American Vampire Vol. 1 [Hardcover]

Scott Snyder (Author), Stephen King (Author), Rafael Albuquereque (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 5, 2010 | Series: American Vampire (Book 1)

This volume follows two stories: one written by Snyder and one written by King. Snyder's story is set in 1920's LA, we follow Pearl, a young woman who is turned into a vampire and sets out on a path of righteous revenge against the European Vampires who tortured and abused her. This story is paired with King's story, a western about Skinner Sweet, the original American Vampire-- a stronger, faster creature than any vampire ever seen before with rattlesnake fangs and powered by the sun.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

From American Vampire, Vol. 1
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From Publishers Weekly

Early 20th-century America is a fitting setting for this horror drama about confronting old traditions. Two linked stories follow a woman and a man. Snyder's tale centers on Pearl Jones, an aspiring actress in 1925 Los Angeles. When Pearl chases what she believes could be her big break, it results in her being left for dead in the desert. King's piece involves antihero Skinner Sweet, a notorious outlaw in 1880 Colorado. Under arrest and en route to his execution, Skinner's escape attempt is foiled by the unexpected presence of a vampire robber baron. Both Pearl and Skinner find themselves afflicted with a vampiric curse, but one that's been altered by their native soil. The two make quick enemies of the older, jealous European bloodlines of vampires that have carved up the spoils of the American west. Violent retribution follows as each refuses to be a pawn of the established order. Albuquerque's art holds back the horror and grotesque elements until the moments when they're most needed, making those scenes shocking and effective. The pacing is slowed by presenting two simultaneous introductory stories. But seeing how Pearl and Skinner deal differently with the monsters they've become and the monsters out to destroy them makes compelling reading. (Oct.) (c)
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 200 pages
• Publisher: Vertigo (October 5, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401228305
• ISBN-13: 978-1401228309
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 0.6 x 10.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (39 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,749 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Fantasy
  • #45 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Graphic Novels > Horror
  • #54 in Books > Comics & Graphic Novels > Publishers > DC Comics

More About the Author

My first book, Voodoo Heart, a collection of stories is coming out in May/June from Dial. It's about characters who've been knocked off course in life, either by accidents or bad decisions...I'm very excited and nervous about this.

I teach creative writing at Columbia U, and live out near Stonybrook NY with my wife, Jeanie.

I'm a big Elvis fan (not in an ironic way).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A vampire like me, October 5, 2010

By 

E. A Solinas "ea_solinas" (MD USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: American Vampire Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

Six words which will make you want to read this: "Original Stephen King comic. With VAMPIRES."

In actuality, this is a two-part comic -- one part is by King, while the other is by a guy I had never heard of named Scott Snyder. But both halves of "American Vampire Volume 1" are united by a common theme -- vintage Americana is mingled with some gruesome, bloodthirsty vampires, in the 1920s and the Wild West. And it is AWESOME.

Snyder follows a young starlet named Pearl, who is invited to a party thrown by a film producer. The next day, she is found covered in bites in the desert and dying of blood loss. But then she wakes up to find vampiric cowboy Skinner Sweet next to her, and he informs her that she's now a vampire.

But she's not the same kind of vampire as the ones who attacked her -- like him, she's a newly evolved "American vampire" with claws, monstrous teeth and immunity to the sun. Now Pearl is out for revenge against the "old-style" vampires who killed her -- and along with her new love interest Henry, she's got some bloody revenge, treachery and a brewing war to deal with.

King's story goes further back in time to the late 1800s, and shows us the original "American Vampire" -- the infamous Skinner Sweet, an outlaw who runs afoul of a vampire in the desert. When a flood washes out the town where he's buried, the newly undead Sweet returns to the world... and he's more dangerous than ever before.

"American Vampire" is a pretty unique kind of comic book -- two brilliant writers (one famous and one unknown) writing two intertwined story arcs about vampires from long ago. Even better, both King and Snyder manage to do something unique and special with the vampire mythos that doesn't involve pale, wangsty aristocrats.

And while the stories are closely connected, King and Snyder have very distinct styles. King's is faster, brasher and earthier, adding sudden splatters of horror to a seemingly simple Wild West story. Snyder's is a slower, more refined story that suddenly bursts into a bloody revenge tale. And there's a clever undercurrent to his story -- predatory Hollywood bloodsuckers as REAL bloodsuckers? Not bad.

Snyder also has a knack for creating likable characters -- Pearl is a thoroughly likable protagonist, a strong young lady who has to make the best of being transformed into a bloodsucker. King's characters are less endearing, but no less vibrant -- his depiction of Skinner is of a ruthless, grinning cowboy covered in dust and stubble ("I want candy!").

And Rafael Albuquerque is well suited to both stories -- he relies heavily on shadows, black profiles and dark figures, but also suffuses the daytime parts with strong desert light. He also does some brilliant things with color -- our first glimpse of the vampires takes place in a room filled with bloody background, and the train battles take place against a slow-burning sky that fades into the color of flames.

"American Vampire 1" is an excellent start to a promising new series -- and Snyder and King are quite a formidable storytelling team. Vibrant, creepy and wonderfully bloody.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Tale of Horror, October 9, 2010

By 

Amanda Jade - See all my reviews

This review is from: American Vampire Vol. 1 (Hardcover)

Volume 1 of American Vampire is set in two time periods - it begins with Scott Snyder's story, set in 1920s. We meet Pearl Jones, a struggling actress hoping to make it big in Hollywood. The unfortunate and naive Pearl is brutally attacked and left for dead, that is, until Skinner Sweat steps in and offers her the chance to wreak vengeance on those that ruined her life.

The second half of the tale, told by Stephen King, contains the gruesome origins of the wicked Skinner Sweet. We're taken back to the Wild West in the 1880s, where we learn about Skinner's criminal past as a human and the powerful vampire he later becomes. And this American vampire isn't any ordinary bloodsucker, he's evolved and is bigger and badder than any of the old ones could have imagined.

Artist Rafael Albuquerque captures the two different time periods perfectly. In the first half, the pages are full of old-school Hollywood glam and class. When it came to depicting King's story, Albuquerque was dead on, making the panels grungier and perfectly Western. Same artist, but two unique and flawless styles. His artwork was one thing that impressed me the most.

Overall, American Vampire: Vol. 1 was awesome. You've got a real badass horror story full of deadly and terrorizing vampires, which is exactly what this vampire-flooded world needs nowadays. Horror fans will love the macabre artwork and narrative, and others will simply love the refreshing change in vampire story-telling (you have to admit that the weak and whiny vampires get real old real fast). I definitely recommend this graphic novel to anyone looking for a classic horror story.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Kindle Fire Edition, December 16, 2011

By 

Justin (PMV Georgia) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: American Vampire Vol. 1 (Kindle Edition)

Not going into the how amazing this comic is, plenty of others have done a fantastic job of that already. I just wanted to comment on the high quality of the Kindle Fire Ed. Unlike many of the other "optimized for Fire" editions on Amazon, this one fills the screen with high quality images that even make the large files on comixology look less than crisp.

For the most part I've avoided purchasing any digital comics on Amazon, but if more quality products like this can be released I may spend a little less $ at comixology. Give us the next volumes already!