Steve Niles returns to his world of vampires and brings along Sam Kieth. With new characters and a possible bigger threat against the vampires, everything could be about to change.
The Good
I've missed a couple of the 30 Days of Night series but with the last issue, I found it easy to jump right back in. In a twist, we discovered that the FBI are looking into the idea of vampires. This opens the door to discover more about the vampires and what they're all about. The idea of bringing vampires out in the open rather than have them hiding out in Alaska is just the move that can take the franchise into a new direction.
We have an interesting new character with Alice Morgan. Again, it must be noted that the was she was first introduced in the first issue was a nice touch and seeing a flashback with her adds to the excitement of this series.
Seeing the way the vampires are handled here depicted by Sam Kieth is quite an experience. Kieth's style has a lot of range and while some pages have an almost innocent look, flipping the page can catch you off guard as the violence and blood almost jumps off the page.
There were also some seeds planted in the first issue and it's going to be interesting to see what happens in the months to come.
The Bad
I'm a fan of Kieth's art but there are some panels where the art loses some of its detail. There was also a point in the story where I was let down a little bit. I know we can't have all the answers and everything delivered in just the second issue but it just means we have to keep reading.
The issue also felt like a quick read. Maybe I was just sucked into the suspense but it seemed to go by pretty quickly.
The Verdict
Vampires are making a comeback. Even though the 30 Days of Night franchise has been around for a while, a certain other vampire franchise along with the seemingly over-abundance of them in other media have made vampires hard to accept. Steve Niles along with others like Scott Snyder, Joshua Hale Fialkov, etc are showing us the genre can't be killed. In this series, Niles is keeping the action out of Alaska and the introduction of a new character has the potential to push the series in a new direction. Despite having missed some of the recent mini-series, I was able to jump right back into this universe with ease. Sam Kieth's art is a delight to see even if some panels feel like their slightly lacking in details. Kieth has the ability to capture an almost cartoony feel and then slams you in the face with violence and blood. With the vampires having a new group of foes to deal with, you'll be hooked in wanting to see what is going to happen next.