This White Wolf graphic novella boasted one of the best vampire ideas I've seen outside of 30 Days of Night. The notion of a vampire thief, a charming rogue, struck me as novel and appealing. And Nazi, Mengele-esque vampires? Chilling. Unfortunately, some inky art, vague dialogue and awkward scene transitions made for a confusing read. The core ideas make for a solid foundation, but the execution of those ideas leaves a lot to be desired.
During World War II, in the midst of Nazi Germany, vampires of various clans continue to operate, some of which adopting the sadistic practices of the human fascists who have plunged the world into war. One such vampire calls for the head of a rogue thief named Beckett, but his undead powers and prowess proves to be too much for those agents to contend with. Beckett is in the area looking for a treasure, but it would be decades before he would be able to track them down.
Guy Davis's richly detailed cover whets the reader's appetite, but sadly, the interior art won't satisfy the reader's hunger for strong art. Scott doesn't make enough of a distinction between the scenes set in the past and those set in the present. While I appreciate the need to develop a haunted atmosphere for such a story, the art is so inky as to be difficult to follow at times. Some odd shifts in the colors make some characters look inexplicably different from page to page as well.
The opening scene is thoroughly disturbing, but it sets up an important element. Reynolds plants the seed that some vampires are bigger monsters than others, and it makes it much easier to cheer for the rogue title character. And as mentioned before, exploring vampire characters in the chaotic setting of war is intriguing and boasts even more storytelling potential than the creators can even explore here.
Unfortunately, that potential and those strengths are lost in muddy art and clunky scripting. The only clear cue that the time setting has shifted are narrative captions, but instead of saying simply, "The present" or "Today," Reynolds repeatedly hits the reader with "In the here and now!" The exclamation point alone is distraction enough. That tone in the narration seemed out of place and distracting.
Note: This comic book was not among this week's new releases.
