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Horror
in 30 Days -- Guaranteed!:
30 Days of Night
IDW trade paperback review
By Jamie Tarquini
Writer:
Steve Niles
Art: Ben Templesmith
Letters and Design: Robbie Robbins
More
Info: www.idwpublishing.com
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until last year when I was first introduced to Junji Ito's
Uzumaki I was convinced that horror comics were nearly
a thing of the past. I found very few books that were generally
creepy and most of the titles out there were "fun scary" or
have your traditional vampire/werewolf monster in them. Then
Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith set the comic scene on fire
with a little book called 30 Days of Night.
30
Days tells the story of a cadre of vampires that descend
on a small town in Alaska called Barrow where the sun disappears
for 30 days each year. It seems that some of these vampires
look upon this as a great opportunity for a feeding frenzy
because they won't have the sun to hide from. However not
everyone is into the idea. The town's sheriff and deputy (a
husband and wife) aren't going down without a fight and there
are a few other mysterious outside factions that are interested
in these events, but why?
Now
I know I bad-mouthed vampires in the intro to this review
and then I begin to praise them, but I must reiterate that
what is depicted in this tome is not your normal, run-of-the-mill
bloodsucker. The cover depicted above may give you an inkling
of what many of the creatures resemble, but it is still only
a tip of the iceberg. Characters of all ages from little girls
to large fat men all with glazed, bloodthirsty looks garnish
these pages. Each is more gruesome than the next. They overall
look of the clan that we see, although somewhat left to the
imagination with the style Templesmith uses, has more of a
modern look to them instead of the traditional Dracula or
Lestat ruffled shirt and velvet jacket.
The
characters involved, and there aren't many in this 3-issue
trade, are convincing and interesting. Our heroes are scared
out of their minds, but still attempt to save the town they
have come to know and love. The vampires are ruthless, but
each one has their own personality and isn't simply just a
screaming monster. The normal rules to vampires don't seem
to apply here either. You know, the crosses and holy water
mumbo jumbo. However that doesn't mean that other conventional
means won't work either.
The
setting for a horror story couldn't be any better. Niles captures
what it's like for to live in a sun-less environment very
well for a person who has never been to Barrow, Alaska. There
are some genuinely freaky moments in the story that will stick
in your head too. Lizard-like tongues, piles of heads, and
blood-covered snow drench these pages. It also helps that
the story is solid with no loose ends or plot holes and filled
with quick, fun dialogue.
This
also happens to be one of the most impressive trades put out
in recent history. Not only does it contain the 3 issues,
but it also has 8 all-new pages of story (which I believe
are the last 8, so it's like having a new ending!) and the
complete script for issue one. Now those are common extras
in may books, but the quality of this trade is unsurpassed
making it worth the $17.95 cover price. The cover features
a matte finish with spot UV gloss and flaps like a dust jacket
(which are useful as bookmarks - if you can manage put it
down). The paper quality is sleek and heavy - supposedly the
"best on the market" and I believe it too. The first printing
was even signed by both creators!
As
much as I did enjoy this book it didn't receive all 5 bananas,
so it isn't perfect. The story moves very quickly. I suggest
taking your time with the establishing shots or you may blast
your way through this book at the rate of a dollar a minute.
It also seems like what could have been the biggest and most
gruesome scene happened very quickly. I imagine they were
forced to keep the page count down with each issue, or perhaps
it makes the story more thrilling psychologically, but I would
have liked to see more of it on paper. One of the previously
mentioned "outside factions" (and yes, I'm being vague to
save you from spoilers) hardly gets any scenes and we barely
get his motivations fleshed out before the book is over.
If
you still doubt the content of 30 Days, perhaps the
fact that the film rights have already been picked up by Sam
(Spider-Man) Raimi will convince you that this story
has enough legs to stand on. If you are into good old fashion
horror and are in need of a decent yarn then locate 30
Days of Night at your local shop today and look for the
sequel Dark Days, a six-issue series beginning in June
2003. Just don't read it before you go to bed.
Jamie
Tarquini was once bitten by a vampire, but it just spit him
back out and ran away. Visit his website at http://www.pmpknface.com
or drop him an email at: pmpknface@hotmail.com
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