of possibility. It was a weird little interlude, and rather weak from the writing perspective.
A quick little prelude as a lead-in to Return to Barrow, an intro to Barrow's new Sheriff, who happens to be the brother of one of the people killed in 30 Days of Night. Only a few pages long, this really is a simple teaser.
[EDIT: This is literally five pages from the opening of Return To Barrow.]
DANE! Dane, my favourite character from Dark Days, is the focus of the fourth story. It is a short little thing, but a welcome revisit to his character and it develops him just a wee bit more. I'd really like to see him again, in a bigger role, as the series goes on.
The final story in the 2004 annual is about a survivor from Barrow who was out hunting when the vampires came. He's still out hunting, but this time for different prey. A snapshot of survivor's guilt; his brother was one of the people who died in 30 Days of Night.
The only one that seems mostly unrelated is the first one, which is about a suburban book club. Even that is in-universe, as the book club selection is the in-universe "fiction" 30 Days of Night novel from Dark Days. The twist ending to that little story might be a little predictable, but honestly, there were really only three ways that could have ended. I still enjoyed it. Mob mentality as its finest.
The second story is one that seems to be inconsistent with the rest of the in-universe canon, but since it's not my universe, I suppose that whatever happens, happens. It revisits one of the characters from Dark Days that we see die. But then, given what this mythos's vampires can do in terms of regeneration and healing, it's not out of the realm of possibility. It was a weird little interlude, and rather weak from the writing perspective.
A quick little prelude as a lead-in to Return to Barrow, an intro to Barrow's new Sheriff, who happens to be the brother of one of the people killed in 30 Days of Night. Only a few pages long, this really is a simple teaser.
[EDIT: This is literally five pages from the opening of Return To Barrow.]
DANE! Dane, my favourite character from Dark Days, is the focus of the fourth story. It is a short little thing, but a welcome revisit to his character and it develops him just a wee bit more. I'd really like to see him again, in a bigger role, as the series goes on.
The final story in the 2004 annual is about a survivor from Barrow who was out hunting when the vampires came. He's still out hunting, but this time for different prey. A snapshot of survivor's guilt; his brother was one of the people who died in 30 Days of Night.
October 7, 2023
This is an anthology volume with four short stories. All four are good stories. One shows the danger os mass hysteria, another continues the story of Dane the "good" vampire, one shows "Reinfeld" Agent Norris, and the final story introduces the vampire hunter Ikos. Good volume, with moody art that enhances the stories.
August 9, 2020
Really enjoyed this first interlude in the ongoing 30 Days storyline. These shorts all deal with side-stories, sequel set-ups, side-characters, and the impact on a small suburban book club of Stella Olemaun's book has been received by the world. It never feels like a waste of time and Niles uses the format to move around some of his 30 Days game pieces without having to shoehorn it into the main narrative.
September 1, 2020
Interesting follow-up on the Barrow massacre; the annual was inked by several different artists, which made the experience of reading the comic much more intense.
Templesmith brought back the same eerie feels, Kudranski plunges the reader into abysmal horror, Hovet mixed in some elements of John Constantine-meets-An American Werewolf in London and Medors wrapped up the anthology with something epic!
I sure loved the work on this one!
Templesmith brought back the same eerie feels, Kudranski plunges the reader into abysmal horror, Hovet mixed in some elements of John Constantine-meets-An American Werewolf in London and Medors wrapped up the anthology with something epic!
I sure loved the work on this one!
August 21, 2019
Annual 2004 has 4 stories each self contained but showing perspective of the event in barrow. decent read.
March 1, 2021
Three volumes in and the stories stay fresh, although the art hasn't improved.
May 2, 2022
This volume wasn't as good as the previous two, but they were okay. None of the short stories really moved the story further.
September 20, 2022
This one felt slow and I swear the art is getting worse I don’t I might read one more and if it doesn’t get better I’ll quit
July 15, 2012
I can't complain about a single one of these issues. The artwork is fantastic, the stories are engrossing, and the horror factor is just delicious. The horror is wonderful, a creeping horror that is as strongly associated with what humans can do to one another as it is with the inhuman nature of the vampires.
The short stories in this issue are great. Each one addresses a new problem that rose as a result of what happened in Barrow and the publication of Stella's book. Suspicion of vampires slowly growing, and Dane... just fantastic.
The short stories in this issue are great. Each one addresses a new problem that rose as a result of what happened in Barrow and the publication of Stella's book. Suspicion of vampires slowly growing, and Dane... just fantastic.
December 9, 2012
I really enjoyed the Annual. As much as I love Templesmiths art, I liked that three of the stories were drawn and inked by other artists. It was nice to see the different character interpretations of Norris, Dane, and Ikos. job well done.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews