I really don't think vampire stories are supposed to be this much fun. Winick and Coker have cooked up a tale that resonates with the Anne Rice/White Wolf type of sophisticated vampires, but without the goth gloom and doom that always seems to drag those stories down for me. However, it's not all fun and games or the adventures of three friends who happens to be vampires, and I'm even more impressed that Winick has managed to introduce a seemingly very nasty bad guy into the mix without losing the fun of the whole thing. For all that Vertigo is a dark horror/fantasy line, the number of really good vampire stories they've produced can be counted on one hand, and Blood and Water stands out as one of the best.
A big part of what makes Blood and Water so entertaining for me is the three lead characters, as Winick has done a terrific job of making them interesting and well-developed people. Rather than just being shallow characters or vampiric archetypes, Adam, Josh and Nicky are characters I can believe in. The way that the characters veer between supporting one another and giving each other grief is absolutely true to most friendships I've ever had, and little character details like Nicky's history or Josh's side career help to flesh them out and make them more interesting. In fact, though each issue has been important for each character, it seems like each issue has also focused on building the character of Adam, Nicky or (in the case of issue three) Josh more strongly.
The story Winick is telling also includes what could be called a vampire primer for the vampires of this fictional setting, and it's a lot of fun for anyone with an interest in vampires as a whole. Little tweaks on common vampire schtick like drinking pig's blood instead of human or how they are able to affect the minds of men and women, not to mention the more disgusting after-effects of being transformed, make for some interesting reading. What's really interesting to me is that though some of the actions and abilities the characters have carry disturbing implications (such as "is using pheromones rape?"), Winick keeps the tone light and encourages the reader to go along for the ride rather than dwelling in the tortured existence of a vampire or their monstrous appetites, which tend to be the way they are usually characterized.
Especially interesting in this is that Tomm Coker's artwork is certainly dark and gritty enough to work on a darker toned vampire story. Comparisons have been made to Vampire: The Masquerade artist Tim Bradstreet, and they're not far off the mark, although I think Coker has a wider range. But at any rate, he does capture the good, bad and ugly, whether it's the implied olympics of puke in the first sequence, The Matrix meets Marquis De Sade sequence in the center of the book, the quiet conversations between friends or the rather destructive sequence at the end. Perhaps most importantly, he conveys the steamy and sexy elements of the book, which is a big part of the story this issue and certainly comes off as the fringe benefit of being a vampire.
Whether you're looking for great characters, great art or an intriguing new take on an old subject, Blood and Water seems to have something to offer. There's even an intriguing mystery surrounding an awakened ancient evil, and I'm curious to see how a relatively innocent thing like helping out a friend (even using these extreme methods) has kicked off this nasty curse.
