30 Days of Night

I finally managed to drag myself away from The Sims Medieval long enough to read something.  In case it wasn't obvious enough from the title of this post, or the rather creepy picture over there to the left, that something is Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's comic, 30 Days of Night. 

30 Days of Night takes place in the extremely-northern town of Barrow, Alaska (a town which actually exists) during the month-long period of complete darkness in the winter.  A group of vampires see the great potential in weeks without the sun and go about terrorizing and murdering the town.  It's up to Sheriff Eben Olemaun to try and save himself, his wife, Stella, and the remaining survivors.

I really liked this book, more than I thought I would.  I'm not generally one for bloody, messy horror, but this story worked for me, with its straightforward storytelling and compelling artwork.  There's nothing really new about this story; the monsters are your typical (non-sparkly) vampires with fewer weaknesses than in most portrayals (it seems pretty much only sunlight or decapitation will kill them), but it's told very well.  My only real complaint about the story is that the characters aren't fleshed out very well.  About the only things we really get to know about Eben and Stella are that he's the sheriff and they're happily married.  And we learn even less about most of the other residents of Barrow.  I think this is a story that should have been longer (it's only 83 pages long).  There are also a few plot threads that are left dangling at the end of the story.  However, this is the first volume of what has ended up being a much longer series, so presumably these unresolved issues get addressed later on.

What I like best about 30 Days of Night is Ben Templesmith's artwork.  He uses color very sparingly, portraying the darkened Barrow in pretty much nothing but shades of grey, the only colors generally being red (blood), orange (fire), and some green (Eben and Stella's coats).  Templesmith's art isn't going to appeal to everyone (check out his website if you want to see more of what he's done).  His art tends more toward the abstract rather than realism, which given how violent this story is, and how I have trouble with watching realistic portrayals of violence, is something I very much appreciate.  And if you do like his art, I highly recommend checking out Singularity 7 and Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, both of which Templesmith also wrote.

So, if you like your vampires monstrous, your gore plentiful, though not too detailed, and your stories rather short, give 30 Days of Night a look.  And I think I'll probably go about trying to check out the rest of the series.