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American Vampire #1-4
American Vampire Vol.1
Astuto, despiadado y malo como una culebra, Skinner Sweet es un pistolero completamente corrupto. Cuando los vampiros europeos llegan al Viejo Oeste americano, convierten a Skinner en una auténtico monstruo: el primer Vampiro Americano. Skinner se convierte en algo completamente nuevo: una raza de vampiro más fuerte e inmune a la luz del sol, que odia a todos y cada uno de sus aristocráticos ancestros europeos.
384 pages, Hardcover
Published May 3, 2022
19 people are currently reading
400 people want to read
About the author
Scott Snyder
1,780 books5,124 followersScott 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
December 1, 2020
I liked it, not as much as fables or other Vertigo lines but it was a bunch of entertaining tales on vampires nonetheless. All these tales are connected by one character, a new breed of vampire who goes by the name of skinner sweet and is disliked by his fellow vampires and humans. How cool is the fact that Stephen King himself wrote the origin story of Skinner?
This isn't a deep tale or anything philosophical about the eternal life of a vampire, this is just a fun ride. The plot of these tales I would best compare to B-movie flicks from 70s / 80s in their way of how they are told, sometimes even the themes are reminiscent of them, it felt like an straight up homage at points.
And talking about this genre the gore is also included of course, definitely not for kids as it doesn't shy away showing it all, but by the time you reach the end of the omnibus you are kind of battle hardened. So all the violence isn't really that effective anymore just through the sheer amount, you more or less expect it. I even would say the real surprise would be an issue completley without gore and violence, something I hope is in the works.. or maybe not, as that poses more of a challenge than resolving to the cheap old getting physical.
The perfect vampire pulp. 3.5 out of 5 stars
This isn't a deep tale or anything philosophical about the eternal life of a vampire, this is just a fun ride. The plot of these tales I would best compare to B-movie flicks from 70s / 80s in their way of how they are told, sometimes even the themes are reminiscent of them, it felt like an straight up homage at points.
And talking about this genre the gore is also included of course, definitely not for kids as it doesn't shy away showing it all, but by the time you reach the end of the omnibus you are kind of battle hardened. So all the violence isn't really that effective anymore just through the sheer amount, you more or less expect it. I even would say the real surprise would be an issue completley without gore and violence, something I hope is in the works.. or maybe not, as that poses more of a challenge than resolving to the cheap old getting physical.
The perfect vampire pulp. 3.5 out of 5 stars
November 10, 2024
4.25 stars. I had a blast with this. The story bounces around from the late 1700s, late 1800s and early to mid 1900s. It follows a few characters through these times. Like Pearl Jones, the movie actress, the lawman James Book and the wild outlaw, Skinner Sweet. We have the traditional vampires, the carpathians, making moves in the west and they infect Skinner Sweet and unknowingly create a new race, the American Vampire. They can survive in sunlight and the traditional vampire weaknesses don’t effect them. He eventually infects Pearl turning her into one of these new American vampires. It was a great ride following these characters’ stories as the carpathians look for the American vampires weak points and how these characters progress over the years and have offsprings in which we later follow their stories too. Plus we have the V.M.S. This is an old vampire hunting group who have been around for centuries killing and cataloguing the different breeds of vampires. The current set up is lead by Hobbes. We travel from the west in the new fledgling America to over seas in other counties and get caught in a couple different wars. Albuquerque, Nguyen and Sean Murphy kill it with the art also. This book was firing on all cylinders. Any vampire fans out there that haven’t checked this out I recommend you do.
January 29, 2019
I'm incredibly late to the party bus for graphic novels, but better late than not riding the bus at all. I have the omnibus for two other graphic novel series and I've been putting off reading them for some time. I really need to bring them to the surface, especially so after reading American Vampire by Scott Snyder. I was already a fan of many of the themes present in the story. Do I love vampire and horror stories? Yes, I do. Am I a fan of old timey wild west stories? Yes, I am. Do I love pieces written about the roaring 1920's? Absolutely, who doesn't?
Scott Snyder takes all of the above mentioned elements and combines them together to create his tale of the American Vampire. And this is the real deal type of vampire. Skinner Sweet is not the manbun wearing sexpot vamp of modern stories. Oh, no. He's a mean and vile and eat you to your bones vampire. He's not the vampire you'll be bringing home to meet dad or take to the senior prom. If you meet Skinner Sweet, keep your fingers crossed it's a moonless night.
Skinner Sweet is not the only vampire in the book. There is Pearl, a young actress, struggling to make a living in 1920's Hollywood. And there is also the band of old school vampires that live by the old set of rules. They can't be exposed to daylight. They're most active at night. And they are hell bent on trying to figure out why Skinner is different and walks in the sun. They are desperate to find his weaknesses because he certainly knows theirs and he isn't afraid to use them to destroy their breed of vampire.
There are multiple layers to this story and they all shuffle together neatly to create an exciting story that covers several time periods. The vampires are creepy and horrifying, as they should be. The story lines tie together seamlessly. And there is an edge of your seat quality that keeps you guessing as to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.
I read Volume 1, actually, I devoured it in one sitting. I anticipate that the next volumes of this series will be just as entertaining as the first. Bravo to Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Stephen King for this original and bloody graphic novel series. Highly recommended.
Scott Snyder takes all of the above mentioned elements and combines them together to create his tale of the American Vampire. And this is the real deal type of vampire. Skinner Sweet is not the manbun wearing sexpot vamp of modern stories. Oh, no. He's a mean and vile and eat you to your bones vampire. He's not the vampire you'll be bringing home to meet dad or take to the senior prom. If you meet Skinner Sweet, keep your fingers crossed it's a moonless night.
Skinner Sweet is not the only vampire in the book. There is Pearl, a young actress, struggling to make a living in 1920's Hollywood. And there is also the band of old school vampires that live by the old set of rules. They can't be exposed to daylight. They're most active at night. And they are hell bent on trying to figure out why Skinner is different and walks in the sun. They are desperate to find his weaknesses because he certainly knows theirs and he isn't afraid to use them to destroy their breed of vampire.
There are multiple layers to this story and they all shuffle together neatly to create an exciting story that covers several time periods. The vampires are creepy and horrifying, as they should be. The story lines tie together seamlessly. And there is an edge of your seat quality that keeps you guessing as to who are the good guys and who are the bad guys.
I read Volume 1, actually, I devoured it in one sitting. I anticipate that the next volumes of this series will be just as entertaining as the first. Bravo to Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque and Stephen King for this original and bloody graphic novel series. Highly recommended.
April 1, 2023
One of the best vampire stories ever told. Longer review to come.
January 9, 2020
So I can see how this story made Snyder. It’s a great story. It sounds cliché because it’s about vampires, but it’s actually got some good spins on it.
I love that he makes different species of vamps and makes the toughest characters female - a trait he shares with Ennis.
It is full of multiple little stories a bit like sandman that when combined create a character arc and story about one evil bastard named skinner.
A story with bite.
I love that he makes different species of vamps and makes the toughest characters female - a trait he shares with Ennis.
It is full of multiple little stories a bit like sandman that when combined create a character arc and story about one evil bastard named skinner.
A story with bite.
December 23, 2024
An original take on vampires (no small feat), and dark enough to hold one's attention. Easy to see how this one had such a long run.
June 1, 2019
Feel like I'm late to the party on a comic book series AGAIN but this was a fun read! A take on Vampires I can get behind. When they're monsters and killers but it's not too gorey for the sake of gore and there's good story in there too. Would recommend.
February 21, 2022
I really enjoyed this. I think I preferred the stuff directly relating to skinner more than the ‘vampires over the years’ type stuff. I would definitely read again and I hope they bring out a second omnibus to collect the rest.
January 15, 2025
Snyder tiene tan poco dominio e inventiva sobre la recreación del mito vampírico como talento para explorar su vertiente pulp y conectarlo con dos géneros fundamentales nacidos en EE.UU.: el western y el criminal/negro. Mientras, Albuquerque tiene fuerza, pero se centra tanto en las figuras y lo que está en primer plano que olvida que a veces hay que poner algo detrás. El tebeo termina teniendo más luces que sombras, pero por poco. A ver qué tal los siguientes.
April 8, 2019
American Vampire is absolutely fantastic, and I will 100% get the next Omnibus when it’s released. That being said, I am ready for a break. By the end, I was definitely getting a bit vampired out.
October 29, 2022
A fresh take on a classic horror trope. What it lacks in mystery and depth it makes up for in entertainment value.
Snyder replaced a lot of the usual gothic vampire lore with action, violence and gore, i.e. he made it American. The result is a fast-paced, highly bingeable action-horror series that is set in different era's. There's a caveat though: Snyder's portrayal of native Americans in one of the stories was unfortunate, and his misguided attempt to address racism in the fifties was a low point in the book for me. The use of the 'n' word on multiple occasions... Why? Because it's edgy?
On the art front everything's perfect. Albuquerque went for a rougher, less polished look which fits the tone perfectly. And seeing Sean Murphy and Dustin Nguyen each do a story was a real treat.
Snyder replaced a lot of the usual gothic vampire lore with action, violence and gore, i.e. he made it American. The result is a fast-paced, highly bingeable action-horror series that is set in different era's. There's a caveat though: Snyder's portrayal of native Americans in one of the stories was unfortunate, and his misguided attempt to address racism in the fifties was a low point in the book for me. The use of the 'n' word on multiple occasions... Why? Because it's edgy?
On the art front everything's perfect. Albuquerque went for a rougher, less polished look which fits the tone perfectly. And seeing Sean Murphy and Dustin Nguyen each do a story was a real treat.
October 21, 2021
Read this over five volumes digitally on hoopla. I can't get enough of this world that Snyder built. Multiple species of vampires. Characters who grow and change through decades of American history. Secret societies. Incredible art and color. A modern classic.
Read
October 6, 2024About as good as I remember it, even if there are some parts now that feel in possibly poor taste - most of the cowboy and indian stuff errs a bit too heavily on the American military side, and there are ways that you could read the “vampires embedded in our highest levels” as a certain type of hate - but it’s still a rip roaring good time at the comics, action and adventure and Rafael Albuquerque having a blast drawing hundreds of open mouths (and signing all the pages lol). Art is uniformly good, even when the story direction sometimes feels like Snyder just said “okay now we doing Asian Front war stories” - the retcon of Sweet and Book being foster brothers felt more natural reading it over the years and less so here when you can see there wasn’t as much (or any) foreshadowing of that reveal. I still think it would have made a perfect 3-4 season FX show back in the golden days of peak streaming, but I think that ship has sailed. Still, a good time, and never less than that.
December 1, 2019
I don't dig vampires. I just don't. I don't find them terribly interesting. They're done to (un)death. There aren't a lot of places for the vampire narrative to go. It's been done. Same thing applies to a lot of fiction, true, and there are a lot of sectors of fiction that I rarely get into because I feel like they recycle too much shit (epic fantasy, epic sci-fi, basically anything epic. Apparently, "epic" is shorthand for "Yeah, we're doing this again.").
American Vampire tries to rewrite vampire history, but it mostly retreads different aspects and puts them together with some new elements, elements heavily scaffolded by existing tropes.
I'm also just not glamoured by the thing where we show how a fictional element like vampires can be integrated into history as we know it. That doesn't do much for me, seeing a flapper as a vampire, an old west outlaw, a native Indian outlaw, all that stuff. Like, "Holy shit, this whole portion of mythology makes so much sense now that I know Rasputin was really a vampire!" It works for a lot of people, but I guess I'm just immune to those charms.
American Vampire is aight. If you like vampires, I think you'll enjoy this quite a bit. I think the omnibus is a great way to read it, too. There aren't too many connections (although the whole Book/Sweet thing that connects them up a la Wolverine Origins framework is unnecessary, old-school-comics nonsense), but I think the family lines and whatnot work better when you get them straight through.
American Vampire tries to rewrite vampire history, but it mostly retreads different aspects and puts them together with some new elements, elements heavily scaffolded by existing tropes.
I'm also just not glamoured by the thing where we show how a fictional element like vampires can be integrated into history as we know it. That doesn't do much for me, seeing a flapper as a vampire, an old west outlaw, a native Indian outlaw, all that stuff. Like, "Holy shit, this whole portion of mythology makes so much sense now that I know Rasputin was really a vampire!" It works for a lot of people, but I guess I'm just immune to those charms.
American Vampire is aight. If you like vampires, I think you'll enjoy this quite a bit. I think the omnibus is a great way to read it, too. There aren't too many connections (although the whole Book/Sweet thing that connects them up a la Wolverine Origins framework is unnecessary, old-school-comics nonsense), but I think the family lines and whatnot work better when you get them straight through.
October 4, 2025
Great read with side stories that help build deeper history tied to the characters and the overall story. Snyder introduces his own vampire mythology, presenting different forms of vampire, each with strengths and limitations, and underlines that there are as many personality types among vampires as there are among humans. Some struggle with what they’ve become, while others, like Sweet, revel in it. Now I can't wait to see how the end of this series comes into play with American Vampire proper down the line. GIMME SOME CANDY, MOTHERFUCKER.
November 23, 2022
“Esto es lo que nos vampiros no deberían ser: pálidos detectives que beben blody maryes y que solo trabajan de noche (…) ¿Qué deberían ser? Asesinos, cariño. Asesinos inmutables que nunca tienen bastante de esa sabrosa sangre del grupo A. Chicas y chicos malos.Cazadores” ~ American Vampire I.
Hace tiempo que no me sumergía en el mundo del cómic pero llegar a la biblioteca, ver el nombre de Stephen King en la portada de este y llevármelo a casa ha sido un todo en uno. American Vampire volumen 1 va de eso, de vampiros.
Aquí no vamos a encontrar, como dice King, vampiros enamorados, guapetones ni con aire melancólico. No, aquí hay dientes, muchos, y largas uñas que desgarran todo. Además son vampiros americanos, hiperevolucionados, por supuesto. Estos no mueren con el sol, viven de día, se camuflan con el resto y son capaces de respirar bajo el agua. En fin, que ni los ajos los matan.
Con esta premisa ya podéis imaginar qué os vais a encontrar. Por si no estáis hoy con la inspiración despierta, os dejo algunas imágenes de su interior. Además, trae material adicional, como entrevistas y bocetos originales. Apto para amantes de los dientes largos.
Hace tiempo que no me sumergía en el mundo del cómic pero llegar a la biblioteca, ver el nombre de Stephen King en la portada de este y llevármelo a casa ha sido un todo en uno. American Vampire volumen 1 va de eso, de vampiros.
Aquí no vamos a encontrar, como dice King, vampiros enamorados, guapetones ni con aire melancólico. No, aquí hay dientes, muchos, y largas uñas que desgarran todo. Además son vampiros americanos, hiperevolucionados, por supuesto. Estos no mueren con el sol, viven de día, se camuflan con el resto y son capaces de respirar bajo el agua. En fin, que ni los ajos los matan.
Con esta premisa ya podéis imaginar qué os vais a encontrar. Por si no estáis hoy con la inspiración despierta, os dejo algunas imágenes de su interior. Además, trae material adicional, como entrevistas y bocetos originales. Apto para amantes de los dientes largos.
February 7, 2020
3.5 stars. It gets a little bit to get going and some of the stories are so-so but it's mostly an achievement. Great pulp return to vampires' carnal nature. Fantastic art throughout.
April 24, 2020
I👏LOVE👏THIS👏BOOK👏
Read it.
Read it.
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July 4, 2025El cómic es muy bueno.
Pero 1000 páginas en Inglés lo convierten en un proyecto a largo plazo
Pero 1000 páginas en Inglés lo convierten en un proyecto a largo plazo
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October 29, 2022Scott Snyder’s writing has a particular sort of Americana that I am very fond of that is on display here and Rafael Albuquerque is one of the most versatile artists in the game. Cool October read.
June 9, 2025
I actually love American Vampire, both as a history person and as a comics guy. I love the way Snyder builds in each arc, from 2 vampires in the first, to the Vassals in the next, the Carpathian lore in Ghost War and so on and so on. I really dig the setting that Albuquerque sets in each arc, and also the blend of body horror and violence that he captures. Just incredible work all around
January 16, 2021
(Zero spoiler review)
American Vampire is a good story, with great artwork, though told averagely. There you go. An accurate review in what is barely a sentence. Though if you want something with a little more meat on the bones, or blood in the veins... The greatest fault of this rather weighty collection is that it reads as really rather messy and overly complicated in terms of the timeline, continuously jumping back and forth. Without knowing exactly what was occurring on a monthly basis, it seems that Snyder was simply grasping at ideas the longer the series went on, with only a tenuous thread linking the various plots of the series together, with a slew of different artists handling drawing duties throughout. Whilst the majority were more than competent at their craft, to not know who was going to be drawing a book from issue to issue was really rather jarring, and pulled me even further out of the story, much to the series' detriment. Albuquerque, the seeming lead artist handles less than half of the material here. Whether there were other issues beyond what came across as a slower art style or inability to meet deadlines I don't know. I would have likely enjoyed Sean Murphy's artwork, a particular favourite of mine who appears for a five issue run near the end, although by then, I was frankly a little over it all, having read nearly all 37 issues with nothing to space it out. I was missing the main character and Scott Snyder's hit and miss storytelling was grating on me. This is the first thing of Snyder's I've read, and I do hope that his other books and series are a little stronger than this. It certainly wasn't bad, I was just expecting a little better from such a big name in the industry. Maybe by the time I got towards the end of the run, Snyder had been poached and was working on multiple series by then, and his focus was elsewhere. Stephen King, a writer who I have a fairly love/hate relationship with penned five issue at the start of this series, and were some of the weakest offered up here. When King is hot, he's hot, and when he's not, He's not.
In the end, I must admit, I was glad to see the end of this. If I had read something in between, or had a smaller run of a book to review, it might have resulted in a slightly more positive review. This being the first omnibus I purchased, I felt a little let down by it, to be honest. Again, a story with such potential, and given the ultimate issue run Snyder was afforded, I really would have expected something more than we were given in terms of world building, ensemble of characters and storylines. Maybe the second half of this arc is better? Until then, This is a decent, if unspectacular read. 3.5/5
OmniBen
American Vampire is a good story, with great artwork, though told averagely. There you go. An accurate review in what is barely a sentence. Though if you want something with a little more meat on the bones, or blood in the veins... The greatest fault of this rather weighty collection is that it reads as really rather messy and overly complicated in terms of the timeline, continuously jumping back and forth. Without knowing exactly what was occurring on a monthly basis, it seems that Snyder was simply grasping at ideas the longer the series went on, with only a tenuous thread linking the various plots of the series together, with a slew of different artists handling drawing duties throughout. Whilst the majority were more than competent at their craft, to not know who was going to be drawing a book from issue to issue was really rather jarring, and pulled me even further out of the story, much to the series' detriment. Albuquerque, the seeming lead artist handles less than half of the material here. Whether there were other issues beyond what came across as a slower art style or inability to meet deadlines I don't know. I would have likely enjoyed Sean Murphy's artwork, a particular favourite of mine who appears for a five issue run near the end, although by then, I was frankly a little over it all, having read nearly all 37 issues with nothing to space it out. I was missing the main character and Scott Snyder's hit and miss storytelling was grating on me. This is the first thing of Snyder's I've read, and I do hope that his other books and series are a little stronger than this. It certainly wasn't bad, I was just expecting a little better from such a big name in the industry. Maybe by the time I got towards the end of the run, Snyder had been poached and was working on multiple series by then, and his focus was elsewhere. Stephen King, a writer who I have a fairly love/hate relationship with penned five issue at the start of this series, and were some of the weakest offered up here. When King is hot, he's hot, and when he's not, He's not.
In the end, I must admit, I was glad to see the end of this. If I had read something in between, or had a smaller run of a book to review, it might have resulted in a slightly more positive review. This being the first omnibus I purchased, I felt a little let down by it, to be honest. Again, a story with such potential, and given the ultimate issue run Snyder was afforded, I really would have expected something more than we were given in terms of world building, ensemble of characters and storylines. Maybe the second half of this arc is better? Until then, This is a decent, if unspectacular read. 3.5/5
OmniBen
September 26, 2025
American Vampire Vol. 1
Once upon a time, Pearl was an aspiring actress living in Los Angeles. Set during the 1920s, the film industry was on the rise, but that doesn’t mean it was treating its talent well, as Pearl is well aware of.
Then one horrible night changed everything for Pearl. She was the sacrificial lamb, but rather than it spelling her doom, it spelled a change. She was violently turned into a vampire and given a chance for survival – and revenge.
I read American Vampire Vol. 1 years ago, but decided to sit down and binge the series over one weekend. Naturally, that made me realize that I never got around to reviewing this the first time around. Woops.
Think 1920s aesthetic, cowboy vampires, and corrupt rich people, and you’ve got a solid idea of the framework for American Vampire Vol. 1. Largely, this volume is split into two different stories: Pearl Jones and her origin in 1925, versus Skinner’s 1880s origin.
Unsurprisingly, their stories don’t have a lot in common, unless you’re willing to count Skinner’s presence. Skinner is the first American vampire (hence the name), but his embracing Pearl ensures that he won’t be the last.
Skinner’s story starts with Western outlaw vibes, but slowly descends into a vampire horror. Meanwhile, Pearl’s story begins with the silver screen aesthetic, only for her to see the darker side of the industry. That said, we all know that her story is going to drastically evolve from here.
American Vampire Vol. 2
The Great Depression may be at its end, but the danger for Skinner and Pearl is far from over. Enter police officer Chief Cash McCogan; he’s responsible for keeping Las Vegas safe, a task easier said than done, even on a good day.
Bodies have begun appearing all over, devoid of blood. With the help of two FBI agents, Cash officially knows enough to pin a few suspects, but that in itself opens up a whole new can of worms.
American Vampire Vol. 2 continues to weave a compelling tale of vampires, politics, and corruption. That said, it has not gone the way I expected, and I’m not mad about that. I do love it when a series surprises me.
As with the last volume, American Vampire Vol. 2 is split into a few distinct stories. There’s Cash and the FBI Agents, which eventually begins an entirely new subplot for us to follow.
The story also updates us on what Pearl and Skinner have been up to, while adding new complications and threats into the mix. I’m enjoying the fact that the story has allowed Pearl and Skinner to take their own paths in life (unlife?).
Admittedly, I’m a little conflicted on the art for American Vampire Vol. 2. It’s got this raw and jagged element to it, which both does and doesn’t work. It’s in keeping with the theme, but there is something a little off-putting about it.
American Vampire Vol. 3
The American Vampire known as Pearl is happily married, but her husband, Henry, feels compelled to make a difference in this world. Thus, he’s on a secret mission to Japan, where he will help hunt a new breed of vampire. Naturally, things are not going to go according to plan.
Meanwhile, Felicia Book and Cash McCogan are desperately tracking down a cure to vampirism, and that has taken them to arguably one of the most dangerous places in the world. Will they retrieve what they need?
This series continues to surprise me with the twists and turns it takes. Every time I think we’ve seen every character in the series, new ones come flying out of nowhere. Well, not nowhere, but you get what I mean.
American Vampire Vol. 3, like the previous volumes, can be split into two distinct stories. The first revolves around Pearl, Henry, and Skinner. It’s a bit complicated, as Henry (Pearl’s husband) has gone off on a dangerous mission. It’s made more dangerous by Skinner, but Pearl followed along as well…like I said, it’s complicated.
On the flipside, there’s also a story following Felicia and Cash (introduced in the last volume), as they try to find a vampire cure. There’s a very personal reason for their quest, but it doesn’t negate the danger.
The two tales couldn’t be more different, except for how they revolve around vampires. That said, you can tell that they’re both building toward something more, and that adds to the mystery and the tension.
American Vampire Vol. 4
It’s time to head back into time, as another tale revolving around Skinner Sweet unfolds. This time, it’s about his involvement during the Indian Wars. Well, Skinner and another vampire or two.
Meanwhile, in 1950, a vampire hunter is tearing through his targets left and right, but his real goal is to get his hands on the infamous Skinner Sweet. Will he succeed, or is his mission going to be forever unfulfilled?
American Vampire Vol. 4 is pretty drastically different from the previous three volumes, but I don’t hate that. Once again, this series is full of surprises! This is the last volume I read during my binge session, so I’ll have to line up the next few soon.
As always, American Vampire Vol. 4 is split into two distinct stories. The first revolves around Skinner, because duh. What is surprising is that the story goes back in time, rather than continuing the slow progress forward with time. Still, it was interesting to see more of Skinner’s early time as the infamous American Vampire.
The other half of the story revolves around Travis Kidd, a vampire hunter. I actually really liked his story. It starts out with the Fonze vibes, but quickly evolves into something much darker. There’s a lot of potential with this story, so I can’t wait to see where it leads.
I found Travis’ story to be a refreshing take on the whole vampire-hunting thing. I won’t say that he reinvented the wheel or anything like that, but his story is fun, and that’s almost all that matters.
I’m looking forward to seeing where the rest of this series ends up taking me, because it has been a whirlwind experience thus far.
Highlights:
Historical Fiction
Paranormal Horror
Vampires
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Once upon a time, Pearl was an aspiring actress living in Los Angeles. Set during the 1920s, the film industry was on the rise, but that doesn’t mean it was treating its talent well, as Pearl is well aware of.
Then one horrible night changed everything for Pearl. She was the sacrificial lamb, but rather than it spelling her doom, it spelled a change. She was violently turned into a vampire and given a chance for survival – and revenge.
I read American Vampire Vol. 1 years ago, but decided to sit down and binge the series over one weekend. Naturally, that made me realize that I never got around to reviewing this the first time around. Woops.
Think 1920s aesthetic, cowboy vampires, and corrupt rich people, and you’ve got a solid idea of the framework for American Vampire Vol. 1. Largely, this volume is split into two different stories: Pearl Jones and her origin in 1925, versus Skinner’s 1880s origin.
Unsurprisingly, their stories don’t have a lot in common, unless you’re willing to count Skinner’s presence. Skinner is the first American vampire (hence the name), but his embracing Pearl ensures that he won’t be the last.
Skinner’s story starts with Western outlaw vibes, but slowly descends into a vampire horror. Meanwhile, Pearl’s story begins with the silver screen aesthetic, only for her to see the darker side of the industry. That said, we all know that her story is going to drastically evolve from here.
American Vampire Vol. 2
The Great Depression may be at its end, but the danger for Skinner and Pearl is far from over. Enter police officer Chief Cash McCogan; he’s responsible for keeping Las Vegas safe, a task easier said than done, even on a good day.
Bodies have begun appearing all over, devoid of blood. With the help of two FBI agents, Cash officially knows enough to pin a few suspects, but that in itself opens up a whole new can of worms.
American Vampire Vol. 2 continues to weave a compelling tale of vampires, politics, and corruption. That said, it has not gone the way I expected, and I’m not mad about that. I do love it when a series surprises me.
As with the last volume, American Vampire Vol. 2 is split into a few distinct stories. There’s Cash and the FBI Agents, which eventually begins an entirely new subplot for us to follow.
The story also updates us on what Pearl and Skinner have been up to, while adding new complications and threats into the mix. I’m enjoying the fact that the story has allowed Pearl and Skinner to take their own paths in life (unlife?).
Admittedly, I’m a little conflicted on the art for American Vampire Vol. 2. It’s got this raw and jagged element to it, which both does and doesn’t work. It’s in keeping with the theme, but there is something a little off-putting about it.
American Vampire Vol. 3
The American Vampire known as Pearl is happily married, but her husband, Henry, feels compelled to make a difference in this world. Thus, he’s on a secret mission to Japan, where he will help hunt a new breed of vampire. Naturally, things are not going to go according to plan.
Meanwhile, Felicia Book and Cash McCogan are desperately tracking down a cure to vampirism, and that has taken them to arguably one of the most dangerous places in the world. Will they retrieve what they need?
This series continues to surprise me with the twists and turns it takes. Every time I think we’ve seen every character in the series, new ones come flying out of nowhere. Well, not nowhere, but you get what I mean.
American Vampire Vol. 3, like the previous volumes, can be split into two distinct stories. The first revolves around Pearl, Henry, and Skinner. It’s a bit complicated, as Henry (Pearl’s husband) has gone off on a dangerous mission. It’s made more dangerous by Skinner, but Pearl followed along as well…like I said, it’s complicated.
On the flipside, there’s also a story following Felicia and Cash (introduced in the last volume), as they try to find a vampire cure. There’s a very personal reason for their quest, but it doesn’t negate the danger.
The two tales couldn’t be more different, except for how they revolve around vampires. That said, you can tell that they’re both building toward something more, and that adds to the mystery and the tension.
American Vampire Vol. 4
It’s time to head back into time, as another tale revolving around Skinner Sweet unfolds. This time, it’s about his involvement during the Indian Wars. Well, Skinner and another vampire or two.
Meanwhile, in 1950, a vampire hunter is tearing through his targets left and right, but his real goal is to get his hands on the infamous Skinner Sweet. Will he succeed, or is his mission going to be forever unfulfilled?
American Vampire Vol. 4 is pretty drastically different from the previous three volumes, but I don’t hate that. Once again, this series is full of surprises! This is the last volume I read during my binge session, so I’ll have to line up the next few soon.
As always, American Vampire Vol. 4 is split into two distinct stories. The first revolves around Skinner, because duh. What is surprising is that the story goes back in time, rather than continuing the slow progress forward with time. Still, it was interesting to see more of Skinner’s early time as the infamous American Vampire.
The other half of the story revolves around Travis Kidd, a vampire hunter. I actually really liked his story. It starts out with the Fonze vibes, but quickly evolves into something much darker. There’s a lot of potential with this story, so I can’t wait to see where it leads.
I found Travis’ story to be a refreshing take on the whole vampire-hunting thing. I won’t say that he reinvented the wheel or anything like that, but his story is fun, and that’s almost all that matters.
I’m looking forward to seeing where the rest of this series ends up taking me, because it has been a whirlwind experience thus far.
Highlights:
Historical Fiction
Paranormal Horror
Vampires
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June 29, 2023
Around the time that vampires were having their time in the sun (?), Scott Snyder kicked off a comic called American Vampire. Back then, vampire stories either followed or bucked the trends of the day, and this was definitely meant to be the latter sort of book, a series that followed the changing history of the world through the eyes of American vampires.
The main focus of this entire omnibus is on world building. We begin with the backstories of the two most important characters in the entire series: Skinner Sweet, an outlaw who was the first American vampire, and Pearl Jones, an aspiring actress that Skinner turned into the second. In the arcs that follow, more characters and more backstory get introduced, and while you can see the Carpathian strain of vampires emerge as an overarching villain in the story, it isn't until much later that there's a figure to define and unify them as antagonists. And hey, by the time that happens, the omnibus is done, time to pick up volume 2!
I actually found Skinner and Pearl to be the weakest characters in the series. Pearl in particular is introduced in a big way right at the start, but she never has a storyline besides her romance with the human Henry Preston. That guy actually gets to do some cool stuff, while Pearl just exists to bail him out of trouble.
As for Skinner, he's pretty much the Jack Sparrow of the series. When he's a wild card, he's great, and in the early arcs, you never know when he's gonna turn up. Stephen King did a bang up job writing his backstory, too. But because Skinner is a fan favorite character, and Snyder likes him too, Skinner eventually becomes the single most important vampire in America. He's involved in literally everything, and he's part of every origin story. It gets to be kinda annoying.
I've been complaining a lot because aside from those complaints, American Vampire is a great series! Snyder's arcs are really compelling, and he's backed up by the brilliant Rafael Albuquerque. Even when Raf needs a fill-in, he's helped by some of DC's best artists, including Sean Murphy and Dustin Nguyen.
While I was meh on Pearl and Skinner, I'm completely on board with every other character in the series. You've Felicia Book, the badass vampire hunter lady, Cash McCorgan, the guy who's on a mission to cure his son's vampirism, Travis Kidd, a nutcase teenage vampire hunter, and Linden Hobbes, this universe's Nick Fury. I loved reading these characters' stories, and they were the most exciting ones in the series, too.
Why would you read a vampire romance, dear reader, when you can read about a platoon of soldiers trying to blow up a vampire research facility? Or two agents facing off against a castle full of Nazi humans and Nazi vampires? How about an arc about an all powerful vampire and the handful of humans that have to stop him? Heck, forget vampire romances, the marital problems of Pearl and Henry really pale in comparison to other stuff that's going on in this title!
American Vampire may not be the best comic ever. Is it even Scott Snyder's best? Who knows, but this book is just plain entertainment, and if you find anything about the premise interesting at all, it's worth diving into it.
The main focus of this entire omnibus is on world building. We begin with the backstories of the two most important characters in the entire series: Skinner Sweet, an outlaw who was the first American vampire, and Pearl Jones, an aspiring actress that Skinner turned into the second. In the arcs that follow, more characters and more backstory get introduced, and while you can see the Carpathian strain of vampires emerge as an overarching villain in the story, it isn't until much later that there's a figure to define and unify them as antagonists. And hey, by the time that happens, the omnibus is done, time to pick up volume 2!
I actually found Skinner and Pearl to be the weakest characters in the series. Pearl in particular is introduced in a big way right at the start, but she never has a storyline besides her romance with the human Henry Preston. That guy actually gets to do some cool stuff, while Pearl just exists to bail him out of trouble.
As for Skinner, he's pretty much the Jack Sparrow of the series. When he's a wild card, he's great, and in the early arcs, you never know when he's gonna turn up. Stephen King did a bang up job writing his backstory, too. But because Skinner is a fan favorite character, and Snyder likes him too, Skinner eventually becomes the single most important vampire in America. He's involved in literally everything, and he's part of every origin story. It gets to be kinda annoying.
I've been complaining a lot because aside from those complaints, American Vampire is a great series! Snyder's arcs are really compelling, and he's backed up by the brilliant Rafael Albuquerque. Even when Raf needs a fill-in, he's helped by some of DC's best artists, including Sean Murphy and Dustin Nguyen.
While I was meh on Pearl and Skinner, I'm completely on board with every other character in the series. You've Felicia Book, the badass vampire hunter lady, Cash McCorgan, the guy who's on a mission to cure his son's vampirism, Travis Kidd, a nutcase teenage vampire hunter, and Linden Hobbes, this universe's Nick Fury. I loved reading these characters' stories, and they were the most exciting ones in the series, too.
Why would you read a vampire romance, dear reader, when you can read about a platoon of soldiers trying to blow up a vampire research facility? Or two agents facing off against a castle full of Nazi humans and Nazi vampires? How about an arc about an all powerful vampire and the handful of humans that have to stop him? Heck, forget vampire romances, the marital problems of Pearl and Henry really pale in comparison to other stuff that's going on in this title!
American Vampire may not be the best comic ever. Is it even Scott Snyder's best? Who knows, but this book is just plain entertainment, and if you find anything about the premise interesting at all, it's worth diving into it.
Read
September 3, 2023Vampires are beasts of the night. They hunt during the night because the sun is their enemy and will literally burn them alive.
American Vampire is a story about a new breed of vampires which can roam around in the daytime and hunt without any fear of the sun. So, what happens when a deadly outlaw becomes the first American Vampire? The answer is simple, you get a beautifully crafted story about monsters fighting each other, to reign supreme.
The first season of the series deals with establishing the characters and their back stories. The story of Skinner Sweet and his Sired Heroine is told parallelly and takes place in Old West and 1920's Hollywood respectively. The organization named V.M.S. is introduced which is established for the sole purpose of abolition of Vampires.
As the story progresses the history and the lore of Vampires expands to all parts of the world. The story gets into the history of ancient Vampires, Vampires during the World Wars and even Dracula makes an appearance. Any budding comic writer or any writer in generally should study this material to understand world building and character development.
The main story and the creator of the series is credited to Scott Snyder. The origin of Skinner Sweet is written by The Stephen King. The artwork is helmed by Rafael Albuquerque. He is responsible for the striking visuals of the series. The design of each character feels fresh and the character designs of the Vampires are very original, with long clawed fingers and long retractable fangs. The series shines in the action scenes. The artwork in the action scenes are amazing to look at and feels like you are watching a big budget action movie. The color palette chosen for this series compliments the penciling and the inking. (I don't know how to explain it but I love the colors in this series. The shadows and lighting is another main reason for me to enjoy this series.) The series is violent and gritty, not for the sake of being violent or gritty.(A story about blood thirty vampires has to be violent and gritty.)
The series branches into a few mini-series and anthologies out of which some are better than the others. Number of talented writers and artists have lent their skill to this project. Some of them are Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Sean Murphy, Dustin Nguyen, Marguerite Bennett, Jordi Bernet, Tula Lotay, Becky Cloonan, John Paul Leon, Jason Aaron, Gail Simone, Jeff Lemire, Greg Rucka, Kieron Gillen, etc.
Now to understand how a regular working class lady named Pearl who works three jobs to make ends meet fits into this rich history and mythology of Vampires, you will have to read The American Vampire. Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed this series as well or not. Give your feedback as well.
American Vampire is a story about a new breed of vampires which can roam around in the daytime and hunt without any fear of the sun. So, what happens when a deadly outlaw becomes the first American Vampire? The answer is simple, you get a beautifully crafted story about monsters fighting each other, to reign supreme.
The first season of the series deals with establishing the characters and their back stories. The story of Skinner Sweet and his Sired Heroine is told parallelly and takes place in Old West and 1920's Hollywood respectively. The organization named V.M.S. is introduced which is established for the sole purpose of abolition of Vampires.
As the story progresses the history and the lore of Vampires expands to all parts of the world. The story gets into the history of ancient Vampires, Vampires during the World Wars and even Dracula makes an appearance. Any budding comic writer or any writer in generally should study this material to understand world building and character development.
The main story and the creator of the series is credited to Scott Snyder. The origin of Skinner Sweet is written by The Stephen King. The artwork is helmed by Rafael Albuquerque. He is responsible for the striking visuals of the series. The design of each character feels fresh and the character designs of the Vampires are very original, with long clawed fingers and long retractable fangs. The series shines in the action scenes. The artwork in the action scenes are amazing to look at and feels like you are watching a big budget action movie. The color palette chosen for this series compliments the penciling and the inking. (I don't know how to explain it but I love the colors in this series. The shadows and lighting is another main reason for me to enjoy this series.) The series is violent and gritty, not for the sake of being violent or gritty.(A story about blood thirty vampires has to be violent and gritty.)
The series branches into a few mini-series and anthologies out of which some are better than the others. Number of talented writers and artists have lent their skill to this project. Some of them are Gabriel Ba, Fabio Moon, Sean Murphy, Dustin Nguyen, Marguerite Bennett, Jordi Bernet, Tula Lotay, Becky Cloonan, John Paul Leon, Jason Aaron, Gail Simone, Jeff Lemire, Greg Rucka, Kieron Gillen, etc.
Now to understand how a regular working class lady named Pearl who works three jobs to make ends meet fits into this rich history and mythology of Vampires, you will have to read The American Vampire. Let me know in the comments if you enjoyed this series as well or not. Give your feedback as well.
October 29, 2024
It's ok, but I've read better vampire stories in comics, namely Tomb of Dracula and Baltimore.
First of all, I could tell that the creative team working on this was super excited to get Stephen King to write the origin story. This origin story is super important and gets referenced many, many times as the story moves forward. So it really hurts the book that this five issue backup stint is boring and confusing. The depiction of the creation of the so called American Vampires, Skinner and Pearl, is very vague. For neither of them I can tell how exactly it happened and why they turned into a new species.
With the origin stories out of the way and Scott Snyder being the sole writer, things improve as the book finds its rhythm. Between each story arc a few years or even decades pass and a new setting is introduced where the reader only slowly can connect the dots. It does work, but my second problem with the book is that neither Skinner or Pearl are compelling.
Skinner is just a jerk and he only slips through because his hunters aren't very competent. Pearl is indifferent and barely a character in the story.
What I did really like are the story arcs focussing on the secret organisation that hunts the vampires. I suppose I prefer my comics to be told from the heroes perspective. But since the book has many different point of views to tell it's story, the individual character arcs are quite short.
The artwork is really good, yet there's a few panels that are quite ambiguous. The lettering deserves some credit, as I was impressed by how it depicts foreign languages.
Overall I was a bit disappointed in this. I will continue with Vol. 2 next, but I've already decided to sell these omnibus editions afterwards.
First of all, I could tell that the creative team working on this was super excited to get Stephen King to write the origin story. This origin story is super important and gets referenced many, many times as the story moves forward. So it really hurts the book that this five issue backup stint is boring and confusing. The depiction of the creation of the so called American Vampires, Skinner and Pearl, is very vague. For neither of them I can tell how exactly it happened and why they turned into a new species.
With the origin stories out of the way and Scott Snyder being the sole writer, things improve as the book finds its rhythm. Between each story arc a few years or even decades pass and a new setting is introduced where the reader only slowly can connect the dots. It does work, but my second problem with the book is that neither Skinner or Pearl are compelling.
Skinner is just a jerk and he only slips through because his hunters aren't very competent. Pearl is indifferent and barely a character in the story.
What I did really like are the story arcs focussing on the secret organisation that hunts the vampires. I suppose I prefer my comics to be told from the heroes perspective. But since the book has many different point of views to tell it's story, the individual character arcs are quite short.
The artwork is really good, yet there's a few panels that are quite ambiguous. The lettering deserves some credit, as I was impressed by how it depicts foreign languages.
Overall I was a bit disappointed in this. I will continue with Vol. 2 next, but I've already decided to sell these omnibus editions afterwards.
January 21, 2024
Just as damn amazing as the first time I read this. What a brilliant concept for a comic, a new breed of vampire. A new wrinkle of the vampire mythos that's been around so long, as only Scott Snyder could imagine. You have to be doing something right when the king himself Stephen King wants to write the origin for your main character.
There's a great spread of stories here, all over a large swath of time, from the old American West, to the golden age of Hollywood, and even globetrotting battles against ancient evil. Special mention for the stories told during WWII, Ghost island and the undercover mission were particularly engaging. My only real gripe is the plot does jump around, and some of the art can be rough.
There's a great spread of stories here, all over a large swath of time, from the old American West, to the golden age of Hollywood, and even globetrotting battles against ancient evil. Special mention for the stories told during WWII, Ghost island and the undercover mission were particularly engaging. My only real gripe is the plot does jump around, and some of the art can be rough.
February 2, 2022
An awesome tale recounting the emergence of a new breed of vampire on the World's stage. An American vampire that is impervious to sunlight and wooden stakes through the heart. Sweet is the first (so we are led to believe) and then he nibbles on a sweet young woman (Pearl) and her story begins shortly thereafter too.
A roller coaster ride through time as we watch Sweet and Pearl and their associated friends and enemies interact, fight, and aid one another.
I especially loved the Taipan episodes during WWII. Very gripping stuff.
The whole volume was a gripping read from beginning to end. I loved it.
Loved it - 4 stars
A roller coaster ride through time as we watch Sweet and Pearl and their associated friends and enemies interact, fight, and aid one another.
I especially loved the Taipan episodes during WWII. Very gripping stuff.
The whole volume was a gripping read from beginning to end. I loved it.
Loved it - 4 stars
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 5, 2024
This series is amazing, every storyline is great at building on what came before. Enough mystrey to keep you reading with enough answers coming that you don't get frustrated. I remember reading most of the series in the library one day at university and then another time reading most of it at another library while on holiday. Worth reading!
June 23, 2025
I adore Scott Snyder’s epic horror take on the rise of the American empire and the vampiric ghouls at the wheel.
Creative, energetic, heartfelt, thrilling and yes; horrifying at times. Nothing beats the misadventures of Pearl Jones, Skinner Sweet and the Vassals of the Morning Star.
This series rules.
Creative, energetic, heartfelt, thrilling and yes; horrifying at times. Nothing beats the misadventures of Pearl Jones, Skinner Sweet and the Vassals of the Morning Star.
This series rules.
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