Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Review of I Vampire, volume 3



I, Vampire volume 3 : Wave of Mutilation, by Joshua Hale Fialkov, with art by Andrea Sorrentino, Fernando Blanco, and others. Graphic novel, collecting issues 0 & 13-19. 

This title may be an example of a comic book that is best served by the mini-series format. I enjoyed the first arc (reviewed here) very much, and the series would have been best served if it has been able to take a break after that. The second volume (reviewed here) was also strong, but even a crossover with Justice League Dark was unable to stem the steady decline in readership.

The prior issues led to a battle of Cain versus Andrew Bennett versus Mary Queen of Blood versus Lilith. Over the course of the series up to this point, Andrew’s character arc went from him being the only good vampire in the world to the only bad one. But in this volume he may have to turn good again to finally achieve his final victory. In each of these cases, Bennett led a ragtag small group of followers against a much larger and more powerful force.

As is the case with just about every DC horror title, John Constantine, the “Hellblazer ex Machina” of the New 52 showed up to aid Bennett. But even the powerful guest star couldn’t save the title. This is the end of the line for this run of I, Vampire. It is always good when a creator knows when their work will end, and in this case, Fialkov was given the opportunity to bring this series to a conclusion, to a definite end. And that makes a big difference.

I do hope that Andrew Bennett will return one day, written again by Fialkov. Maybe as a 6-issue mini-series. I’d like that. 

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