By Jonathan  Maberry, Alan Robinson & Jay Fotos

IDW Publishing launches a new series! It’s always interesting to read a new vampire-centric tale; mainly to see if the material has original merit or just comes off as contrived. Recently creative minds have been able to put fascinating spins on vampiric lore. The premise of this title is that a recently discovered virus has triggered latent genes in people that contain vampire traits. This causes civil unrest and the United States government struggles to find a solution. When the road to peace is on the horizon, the country is thrown into bloody conflict…

Being that this is the premiere issue, some leeway should be given to the story and allow it to develop and bloom, but it’s not off to a great start. The majority of the plot screams generic and predictable. Now, the source of how vampires have come to reappear in modern society is a neat thread and is a great setup for the war referenced in the title. How the war starts and ultimately who is pulling the strings was completely anticipated. Maybe, there are more twists than what has been presented…there better be! I was hoping for serious political intrigue, instead, based off this one book, what is given is social commentary akin to True Blood and X-Files-esque conspiracies. Some people will probably eat this stuff up, but the audience deserves compelling material and it just isn’t there. Hopefully the story will get better within the next couple issues.

Sometimes the artwork can save a weak story, but sadly this did not happen. When dealing with vampire-related material, certain atmospheric elements or tone should be present and there isn’t. Most of the depictions in the panels are straightforward with no depth and little detail. They definitely don’t hold back back on the blood, but that’s not enough, it’s not even shocking. Alan Robinson did have a couple panels with interesting angles; one in particular was from the perspective of an apartment peep hole.

V-Wars was a letdown on all fronts. There were some glimmers of hope, but the creative team better step-up their game if they want to stand out!

 

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About The Author Erik Gonzalez

I was exposed to comics early on, one of my earliest vivid memories was picking up the entire run of Dark Horse’s Aliens vs. Predator(1990). Odd and perhaps morbid choice for a kid, I know...At the same time, I was immersed in the pop culture of the time which included, but not limited to: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, and of course, Batman: The Animated Series. Upon reflection, it’s fairly evident why I’m such a zealous geek. My day job is in television operations, so basically I’m exposed to media at every turn, which is where I want to be! Writing comic book reviews is another outlet to convey my respect and fanaticism for the this graphic medium. I hope what I have to say will resonate with others and also spark heart-felt discussion. Simon Pegg said it best, “Being a geek is extremely liberating.”

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