Brandon Billups Comic Reviews

I could go on and on, but I'll end by saying this: before today, if people I knew complained that they didn't like Superman, I recommended them Morrison's All-Star Superman. After today? I'll be recommending this.

It's safe to say we're in the midst of a vampire craze, and American Vampire is obviously a cash-in on that--bolstered even more by the Stephen King byline. Thankfully, this comic book seems to be vampires done right--and while I'm not necessarily a King fan, it's easy to see why he's so highly praised for his horror writing. I'm already looking forward to the next issue.

On top of all this, the book ends on a fantastic cliffhanger. Not the kind that frustrates due to a lack of payoff, but the good kind, the kind that excites at story possibilities to come. Lemire and Foreman had big, big shoes to fill on this one, but they seem to fit just about perfectly.

Given the overwhelming number of Siege tie-in titles, I can only recommend this issue to people who will probably already be buying it: Sentry fans and completionists. As for me? I'll stick to the main title.

Rucka is something of a hit-or-miss writer, so I'll give the next arc a chance, but if it doesn't seem to be going anywhere. But if they downgrade artists, I'm out.

I'd gladly keep paying $3.99 for this if they made Justice, Inc. the main feature, but since my favorite part of Doc Savage was the Dr. Who ad on the inside front cover I think I'll be passing on this in the future.

If you haven't guessed by now, I'm pretty taken with this series. It's something I look forward to every month, and that doesn't seem likely to change. The first trade is out next week, and if I know Vertigo very well it'll be $10. That's well worth it for good comics.