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Crimson (collected editions) #1
Crimson: Loyalty and Loss - Tome 1
The fateful bite of a vampire turns the world of teenaged Alex Elder upside down in this tale of loyalty and loss. As he adjusts to the terrors of undead society, Alex searches for nobility in the gothic underground of New York City. And in the back of his mind, he wonders whether he will ever be able to enjoy a normal life again.
160 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 1999
4 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Brian Augustyn
362 books40 followersAugustyn got his start in the industry in 1986 as an editor for Tru Studios' Trollords. He then edited Syphons and Speed Racer for NOW Comics in 1987. In 1988, he joined DC, starting out as a co-editor on Action Comics during its period as a weekly title.
During the late 1980s and early 1990s Augustyn was an editor for DC Comics, where he edited The Flash, Justice League and the Impact Comics line of titles.
Augustyn was recognized for his work in the industry with the Wizard Fan Award for Favorite Editor in 1994.
He served as the managing editor of Visionary Comics Studio.
As editor of The Flash beginning in 1989, Augustyn brought in Mark Waid as writer in 1992, which led to an acclaimed eight-year run. Under Augustyn's stewardship, the Flash was brought out from the shadow of his predecessors and increased his powers dramatically. Other Augustyn-Waid editor-writer partnerships included The Comet (DC/Impact, 1992) and Impulse (DC, 1995–1996).
Augustyn currently works as story editor for publisher Red Giant Entertainment and their Giant-Size Comics line of free print comic book titles which debuted on May 3, 2014 as part of Free Comic Book Day.[
During the late 1980s and early 1990s Augustyn was an editor for DC Comics, where he edited The Flash, Justice League and the Impact Comics line of titles.
Augustyn was recognized for his work in the industry with the Wizard Fan Award for Favorite Editor in 1994.
He served as the managing editor of Visionary Comics Studio.
As editor of The Flash beginning in 1989, Augustyn brought in Mark Waid as writer in 1992, which led to an acclaimed eight-year run. Under Augustyn's stewardship, the Flash was brought out from the shadow of his predecessors and increased his powers dramatically. Other Augustyn-Waid editor-writer partnerships included The Comet (DC/Impact, 1992) and Impulse (DC, 1995–1996).
Augustyn currently works as story editor for publisher Red Giant Entertainment and their Giant-Size Comics line of free print comic book titles which debuted on May 3, 2014 as part of Free Comic Book Day.[
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
November 25, 2016
Of the three much-hyped Cliffhanger titles (Danger Girl, Battle Chasers, and Crimson) that premiered in the late 90's, Humberto Ramos's Crimson series was the least anticipated. It was also, however, the most consistent and the only one that lasted more than a handful of issues. For whatever reason, Humberto Ramos didn't let the hype go to his head and set about creating a truly memorable fantasy epic that to this day remains one of my favorite comics.
Crimson focuses on troubled teenager Alex Wilder, who becomes a vampire after he and his friends are ambushed by a vampire gang in Central Park. Alex, who may be more than just your everyday bloodsucker, is taken in by the mysterious Grigori Ekimus, who knows much more about him than he's letting on. The main focus of this first installment is Alex's transformation and subsequent revenge on the vampire gang, but the stage is definitely set for the next volume in the series.
The storytelling is pretty impressive, especially when you consider the fact that this was Ramos's first time as a co-author. The heart of this volume is the basic vampire story, but we're given enough fantastic elements (see: Garden of Eden, Dragons, Saint George, the Red Hoods, etc.) to let us know that this series is going to get a lot more interesting in short order. The dialogue gets a bit silly at times, but the subject matter is fascinating enough that you can look past it. You also get the sense that Ramos is putting every bit of his energy into making this story something special, and that enthusiasm is contagious.
Ramos has a unique style, influenced by Japanese manga as Art Adams's X-Men work. It's not for everyone, but I thought it was perfect for this kind of story. The hyper-stylized characters are very memorable, and Ramos's anime-inspired action scenes are astonishingly vivid (not to mention astonishingly bloody). The digital coloring of this series is breathtaking as well, and at times you feel like you should hold down the pages to keep the images from jumping out.
It's not without its flaws, but Crimson definitely got off to a good start. I'd recommend this highly entertaining series to anyone interested in vampires, dragons, werewolves, and supernatural fantasy. Superhero fans probably won't find much to love, but the Harry Potter/Dresden Files/Buffy/Anita Blake crowd should love Crimson.
Crimson focuses on troubled teenager Alex Wilder, who becomes a vampire after he and his friends are ambushed by a vampire gang in Central Park. Alex, who may be more than just your everyday bloodsucker, is taken in by the mysterious Grigori Ekimus, who knows much more about him than he's letting on. The main focus of this first installment is Alex's transformation and subsequent revenge on the vampire gang, but the stage is definitely set for the next volume in the series.
The storytelling is pretty impressive, especially when you consider the fact that this was Ramos's first time as a co-author. The heart of this volume is the basic vampire story, but we're given enough fantastic elements (see: Garden of Eden, Dragons, Saint George, the Red Hoods, etc.) to let us know that this series is going to get a lot more interesting in short order. The dialogue gets a bit silly at times, but the subject matter is fascinating enough that you can look past it. You also get the sense that Ramos is putting every bit of his energy into making this story something special, and that enthusiasm is contagious.
Ramos has a unique style, influenced by Japanese manga as Art Adams's X-Men work. It's not for everyone, but I thought it was perfect for this kind of story. The hyper-stylized characters are very memorable, and Ramos's anime-inspired action scenes are astonishingly vivid (not to mention astonishingly bloody). The digital coloring of this series is breathtaking as well, and at times you feel like you should hold down the pages to keep the images from jumping out.
It's not without its flaws, but Crimson definitely got off to a good start. I'd recommend this highly entertaining series to anyone interested in vampires, dragons, werewolves, and supernatural fantasy. Superhero fans probably won't find much to love, but the Harry Potter/Dresden Files/Buffy/Anita Blake crowd should love Crimson.
November 8, 2020
As standard and generic a modern-vampire tale could get. Alex Elder is a normal high school boy, which will have his life completely turn after, one night hanging out with his friends, he's attacked by a band of vampires, resulting on his friends being slaughtered, and himself turned into one of those creatures. After being rescued and taking into shelter by a mysterious figure known as Ekimus, Alex will soon learn he's more than just a human turned into a vampire, he'll most likely be the last hope for humanity, thanks to a prophecy most likely about to fulfill.
I like good old-fashioned adventure tales. I like to see the average underdog turn into the mythical and epic hero, his journey will lead him to be. For Crimson, this is pretty much the promising plot for the first volume, and for that the story goes by the books in almost every way. When I first bought this title I did for Humberto Ramos's art, since this was (I believe) his first independent project after working for Marvel and DC back in the 90s, and this almost came to be a collaboration between him, and Mark Waid in the writing department, since the both of them used to work together at DC for the Superman series. If there's one thing I did actually appreciate in general was, as expected, the art department. Ramos is an acquired taste, to say the least. Not everyone seems to enjoy his art, specially ever since he started drawing Spider-man for the last decades, but there's an actual appreciation towards his cartoonish-anime style I do enjoy to look at, and Crimson is no different, mostly benefit to his constant use of gore and aggressive designs for the monsters. The problem comes with the human characters. Aside of one exaggeratedly attractive redhaired vampire-hunter, Scarlet, the humans are forgettable and unmemorable, to say the least, special mention to Alex, who's simply a generic white-American boy who looks like, well, any other American boy, with the exception of his eventual vampiric appearance, but for the most part his design is overly familiar. Even the later bad-guys, like Senator Victor Van Fleet and his assistant, T.C. Steinman seems average and standard, although I guess they're supposed to look like that? I don't know. The only characters visually attractive enough for me to notice and remember are Alex's friend, Joe, and the vampiric band that turned him. For the story department there's also not much to say; the volume starts with an actually interesting flashbacks narrating the war between Angels and Demons, from a Biblical and epic perspective. That was actually investing, and it let me down not having that tone constantly throughout the rest of the issues. When it comes to mythical and folkloric tales, I like to read and see the historical and epic approach, rather than the modern tale, which for the most part doesn't really add for plot-value or any innovative traits, and as expected, the story once we're introduced to "modern-day" New York City is, well, familiar. There are some unexpected moments, I guess, that actually took me by surprise, like the turn of events after we're introduced to the actual villains in the story, even though I believed the Vampire Band would've have that role. There's also an actual killing that took me by surprise from someone close to Alex, but aside of that, the story follow every single "kid who'll be the chosen one of an epic tale" story, with the violence, gruesomeness and gore expected out of an indie comic-book, aside of that, Brian Augustyn's writing and Ramos's draws resemble pretty much any other Marvel or DC title with similar elements. Trying not to be that harsh, the title is entertaining when it isn't that generic. Again, Ramos's art keeps it visually fun, and its really not that harmful for the genres approached. I do expect the rest of the story grows continuously, at least, in terms of plot-twists, or even given the earlier narrative treatment could actually improve for the content in further issues.
I like good old-fashioned adventure tales. I like to see the average underdog turn into the mythical and epic hero, his journey will lead him to be. For Crimson, this is pretty much the promising plot for the first volume, and for that the story goes by the books in almost every way. When I first bought this title I did for Humberto Ramos's art, since this was (I believe) his first independent project after working for Marvel and DC back in the 90s, and this almost came to be a collaboration between him, and Mark Waid in the writing department, since the both of them used to work together at DC for the Superman series. If there's one thing I did actually appreciate in general was, as expected, the art department. Ramos is an acquired taste, to say the least. Not everyone seems to enjoy his art, specially ever since he started drawing Spider-man for the last decades, but there's an actual appreciation towards his cartoonish-anime style I do enjoy to look at, and Crimson is no different, mostly benefit to his constant use of gore and aggressive designs for the monsters. The problem comes with the human characters. Aside of one exaggeratedly attractive redhaired vampire-hunter, Scarlet, the humans are forgettable and unmemorable, to say the least, special mention to Alex, who's simply a generic white-American boy who looks like, well, any other American boy, with the exception of his eventual vampiric appearance, but for the most part his design is overly familiar. Even the later bad-guys, like Senator Victor Van Fleet and his assistant, T.C. Steinman seems average and standard, although I guess they're supposed to look like that? I don't know. The only characters visually attractive enough for me to notice and remember are Alex's friend, Joe, and the vampiric band that turned him. For the story department there's also not much to say; the volume starts with an actually interesting flashbacks narrating the war between Angels and Demons, from a Biblical and epic perspective. That was actually investing, and it let me down not having that tone constantly throughout the rest of the issues. When it comes to mythical and folkloric tales, I like to read and see the historical and epic approach, rather than the modern tale, which for the most part doesn't really add for plot-value or any innovative traits, and as expected, the story once we're introduced to "modern-day" New York City is, well, familiar. There are some unexpected moments, I guess, that actually took me by surprise, like the turn of events after we're introduced to the actual villains in the story, even though I believed the Vampire Band would've have that role. There's also an actual killing that took me by surprise from someone close to Alex, but aside of that, the story follow every single "kid who'll be the chosen one of an epic tale" story, with the violence, gruesomeness and gore expected out of an indie comic-book, aside of that, Brian Augustyn's writing and Ramos's draws resemble pretty much any other Marvel or DC title with similar elements. Trying not to be that harsh, the title is entertaining when it isn't that generic. Again, Ramos's art keeps it visually fun, and its really not that harmful for the genres approached. I do expect the rest of the story grows continuously, at least, in terms of plot-twists, or even given the earlier narrative treatment could actually improve for the content in further issues.
January 8, 2025
Inicio de la saga crimson, en la que el joven Alex es convertido en vampiro por una banda de vampiros en un parque. Alex no parece ser un vampiro normal, sino un elegido, pero no acepta ser en lo que se ha convertido y está obsesionado con sus problemas de la otra vida, la perdida de amigos y familiares le irá acercando a su nueva vida a la vez que es ayudado por un ser tan antiguo como la creación de los humanos, un vampiro callejeros y Scarlet de la orden de las capas rojas. Divertido comic y una historia que mezcla diferentes temas.
October 21, 2018
I’ve been waiting to read this one for a while. I remember single issues were hard to find in the early days of Crimson (late 90s), and had compelling art.
Although I appreciate the Ramos art (from early days! His work on Amazing Spider-Man is next level),
I couldn’t really get into the story as much as I thought I would. I like a good 90’s image comic as much as the next, but this one just didn’t grab me.
Although I appreciate the Ramos art (from early days! His work on Amazing Spider-Man is next level),
I couldn’t really get into the story as much as I thought I would. I like a good 90’s image comic as much as the next, but this one just didn’t grab me.
August 3, 2019
Un comic que el Camilo de 20 años quería ver...pero ya no tengo 20 años, y aun asi, le di una oportunidad y se ve una obra para adolescentes , que quieren ver sangre y algo que les mueva las tripas, pero no nada mas alla, una energía que se agradece y un arte en ocasiones increíble de Humberto Ramos que tiene unas viñetas en que no sabes que esta pasando. Nada reseñable, sigan caminando por favor.
August 17, 2022
2.5 stars rounded up. Cool concept, not the best execution. Both the writing and art are muddled at times. I'm hoping the creative team finds their footing as the series goes on.
July 11, 2008
This book was great. You really don't need the others if you were in this for a vampire story, like I was. I guess the rest is OK if you want it to be more about dragonslaying, demons, and angels. However, they set this up to be about Vampires in the first eight issues as collected here. I like it better that way.
Alex Elder is a new vampire. He was taken by a pack of feral vampires who got careless and allowed him to rise. But, he's not any other vampire. He's a rare breed, one of a kind. He's taken in my a Grigori - one of the children of the nephalim, and tutored in his special abilities. This book covers his naissance and introduction to his new state of being, and focuses on the nature of being changed into an inhuman creature that burns in daylight.
I got the guy who draws it to sign my collected version at Wizcon a few years back. The art style is stylized and catchy, which is what initially drew me to the book. The series is great stuff if you wanted general fantasy with lots of monsters, but if you were lured in by the promise of vampires, this book is really all you need.
Alex Elder is a new vampire. He was taken by a pack of feral vampires who got careless and allowed him to rise. But, he's not any other vampire. He's a rare breed, one of a kind. He's taken in my a Grigori - one of the children of the nephalim, and tutored in his special abilities. This book covers his naissance and introduction to his new state of being, and focuses on the nature of being changed into an inhuman creature that burns in daylight.
I got the guy who draws it to sign my collected version at Wizcon a few years back. The art style is stylized and catchy, which is what initially drew me to the book. The series is great stuff if you wanted general fantasy with lots of monsters, but if you were lured in by the promise of vampires, this book is really all you need.
November 26, 2009
Vampireeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!!
TPB 1 of 4..
bercerita ttg Alex Elder..
remaja ABG yang hidupnya berubah karna serangan genk Vampire "The Jelly Bats"!
Dimana kejadian itu merubah dirinya menjadi seorang Vampire.. yang spesial!
Dengan bantuan Joe si Vampire Latino, Scarlet sang pemburu dr ordo Red Hood, dan mentor dr seekor Grigori tua yang tersisa, Ekimus.. Alex Elder mencoba menjalani kehidupan barunya sbagai Vampire.. dan sbagai the CHOOSEN ONE!
Rasanya kaya ntn the Lost Boys + Dogma + underworld + Dracula..
SERU!
amat sangat menginspirasikan gw..
hohoho..
TPB 1 of 4..
bercerita ttg Alex Elder..
remaja ABG yang hidupnya berubah karna serangan genk Vampire "The Jelly Bats"!
Dimana kejadian itu merubah dirinya menjadi seorang Vampire.. yang spesial!
Dengan bantuan Joe si Vampire Latino, Scarlet sang pemburu dr ordo Red Hood, dan mentor dr seekor Grigori tua yang tersisa, Ekimus.. Alex Elder mencoba menjalani kehidupan barunya sbagai Vampire.. dan sbagai the CHOOSEN ONE!
Rasanya kaya ntn the Lost Boys + Dogma + underworld + Dracula..
SERU!
amat sangat menginspirasikan gw..
hohoho..
August 16, 2015
Re-reading this probably 7 years after my first time with it, I still appreciate Ramos' kinetic cartoons, but the design on most of the women (and many of the men) is just embarrassing now. How can anyone take Scarlett seriously when she is wearing a net with a belt over her breasts, and with no explanation how that relates to her role as a holy killer? I think this shall leave my collection after this re-read.
May 14, 2009
It didn't start off great. I am not impressed by the graphics, and the story only started coming together near the end. It left off on such a high point compared to the rest of it, that I will endeavor to read the second volume, but if that one can't ignite any sort of passion in me for the story or characters, I probably won't read the rest.
January 26, 2016
Exceptionally good comic series. While the main character is a vampire the story is really more about the struggle between Heaven and Hell with the material Earth as the battleground. A host of celestial characters appear in the series: God, Satan, Lilith, Gabriel, St. George, The Archangel Michael..ect. Great read with very good artwork. Very Recommended
January 27, 2009
I thought the first couple issues were a little weak, but after those it really picked up and came together.
February 14, 2011
Fun, but a bit too juvenile. I most likely would have loved this in middle school or early high school.
March 21, 2017
A angsty teen gets turned into a chosen one vampire. The main character is annoying but the rest of the cast is good.
May 1, 2017
I love the opening to this graphic novel, the biblical tones & the corresponding artwork but it quickly goes to pot after that. The artwork is confusing and the dialogue is absolutely dire. The premise is interesting but not enough to draw me to buy further editions.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews