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30 Days of Night #5
30 Days of Night, Vol. 5: Bloodsucker Tales
The world of the undead is a vast one, with many stories remaining to be told. In Bloodsucker Tales, Steve Niles continues the saga of 30 Days of Night with the bloody and terrifying story "Dead Billy Dead," illustrated by talented newcomer Kody Chamberlain. Matt Fraction joins in with "Juarez," introducing Lex Nova, former private detective and free-range madman, illustrated by Ben Templesmith.
200 pages, Paperback
First published August 29, 2005
3 people are currently reading
539 people want to read
About the author
Matt Fraction
1,221 books1,862 followers"How he got started in comics: In 1983, when Fraction was 7 years old and growing up in Kansas City, Mo., he became fascinated by the U.S. invasion of Grenada and created his own newspaper to explain the event. "I've always been story-driven, telling stories with pictures and words," he said.
Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.
"My mother was not happy about that," he said.
But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."
Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.
Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.
Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."
Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.
- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.
Education and first job: Fraction never graduated from college. He stopped half a semester short of an art degree at Kansas City Art Institute in Missouri in 1998 to take a job as a Web designer and managing editor of a magazine about Internet culture.
"My mother was not happy about that," he said.
But that gig led Fraction and his co-workers to split off and launch MK12, a boutique graphic design and production firm in Kansas City that created the opening credits for the James Bond film "Quantum of Solace."
Big break: While writing and directing live-action shoots at MK12, Fraction spent his spare time writing comics and pitching his books each year to publishers at Comic-Con. Two books sold: "The Last of the Independents," published in 2003 by AiT/Planet Lar, and "Casanova," published in 2006 by Image Comics.
Fraction traveled extensively on commercial shoots. Then his wife got pregnant. So Fraction did what any rational man in his position would do -- he quit his job at MK12 to pursue his dream of becoming a full-time comic book writer.
Say what? "It was terrifying," said Fraction, who now lives in Portland, Ore. "I was married. We had a house. We had a baby coming. And I just quit my job."
Marvel hired Fraction in June 2006, thanks largely to the success of his other two comics. "I got very lucky," he half-joked. "If it hadn't worked out, I would have had to move back in with my parents.
- 2009. Alex Pham. Los Angeles Times.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews
September 18, 2024
This was actually two stories.
Story #1 artwork- 3.5 stars
Story #1 story - 4.0 stars
Story #2 artwork- 2.75 stars
Story #2 story - 4.25 stars
Overall 3.625 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
Story #1 artwork- 3.5 stars
Story #1 story - 4.0 stars
Story #2 artwork- 2.75 stars
Story #2 story - 4.25 stars
Overall 3.625 stars rounded up to 4 stars.
December 15, 2017
Two more disappointing tales of vampires, neither of which has anything to do with a single day of night: the first, another forgettable blah from Niles; the second, an ambitious failure by a novice Matt Fraction. The first features a loser who uses being turned into a bloodsucker as an excuse to pester his ex; the second tackles the hundreds of missing women in Juarez by introducing the reader to a gonzo private eye and a trio of clown-themed vampires, none of whom had anything to do with said missing women. Both feature messy art that manages to be at times unconvincing, childish, cringe-inducing and inscrutable—but only the second tale has Templesmith to blame for that. Both feature even more inconsistencies within whatever internal logic is supposed to be regulating this franchise. Both are guilty of thin plotting, but Fraction’s characters are at least lively messes as opposed to Nile’s throwaway assemblages of human characteristics needed to occupy space in a panel as dictated by the conventions of sequential art storytelling.
September 3, 2014
Imagine Quentin Tarantino (sp) dropped some acid, then took a dump. There you have this story. At least the part concerning the missing Mexican girls. Dumb. Confusing. Not worth your (anyone's) time.
May 3, 2022
This volume isn't that great. It isn't a continuation of the previous stories. The stories aren't that interesting.
November 10, 2017
wow, didn't like this one bit :(
These stories were just all over the place...
Don't bother with this one.. You can just skip it
These stories were just all over the place...
Don't bother with this one.. You can just skip it
October 13, 2015
ive been jumping between 'one of the worst things ive ever read' and 'well I suppose that one part was good...' The plot was hard to follow, by the end of it I saw what happened but I had no idea why, no idea how. I was really confused by the character's motives, even though other aspects of their characterisation was good/interesting/actually made sense, why the hell were they doing any of the things they were doing? it just seriously needs some editing to pull all the threads together, atm theyre just frayed loose ends. the transitions need work too, hard to tell when a new scene had started. the art style didnt help, same problem I had with the original 30 days of night. Anyway, this comic's approach to the subject matter - an epidemic of brutally murdered women, mostly sex workers - is tastless and shallow. god, this spin off just makes me cringe, it just comes across as trying way too hard to be edgy. like a teenager just discovered gritty detective stories and had a crack at it and threw in everything they could think of for the sake of being 'dark' and dialled it up to 11. I guess im just disappointed bc the original trio of comics was fun, but now we get this. but then again, are spin offs ever not cringey?
July 25, 2012
Continuing the series, I once more am a bit torn. The first story "Dead Billy Dead" tells the tale of a man unwittingly turned into a vampire. He, Billy, returns to his ex-girlfriend Maggie for help. Maggie then calls the professor (Doctor Saxon) who hosted Stella's lecture about vampires the previous year. Doctor Saxon is pretty much crazy - commence the vivisection on Billy.
The second story was "Juarez" which I previously read as a stand-alone. Juarez, with a second read, still made absolutely no sense to me. I enjoy the character of Lex Nova, who has a certain sort of Gonzo charm. I... still have no idea what the heck he was, or what he was doing, and am relieved to see that other people also found it incomprehensible. I wanted to like it, I really did, and I enjoyed the artwork on both stories immensely.
All in all, I'm going to continue reading the 30 Days of Night series through to the end. I'm not ready to give up on it just yet.
The second story was "Juarez" which I previously read as a stand-alone. Juarez, with a second read, still made absolutely no sense to me. I enjoy the character of Lex Nova, who has a certain sort of Gonzo charm. I... still have no idea what the heck he was, or what he was doing, and am relieved to see that other people also found it incomprehensible. I wanted to like it, I really did, and I enjoyed the artwork on both stories immensely.
All in all, I'm going to continue reading the 30 Days of Night series through to the end. I'm not ready to give up on it just yet.
August 13, 2012
It takes all the muddy, indistinguishable characteristics of the other 30 days stories and makes them worse. No characters from the original trilogy appear in either of these. And the new ones are either forgettable or so obnoxious you wish you could forget them. Seriously, Lex Nova? A 'detective' who speaks his noirish internal monologue out loud? almost funny the first time, but there's eight issues of it, and I get tired of it before the characters in the story do.
And the whole concept of the second story in the collection, which posits vampires as the cause for the real-world disappearances in Juarez Mexico just rubs me the wrong way. Specifically the 'Zero Family Circus' of vampires? Clown-faced vampires for no reason beyond somebody wanted to draw vampires with red noses... Utterly stupid. Absolute waste of my time.
And the whole concept of the second story in the collection, which posits vampires as the cause for the real-world disappearances in Juarez Mexico just rubs me the wrong way. Specifically the 'Zero Family Circus' of vampires? Clown-faced vampires for no reason beyond somebody wanted to draw vampires with red noses... Utterly stupid. Absolute waste of my time.
April 22, 2015
What a bunch of trash. The only reason why I am even bothering to add this to my ratings is to point out just how bad it was.
I wasn't even five pages into the book and felt insulted at least three times by the derogatory stereotypes and insensitivity to the subject matter. I was expecting the author to bring some attention to the serial killings of hundreds of women in the city of Juarez. Instead, it chose to mock the senseless death of these women.
I couldn't read past twenty pages. To continue on would have been a disrespect to the women that have fallen victim to such violent and senseless deaths and a disrespect to their families' suffering.
This should not even get a star. That's how bad this is.
I wasn't even five pages into the book and felt insulted at least three times by the derogatory stereotypes and insensitivity to the subject matter. I was expecting the author to bring some attention to the serial killings of hundreds of women in the city of Juarez. Instead, it chose to mock the senseless death of these women.
I couldn't read past twenty pages. To continue on would have been a disrespect to the women that have fallen victim to such violent and senseless deaths and a disrespect to their families' suffering.
This should not even get a star. That's how bad this is.
October 4, 2015
This book comes with two stories, the first one is really good. A newly turned vampire gets abducted by an insane guy who is desperate to become a vamp himself. The art in this one is stunning. The entire book is in colour.
The second story was all over the place, I didn't have a clue what was going on or why the characters were there. The art in this one wasn't so great, a different style. I liked how the clown vampires were drawn.
We then have a bonus art section which is amazing. In fact all the credit in this book should go to the artwork, rather than the actual stories. I'm also slightly disappointed that it's not set in Alaska and the vampires don't seem as creepy as they do in the film.
The second story was all over the place, I didn't have a clue what was going on or why the characters were there. The art in this one wasn't so great, a different style. I liked how the clown vampires were drawn.
We then have a bonus art section which is amazing. In fact all the credit in this book should go to the artwork, rather than the actual stories. I'm also slightly disappointed that it's not set in Alaska and the vampires don't seem as creepy as they do in the film.
October 8, 2023
2.5 Stars
I have to agree with most other readers. This was surely the worst of the 30 Days of Night comics. There are two stories in the anthology. The first story isn't bad, but didn't seem very relevant. The second story was incomprehensible. I thought maybe it was just me until I read the other reviews. Things should get much better with the next series.
I have to agree with most other readers. This was surely the worst of the 30 Days of Night comics. There are two stories in the anthology. The first story isn't bad, but didn't seem very relevant. The second story was incomprehensible. I thought maybe it was just me until I read the other reviews. Things should get much better with the next series.
October 13, 2016
Siguiendo con los libros y cómics de 30 días de noche he leído estas dos historias. Creo que son bastante prescindibles por lo que aportan a 30 días de noche, el argumento no está mal pero dejan bastante que desear.
Mi reseña completa en:
http://scarywhispers.blogspot.com.es/...
Mi reseña completa en:
http://scarywhispers.blogspot.com.es/...
June 5, 2020
No sabría si recomendarlo aunque, en principio, no lo haría.
Pensaba que este cómic tendría muchas más historias de chupasangres (me imaginaba al menos 10), pero son solo dos historias largas.
La primera me ha resultado mucho más interesante que la segunda, pero bueno... En realidad tampoco tiene mucha miga la cosa, es un cómic para echar el rato.
En la primera historia encontramos a un hombre que se convierte en vampiro aunque no quiere. Se da cuenta de lo que es pero intenta luchar contra ello. A partir de ahí entramos en la historia y empiezan a surgir personajes relacionados con la historia de los chupasangres de una u otra manera... Me gusta la parte del científico.
En la segunda historia simplemente nos trasladamos a un pueblo en el que se suceden desapariciones de mujeres y un investigador va a intentar descubrir la verdad. Es un poco lioso para mi gusto porque no dejan de aparecer personajes extraños que no sabemos muy bien qué pintan en la historia (y cuando he acabado de leerla tampoco me ha quedado muy claro...). Pero las escenas están chulas (al menos eso merece la pena xD).
Y chimpún. Vamos, que lo leáis si pasáis por la biblioteca y os aburrís mucho, si no, mejor leed otras cosas.
Pensaba que este cómic tendría muchas más historias de chupasangres (me imaginaba al menos 10), pero son solo dos historias largas.
La primera me ha resultado mucho más interesante que la segunda, pero bueno... En realidad tampoco tiene mucha miga la cosa, es un cómic para echar el rato.
En la primera historia encontramos a un hombre que se convierte en vampiro aunque no quiere. Se da cuenta de lo que es pero intenta luchar contra ello. A partir de ahí entramos en la historia y empiezan a surgir personajes relacionados con la historia de los chupasangres de una u otra manera... Me gusta la parte del científico.
En la segunda historia simplemente nos trasladamos a un pueblo en el que se suceden desapariciones de mujeres y un investigador va a intentar descubrir la verdad. Es un poco lioso para mi gusto porque no dejan de aparecer personajes extraños que no sabemos muy bien qué pintan en la historia (y cuando he acabado de leerla tampoco me ha quedado muy claro...). Pero las escenas están chulas (al menos eso merece la pena xD).
Y chimpún. Vamos, que lo leáis si pasáis por la biblioteca y os aburrís mucho, si no, mejor leed otras cosas.
August 2, 2017
I have a lot of feelings about this volume and none of them are good. I had a lot of problems with this volume. The biggest one for me is the multiple storylines. There are three (I think) storylines going on. Two of them intersect but the third one is completely random. It was hard to follow the different storylines. The shifts between the narrators were too quick and jarring for me. I had a hard time telling who's point of view it was. I didn't care about the storylines or the characters. There was not any character development. I honestly don't remember half the characters.
I also did not like the change in art style. I prefer the darker, moodier artwork of the early volumes. Obviously, this is my personal preference. I thought the old artwork set the gritty and dark tone a lot better.
Compared to the earlier volumes, this was a complete letdown. I didn't like how it introduced new characters who had very, very little to do with the original story.
I also did not like the change in art style. I prefer the darker, moodier artwork of the early volumes. Obviously, this is my personal preference. I thought the old artwork set the gritty and dark tone a lot better.
Compared to the earlier volumes, this was a complete letdown. I didn't like how it introduced new characters who had very, very little to do with the original story.
August 8, 2020
There's stuff to like here, and there's stuff to not like here. It's a really unbalanced mess of a collection and its strengths lie more in the execution than in the stories themselves.
Both of the co-creators of the original 30 Days of Night are featured here but not working with each other. I thought that was cool. Niles teams up with Kody Chamberlain and Templesmith teams up with Matt Fraction. One story is a continuation of the overall 30 Days mythology while the other is an anthology installment featuring a gonzo private eye, vampires, and a whole mess of corrupt capitalists, vamp hedonists, and dead women in the town of Juarez, Mexico.
Didn't hate it but didn't love it, despite being a fan of Fraction's work and the participation of Niles and Templesmith. I think it's fair to say that by this fifth volume the creators were trying to push boundaries and have some fun with limited success.
Both of the co-creators of the original 30 Days of Night are featured here but not working with each other. I thought that was cool. Niles teams up with Kody Chamberlain and Templesmith teams up with Matt Fraction. One story is a continuation of the overall 30 Days mythology while the other is an anthology installment featuring a gonzo private eye, vampires, and a whole mess of corrupt capitalists, vamp hedonists, and dead women in the town of Juarez, Mexico.
Didn't hate it but didn't love it, despite being a fan of Fraction's work and the participation of Niles and Templesmith. I think it's fair to say that by this fifth volume the creators were trying to push boundaries and have some fun with limited success.
June 4, 2024
Closer to a seven than a 6.
This vastly improves on some of the other narratives within the universe by condensing the stories and placing a limit on certain aspects of the writers ambitions. Though far from perfect I found both to be enjoyably tales, particularly 400 Dead Girls which was a unique play on detective narratives as well as vampires. Some of it lacks clarity and Fraction’s still developing skills are clear at parts. But regardless the art is fascinating with far better framing than in previous parts and more interesting plot execution. I hope to see Fraction work on more of this series.
This vastly improves on some of the other narratives within the universe by condensing the stories and placing a limit on certain aspects of the writers ambitions. Though far from perfect I found both to be enjoyably tales, particularly 400 Dead Girls which was a unique play on detective narratives as well as vampires. Some of it lacks clarity and Fraction’s still developing skills are clear at parts. But regardless the art is fascinating with far better framing than in previous parts and more interesting plot execution. I hope to see Fraction work on more of this series.
October 22, 2023
La primera historia es interesante, pero la segunda es un lío. La premisa es buena, las chicas que desaparecen en Juarez lo hacen por vampiros. Pero luego entra en juego un detective vampiro que habla solo en voz alta, una trama confusa en la que se mezclan humanos y vampiros (más confusa dado que por los dibujos de Templesmith nunca sabes muy bien qué personaje hay en la viñeta), cosas que pasan sin saber muy bien por qué, un personaje oculto que se queda oculto, una explicación final rara y un final que aún no entiendo. Aquí empieza la decadencia de la serie.
March 8, 2019
After a brilliant first book, and a couple of adequate sequels, sadly I'm jumping off the 30 Days train, as while the first story in this volume - "Dead Billy Dead" - was just about entertaining, the second - "Juarez" - is just a mess and after struggling to maintain interest for the first four (of eight) parts I abandoned it (which is saying something, as I hate not finishing books / comics).
All filler, no killer.
All filler, no killer.
February 2, 2025
Two stories my issue has 4 on the spine
Dead Billy Dead — this was a fantastic story well illustrated and it could’ve been by itself would’ve gotten five stars. Billy may be a new type of vampire.
Juarez or Lex Nova & the case of the 400dead Mexican girls-in 8 parts—-the story was terrible and the graphics weren’t fantastic. If this would’ve been the only story in the book I think I would’ve given it one star
Dead Billy Dead — this was a fantastic story well illustrated and it could’ve been by itself would’ve gotten five stars. Billy may be a new type of vampire.
Juarez or Lex Nova & the case of the 400dead Mexican girls-in 8 parts—-the story was terrible and the graphics weren’t fantastic. If this would’ve been the only story in the book I think I would’ve given it one star
December 5, 2025
I can't believe Matt Fraction wrote the Juarez story. It's awful. It speaks of the very real murders of women in Juarez and injects a dumb vampire story into it. This Lex Nova talks like a detective from a noir but speaks all his inner monologue out loud. It gets tedious real fast. Then there's these clown vampires. It's really dumb without even bringing up the real deaths of multiple women in Juarez.
June 5, 2020
first story was fine but inconsequential. the second one i couldn't even follow what was happening? i was so confused i wondered if i was super dumb at reading comics or something but i was glad to see the other folks on here were lost also
February 25, 2019
Not worth reading at all!! One star for the start of the book. One star for pity because no ‘30 days’ book should have just one star!!
August 26, 2019
Good example of taking a good concept and screwing it up with bad art and even worse writing. Billy's story is the only reason it gets two stars.
November 3, 2020
Shambolic mishmash of stories and, as usual, characters so similar looking it's hard to know who one is dealing with half the time. Interesting visually but a disappointing reading experience.
March 1, 2021
Tales unconnected to the larger storyline but that give more depth and reality to the world.
August 17, 2021
The story is violently depressing, and sometimes hard to follow. But it's real art, both the story and the graphics. The original 30 Days of Night wasn't anywhere near as good.
August 20, 2023
El estilo artistico me ha parecido muy adecuado a la historia. Lo he disfrutado y además es del tipo de vampiros que me gusta, segun lo leido con Anne Rice
February 6, 2024
Someone please end this series. It's not scary. It's not interesting. The art has gone overboard. This is just ridiculously painful.
March 3, 2016
Maybe this is my exit cue for the series? Possibly. It wasn't bad yet it was far from great and it left me with the feeling that there is not so much for me to take away from the story line. There might be more stories to tell but I am not sure I care enough to hear them, what can I say, I struggle with sticking to a series unless it does a tremendous job that fully engages me.
In here we get two stories/ novellas that are placed in the general universe of "30 Days of Night" and they way the vampires act here makes me wonder why humanity didn't know about them before Barrow. I thought the deal about Barrow was that a group of vampires messed up and in consequence the vampire community was angered about their possible reveal, yet in "Bloodsucker Tales" vampires act really careless, if that is the norm humans should know long ago. And that bothered me.
Concerning the two stories, I preferred the first, "Dead Billy Dead" both in plot and art work which surprised me because it introduced a new artist (Kody Chamberlain). Templesmith's art I used to love (LOVE) yet in "Juarez" it was not as good as I remember it, at least for me. The story has some interesting elements (vampire clowns; a Private Investigator with some great quirks) but it was too much all over the place for me.
This installment is alright but it let me down and my drive to continue is pretty much gone for now. 2.5*
In here we get two stories/ novellas that are placed in the general universe of "30 Days of Night" and they way the vampires act here makes me wonder why humanity didn't know about them before Barrow. I thought the deal about Barrow was that a group of vampires messed up and in consequence the vampire community was angered about their possible reveal, yet in "Bloodsucker Tales" vampires act really careless, if that is the norm humans should know long ago. And that bothered me.
Concerning the two stories, I preferred the first, "Dead Billy Dead" both in plot and art work which surprised me because it introduced a new artist (Kody Chamberlain). Templesmith's art I used to love (LOVE) yet in "Juarez" it was not as good as I remember it, at least for me. The story has some interesting elements (vampire clowns; a Private Investigator with some great quirks) but it was too much all over the place for me.
This installment is alright but it let me down and my drive to continue is pretty much gone for now. 2.5*
February 18, 2008
This graphic novel contains two stories in the 30 Days of Night universe. The first, Dead Billy Dead, follows the man Billy who is attacked and turns into a vampire. He is later kidnapped along with his girlfriend Maggie by a "scientist" he is obsessed with vampires and experiments on them.
The second story titled, Juarez or Lex Nova and the case of the 400 dead Mexican girls, follows the character Lex Nova who is insane. He is supposedly investigating the disappearance of 400 mexican girls from the town of Juarez. A vampire gang called Zero Family Circus shows up in the story as well.
Honestly this graphic novel is my least favorite of the series so far. Dead Billy Dead was OK but Juares was horrible. This story was completely incoherent and even after reading a synopsis online, the story still does not make any sense. The graphics were OK, but without a strong story line, this one was definitely not worth reading.
The second story titled, Juarez or Lex Nova and the case of the 400 dead Mexican girls, follows the character Lex Nova who is insane. He is supposedly investigating the disappearance of 400 mexican girls from the town of Juarez. A vampire gang called Zero Family Circus shows up in the story as well.
Honestly this graphic novel is my least favorite of the series so far. Dead Billy Dead was OK but Juares was horrible. This story was completely incoherent and even after reading a synopsis online, the story still does not make any sense. The graphics were OK, but without a strong story line, this one was definitely not worth reading.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 61 reviews