30 Days of Night
by Roq
Writer: Steve Niles
Artist: Ben Templesmith
Publisher: IDW
Length: Three issue limited
Scary thought: What would stop vampires if the world was in a suspended state of darkness? If the sun didn't come up for weeks at a time? I think the short answer is not a damn thing. They'd run amok and slaughter us at will. Which is pretty much what they do in 30 Days of Night, Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith's brilliant work of vampire horror from IDW.
This is one of those books where everything clicks. I remember reading it and wondering how I could have missed such an awesome and very obvious premise? Vampires hard at work in a town where the sun didn't rise for a month?! It was gold! But having a good idea is one thing and executing it is quite another, as most of us know. Well, Ben and Steve bleed it dry, taking it for all it's worth and what a great tale it is. This was Ben's first full length work and when I first laid eyes on his artwork I was blown away. It was like nothing I'd ever seen before; simple, elegant and creepy as hell all at the same time. And it's dark. Very dark. Splotches of blood leap off the page and the black eyes and mouthful of fangs that he draws for the vamps remind one of sharks. Very cool. Steve's story is straight forward and his dialogue is crisp. It centers around a husband and wife team of officers in Barrow, Alaska. Eben and Stella Olemaun keep the peace in their tiny town and once the blood-suckers arrive they stand by their motto: To protect and serve. This is one helluva read and please don't judge it by the movie, which I thought sucked. The original source material is vibrant and original. If you haven't read it but are a fan of the genre rush out and pick up the trade paperback. By now there are many sequels to it but none match the tone and scope of the original. It's bloody good work.
Check out our differing opinions on the film version of 30 Days of Night! We almost had a throw down...but we drank some Sake Bombs instead.
Crisis averted! Thank you alcohol.
5 out of 5!