Comics Review: VAMPIRE STATE BUILDING #1

VAMPIRE STATE BUILDING #1 (Ablaze, September 18, 2019 release date)  Writers: Ange & Patrick Renault. Interior Artist: Charlie Adlard.  Colorist: Sebastien Gerard.  Cover Artists: Charlie Adlard, Inhyuk Lee, Gui Balbi.  www.ablazepublishing.com

The elevator pitch on this title from the Ablaze website:

The newest horror series from the artist of The Walking Dead, Charlie Adlard! Just in time for Halloween - get ready to be bitten from the first full color page. 

     

     Terry Fisher is a young soldier on the verge of being sent away for active military duty, and is going to meet his friends at the top of the Empire State Building for a farewell party. But suddenly a legion of vampires attacks the skyscraper and massacres its occupants. 

     Hounded in the 102 floors that have become a deadly trap, Terry must take decisive action to save himself and his friends - and the city of New York - before the army of abominations, and the terrible vampire god within, walled in the building since its construction, spill into the city…

     VAMPIRE STATE BUILDING is the debut title from new comics publisher Ablaze and it’s a great start, especially if you’re a fan of well-designed and scripted horror comics. 

     There’s a slow build-up to the action here, as the book begins on the observation deck of the Empire State Building and the introduction of main protagonist Terry Fisher and his circle of friends. Within five pages, readers learn enough about each of these characters and their own personal conflicts to feel somewhat vested in their well-being, which becomes important to the tension as they all become entrapped within the building. 

From there the suspense builds up page after page as it appears that readers are in store for a nail-biting survival tale along the lines of The Walking Dead - - although at this early stage it’s too soon to say if it will run quite as long. 

   Construction on a scheduled renovation on a lower floor uncovers an unknown sealed area and unleashes what appears to be the king of all vampires. Apparently his release has awakened all the latent vampires among the alleys and back streets of New York City and they all flock like flies on feces to the Empire State Building, and surround the unlikely tourists and workers within. 

RATING SYSTEM

 STORY: Something about this reminded me of the early chapters of The Strain, although this is definitely not a copycat of that book/tv series. It’s probably the awakening of evil that occurs. This is a good starting point and set-up issue. The civilians trapped within the building are already in deep shit, and there’s plenty of action and spilled blood to go along with the story development. 2.5 POINTS

ART:  This marks a return to the old style of borders on comics pages. There's a white border around all sides of each page, that if you've only read current comics you may not be used to. It compresses the art a little (especially in a multi-paneled story like this one) but acts like a picture frame around the action. I'd prefer a full page of art, but this is a minor quibble.  If you enjoyed what Charlie Adlard’s art style brought to The Walking Dead, you’ll like this just as much - especially in full color. A story of survival is right up Adlard’s alley and allows him to show off his expressive skills at depicting human trauma.  2.5 POINTS

COVER: Combine the wonderful play-on-words of the title with a simple bloody vampiric hand and you’ve got a winner. Who wouldn’t want to turn the page and look inside after seeing this?  2 POINTS

READ AGAIN? Absolutely good for multiple readings. 1 POINT.

RECOMMEND? Yes. I might be tired of vampires in movies and tv, but not in comics. I love a good vampire comic. 1 POINT

TOTAL RATING: 9 OUT OF A POSSIBLE 10 POINTS. CLOSE TO PERFECTION. DON’T MISS IT.