30 Days of Night: Falling Sun by Rodney Barnes; art by Chris Shehan and Maan House
Many thanks to IDW Publishing and
NetGalley for the advanced copy of 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun. I wasn’t
aware of this series, but I remember the film being an inventive and scary take
on vampires, and realized that the film was originally based on an older comic
series. The premise is great since Barrow, Alaska experiences a month long
night of darkness, which would be attractive to vampires. In this story, both
humans and vampires are confronted with past trauma, and they seek out new
communities and opportunities in finding ways to survive. As readers, we are more
likely drawn to Jalen, a young LA transplant who moves to Barrow with his uncle
to escape the dangers of LA. Unbeknownst to Jalen, he’s running from the frying
pan to the fire by going to Barrow. Around the same time, a group of vampires
preparing for the month long darkness resurrects the soul of an old vampire
leader using blood and ash. This resurrection leads to opportunities for vengeance,
with the vampire seeking out revenge for his brother. The two stories of the
survivors of Barrow and the vampires out for blood converge in a bloody
standoff in the town.
This story has all the great
elements of the classic vampire siege movie/story, whether it’s The Lost
Boys, From Dusk Till Dawn, or the more recent Sinners. The
townspeople eventually become trapped in a space and need to withstand the
attacks from outside and within, sometimes battling among their own for dominance
within the group. I actually really liked the vampires in this book too. While the
story doesn’t delve too deep into their backstory, their ritual to bring back
their leader is dark and creepy, with bloody and unique artwork by Chris
Sheehan and Maan House. It’s also cool to see how the vampires have their own
kind of hierarchy and seek out revenge, much like humans. Even though the story
is about a group of vampires attacking a polar town plunged into darkness for a
month, there were some elements that seemed somewhat unbelievable. For example,
some of the gang members Jalen is fleeing from manage to get to Alaska from LA,
and they bring their guns with them, creating an additional standoff that the
humans must weather. I can see how this adds to the tension in the standoff,
but it felt somewhat unbelievable that these gangbangers are going to suddenly make
it to Alaska from LA. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this graphic novel, and I hope
that there are other stories in this series coming out. Recommended!
No comments:
Post a Comment