Tag Archives: Dustin Nguyen

BOOKS: “American Vampire, Vol. 5” by Scott Snyder

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American Vampire, Vol. 5American Vampire, Vol. 5 by Scott Snyder
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Publisher Site — DC Comics

This collection contains two separate story arcs. The first, entitled “Lord of Nightmares,” takes place in Europe and features Felicia Book reluctantly being drawn back into Vampire fighting to protect her son, Gus, from a threat created by an ominous rising force. The second, entitled “The Blacklist,” takes place in California and also centers on a woman being drawn into Vampire hunting. In this case that woman is Pearl Jones — whose husband, Henry, is in a coma, and Pearl concludes they can never be safe until the coven that is after them has been eliminated. Despite the commonalities of the two arcs, they both feel quite distinct. The first being more a slick tale of intrigue and the second one being more Hollywood noir.

There is a single-issue at the end that sets up the continuing story.

I continue to like this series. The story arcs are satisfying and action-packed. I would recommend it for comic book readers who aren’t averse to a bit of horror.

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BOOK REVIEW: Little Monsters, Vol. 1 by Jeff Lemire

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Little Monsters, Vol. 1Little Monsters, Vol. 1 by Jeff Lemire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amazon.in Page

Release Date: October 11, 2022

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It’s vampiric Lord of the Flies in a dystopian wasteland. Checks a lot of boxes. To begin on a positive note, I loved the character development in this book. Each of the kids is distinct and one rapidly develops an affinity for some of them and a distrust of others. Long story short, you want to know what happens to these kids, and why they’re in the situation in which they find themselves.

What I didn’t like is what I call the “resolution to hook” ratio. When something is written with serialization in mind, it’s a challenge to provide a satisfying story arc. There’s an incentive to end with a big hook, so as to draw readers farther down the line, and often the whole climax-resolution-conclusion bit is skipped or glossed over. Often, this leaves no (or a weak) resolution, such that reading the volume doesn’t scratch the itch that good stories do. Steamrolling through the end of the story arc to end on a cliffhanger may attract some continuing readers, but for those of us wary of the sunk cost fallacy (giving into an investment made with the assumption that it will eventually turn out positively,) it’s a sign to move on to the next story. (Lest one be Lost-ed – i.e. to be drawn in by a brilliant and inventive story only to see it become increasingly muddled, ultimately to end in a sad crash landing.)

The art is somewhat crudely rendered, but I suspect that was a conscious choice to achieve the desired atmospherics. And, I think it worked. The art clearly conveys the action.

If you have faith that you’ll eventually get that narrative itch scratched, you may want to check this one out. It does have a lot of potential. For my part, I’m once bitten, twice shy.


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