30 Days Of Night: Beyond Barrow (#1-3)

"Poor stupid bastards.  I almost feel sorry for them"  - John Ikos.

This is going to be the last visit to the world of 30 Days of Night (I have sadly had to skip the Eben and Stella mini due to the art making it impossible to tell who was who half the time) at least those collected in the two omnibuses.  In case you've missed any of my other looks at the various 30 Days of Night miniseries, the titular "30 Days of Night" are those experienced by the Alaskan town of Barrow when there is no sun for a month in winter.  Some enterprising vampires took it upon themselves to go and feed off the townsfolk and many of the inhabitants were killed.  The town sheriff Eben Olemaun injected himself with vampire blood and kept his sanity long enough to kill the head vampire and frighten the rest off.  He died sitting with his wife Stella when the sun finally came up.  Stella wrote a book about the incident called 30 Days of Night and became a veteran vampire hunter.  But she missed Eben too much and through a blood ritual bought him back and he promptly turned her into a vampire. However both kept their humanity and when vampires tried to attack Barrow again, they wiped the vampires out and promised to watch over the town for the foreseeable future.  We have also seen vampires in Mexico, on the Eastern Front in World War 2 and witnessed the crazed experiments of a vampire fetishist.  This final mini of omnibus two returns to Barrow many years after the last attack and is written by series co-creator Steve Niles with art by the legendary Bill Sienkiewicz.

It begins... with tiny red lettering on black backgrounds which I need a flippin' torch to read, dammit!  But anyway, start again.  It begins.. with a potted history of Barrow. That the three things the town is used to are below zero temperatures, living in darkness and vampire attacks.

Narrator: "For creatures who fear the light and thirst for blood, Barrow and the entire Artic circle are heaven on Earth.  Hell on Earth if you are human."

We a small group of vampires walking through the snow towards the town.   The woman says they should not be here, that the townspeople are prepared and the vampire elders have forbade attacks on the town.  The leader says they will "invade, feed and then leave. Nobody, not even our own will be the wiser".

Something worse than vampires appears.

One of the others points to a plane coming in to land, the leader says "more blood for us".  They start moving again when suddenly they all sense something ahead of them that alarms them.  Then suddenly they are surrounded by something that rips them apart leaving nothing behind but a stripped skeleton.

In Barrow Bob Huey, the man who has run the Barrow airport for years has let in a plane he shouldn't have, it should be closed to air traffic during the dark month.  But he needed the cash and the offer was too good to pass up.  The passengers are Richard Denning, a billioniare and self-proclaimed adventurer who has read that vampires live near Barrow. His wife Kelly who showed him Stella Olemaun's book and got him bitten by the vampire hunting bug. Keri their daughter who "would rather be anywhere else in the world."

Chris Miller and his latest girlfriend Tina who are along for the adventure are also part of the expediion. So is Nat Gilmore who works for Richard and has no choice and finally Scott Powell, Richard's friend who likes guns and photography and wants to be the first human to take a photo of a vampire - dead or alive.

Every man has his price.

Richard hands over the bribe to Bob for letting him land.  Bob asks if he needs any transportation while he is in town.  Richard says he doesn't plan on spending much time in Barrow and he brought his own transport.  The plane unloads a jeep with caterpiller tracks instead of wheels, he bought it from the manufacturers who make them for the Alaskan National Guard and has upgraded it with stereo, video decks and a full bar. 

Bob: "Folks around here are lucky if we can get chains on our tyres or run-down snowcat."

Richard: "Well folks round here should invest their money better".

Bob says he'll hide the plane but if anyone asks he'll tell them they landed without permission and he turned the runway lights on so "you wouldn't splatter yourself all over Barrow".  Richards says he'll back him up if they meet anyone in town.

Bob panics, he thought they weren't going into town. Richard casually says they'll tell his lie for him and his party depart leaving Bob with a handful of cash wondering if it was worth it, "even he knows deep down, if these jackasses go anywhere but Barrow they'll probably wind up dead."

Richard says to his party that he doesn't care if they do go into Barrow, it's too well defended, the real action will be outside its walls. His wife says she and Keri want to photograph Eben's grave and the remains of the Ikos diner.  Keri sulkily says she doesn't want to take any pictures.   Her mum wants to see all the sights because if they find a vampire she and Richard are going to write a book.

They drive to the town gate and are stopped by armed men.  Richard says they just want to see the sights then they'll be on their way.  To come into Barrow they have to show identification, and their teeth.  Once inside they find the graveyard and Richard, Kelly and an unenthused Keri pose in front of Eben's grave for a photo. 

A tacky photo.

Then "out of nowhere" Marcus Kitka now seventeen, who was a kid when the last major attack happened, punches Richard saying "Get out of my town you goulish sons of bitches!" John Ikos who survived the first ever Barrow attack pulls Marcus away saying the visitors better take care of themselves, "this ain't Disneyland."  Richard mumbles they read the book, "don't worry old man.  We can handle ourselves". They drive off.

Marcus Kitka's father Brian is the sheriff of Barrow.  He and Marcus get along but they weren't as close as they were before the first attack the lived through that Marcus still has nighmares about. Defending Barrow has become Brian's year round job and it takes him away from Marcus who goes to see John Ikos about something bothering him about the newcomers.

He tells John he can't stop thinking about them, "that daughter or the jackass you punched?" queries John.  Marcus wants to know why they let them go out there.  John says it isn't their business and they wouldn't listen anyway.  Marcus says they get killed:

John: "If the cold don't, somethin' else is bound to come along.  It's called thinning the herd or natural selection".

Marcus says that's cynical and John says you get that way when you've fought to live as many times as he has.  Marcus says he's the perfect person to help them then, but John refuses saying he can't help people who don't want help.  But he gives in and says they'll check as far as "Tartok Ridge" but if they aren't in sight from there they are as good as dead.  They pick up some flash grenades and head on out.

The party camp out.

The vampire hunting party have made camp, a tent extended from the end of the jeep.  Inside they are all chatting, apart from Keri who has stayed up in the jeep portion of camp. Her mother says she is such a curmudgeon and cackles that she was just like that at her age. Keri ignores her and fiddles with her phone which has no signal.  So she decides to watch a horror movie called "Suicide Stripper 2" to cheer herself up. She lights up a cigarette and rolls the windown down a little and suddenly notices the campsite is surrounded by what looks like rocks.

Meanwhile John and Marcus are walking through the snow.  John is telling him about a man called John Franklin who tried mapping the Artic, he never returned from an expedition and his body was found frozen and stripped of flesh.  They could tell by the scratches on the bones themselves. Even his brain had been cleaned out. Marcus asks what the point of this gory story about people disappearing from where they are currently walking.  John just asks him how good he is with a gun these days.

Marcus: "One,  Yes I can still shoot. Two.  You are seriously freaking me out!"

Back at the camp, everyone is getting a bit tipsy.  Keri demands they take and look outside, so Chris peeks through the tent flaps and sees the same strange "rocks" surrounding them.  "They weren't there when we drove in and set up" says Richard suddenly serious.

Spooky story time.

Kelly says it must me some eskimo curse.  Keri tells her they don't call themselves Eskimos anymore, it was a collective term for the various peoples who live above the Artic like the Inuit and Yupik.  So Eskimo is out like Indian is for Native Amercians. Kelly says "we don't call them Indians because General Custard killed them all, thank God".  Keri says it's "Custer" and actually the Native Americans killed him, "rightfully so, I might add."

"Well look who's paying attention in class" says Richard. "Idiots" mutters Keri.  Then Chris looks out again and says the stones have gone.  Then suddenly he's wrenched out in a flurry of blood.  Richard, Kelly and Keri manage to get into the jeep as the tent is attacked and the others sliced to pieces.  The jeep drives through the black bodied beings who assaulted them and gets free.  "Richard,  I don't think these are the vampires from the book" says Kelly. 

The party are attacked.

As they drive, Kelly asks if Richard thinks the others are still alive.  Richard says he hopes not.  We cut to the ruined camp.  One of the men is still alive, though badly wounded.  He pleads with the figure standing over him to not hurt him.  His screams are heard by Marcus and John.  John tells Marcus that the party have fallen prey to the "unnuar amarok", all the disappearances round these parts are down to them. "Just keep them in front of you" instructs John "and remember one thing - nothing lives without a head."

Richard's panicked driving has got them lost.  The GPS system isn't responding and neither are the radio or satellite phone.  They are flying blind.  Richard says if they keep driving they should hit something soon. He and Keri bicker as she accuses him of being the idiot who wanted to go vampire hunting in Alaska.  Richard ungallantly says it was her mother's idea. Then they see a cave and they drive into it to hide.

Keri doesn't think they should be stopping. Richard says they'll conserve fuel, build a fire and maybe someone will find them in the daylight.  But Keri points out it won't be daylight for thirteen more days.  Then they notice the cave has a funny smell and is warm. Richard says it's probably an underground spring. They have supplies, they can hold out for a while. 

The "vampires" torture their prey.

Then they hear Chris screaming.  They look to where it is coming from and see him being held down and having his skin and flesh ripped off while still alive by black humanoids with almost lamprey mouths and no eyes or noses.  "We walked right into their lair" whispers Keri, "well mom, you got your vampires".  They rip and tear Chris who finally dies as they completely rip the meat from his bones and consume it.

"That noise is horrible!" exclaims Kelly stupidly loudly and the vampires turn and realise they have company.  Richard fires a flare gun at them as they approach. The vampires grab all three of them but Keri manages to struggle free though her clothes are ripped off in the process.  Her parents are killed and she stands frozen in a pond of blood.  One of them comes close and sniffs her.  Things look bad for her, then John shoots it in the head.

John Ikos to the rescue.

Then he blasts the others closest to her. He tells Marcus to get her out of there then tosses his belt of flash grenades at the advancing group of vampires and ignites it from a distance with a shot from his pistol, there is an almighty Fooom. Marcus drapes his coat round Keri and apologises for punching her dad.  When she asks for them he has to tell her they didn't make it out.

He takes her back to John's cabin where he is waiting for them.   Keri asks him what those things really were.  John says that some folks believe they are vampires who came and settled here a long time ago.  Their bodies adapted to the extreme weather conditions and over the centuries became a different species altogether.  Keri thanks him for killing them.

John: "Dead? I doubt they're all dead. They're survivors like us."

The story then comes to a close with the narrator saying that long ago, over many years, many braved the journey to search for new lands. And only a few ever returned. "And as the legend goes, some of the weary travellers stayed behind and became part of the land.  And part of the terror".  The end.

Only Keri survives.

This is a worthy note to end my looks at the 30 Days of Night series.  Human's can fight vampires and even win small victories, but vampires both ancient and modern still plague the world and Barrow will probably never be totally safe despite the ban the modern vampires are under from going there and the protection of Eben and Stella. The ancient vampires depicted here are horrifying blank faced monsters.  Acting on sadistic instinct there is no reasoning with them just death by dismemberment while you are still alive. Despite the generally unpleasant nature of the doomed hunting party (apart from Keri), and their monumental stupidity they didn't deserve to die the way they did.  John Ikos once again shows what a badass he is at killing vampires and the most likeable "Final Girl" escapes thanks to his efforts.  Bill Sienkiewicz's art is superb.  From frosty portraiture to the feeding of the vampires degenerating into thick black chaotic line work he depicts the freezing cold horror expertly.  His layouts especially capture the frenzy of the ancient vampire attacks.  I believe recently Steve Niles has started the 30 Days of Night's franchise up again after a break of some years and I may be seeking them out at some point in the future.  But for now this is the capstone on what has been a very high quality run of miniseries. Both omnibuses are well worth your expenditure if you enjoy tales of real, non-sparkling vampires.

30 Days Of Night: Dead Billy Dead (Bloodsucker Tales #1-8)

"I think we've played enough.  I'll have plenty of time to explore my theories once I'm immortal" - Dr. Saxon

Time for more vampire fun with a look at "Dead Billy Dead", a story which ran concurrently with another called "Juarez" (which I shall be looking at next month) in an eight issue miniseries called "Bloodsucker Tales" first published in 2005.  The original 30 Days of Night told the story of a vampire attack and feeding frenzy on the remote town of Barrow in Alaska, that experiences the titular "30 Days of Night" every winter.  A survivor of the attack, the deputy sheriff Stella, after her husband Eben sacrificed himself to become a vampire to save them, became an authority on sniffing out and killing vampires and wrote a book called "30 Days of Night" about her experiences and what she knows about killing vampires.  This book is important because it tends to show up even when the action is taking place elsewhere in America as a sort of spiritual linking device.  Stella resurrected Eben and was turned into a vampire by him, but both kept their humanity and have become the undead protectors of Barrow.  But the vampires are everywhere still and in "Dead Billy Dead"  we're given a young male protagonist whose crappy life is made even crappier when he has a run in with one who wants to feed from him and whose story gives us more of an idea of what it feels like to be newly turned.  This marks the first story not drawn by Ben Templesmith, instead Kody Chamberlain is on art duties with Steve Niles still writing.

The story begins with hapless young man Billy staggering down a deserted alley clutching his neck which has blood gushing out, thinking that he is going to die.  A shadowy figure is behind him and says, "where do you think you are going, little human?"  Billy collapses as the vampire looms over him saying his companion was recently killed up in Barrow (see 30 Days Of Night: Return to Barrow).  He doesn't like being alone and he wants Billy to turn into a vampire to keep him company.

Billy has other ideas, and manages to grab a broken pipe and stabs it through the vampire's head.  This kills the vampire, and Billy collapses again and dies.  He then wakes up and finds a rat on him which he grabs and takes a bite out of.  Then he staggers to a payphone and calls his ex-girlfriend Maggie, he tells her "something terrible happened".  Unfortunately he is discovered by two cops who want to know where all the blood on him came from.

Newly vamped Billy calls Maggie

They cuff him but he snaps them. They try to subdue him with a baton but that doesn't work so one of them shoots Billy in the gut, knocking him down.  They kick him to see if he is dead and he comes around, says "stop kicking me" and gets up and leaves.  The cops decide discretion is the better part of valor and don't follow him.  They decide to write it up as an encounter with a meth-head.

Back with Billy, he's come to a realisation that he is a vampire.  "I'd rather be dead.  Real dead.  Dead dead" he thinks as he arrives at Maggie's flat.  She lets him in concerned at all the blood on him, but gets more concerned when she can find no wounds and that Billy is rambling about being shot by the cops.  She has some clothes of his and tells him to get cleaned up and get lost, he tells her he was attacked by a vampire.

Maggie is a very understanding ex.

Back with the two cops, they have written up the encounter with Billy.  One of them wants to admit to what they actually saw, the other wants to keep his job.  The truthful cop then walks off and slides the book "30 Days Of Night" out of the bookshelf...

Back with Billy and Maggie, Billy admits that he is starting to feel "kinda good" now.  He wonders if the vampire finished turning him properly and if the cop actually did hit him.  Maggie is still concerned.  But then he vomits a load of blood in the sink and collapses whimpering about what to do now.  Maggie says sun will be up soon and she'll cover the windows.

The action then jumps forwards a few days.  The policeman is at home, engrossed in the "30 Days Of Night" book, he makes copious notes as he studies it then one night he gets in his car and goes for a drive somewhere.  Meanwhile Maggie is still nursing Billy, she brings him bloody steak but it barely makes a tiny dent in his feelings of hunger.

She says maybe they should talk to a professor called Saxon who specialises in folklore, he had Stella Olemaun, author of "30 Days Of Night" come do a talk at the university which got shut down by the police when a fight broke out between her and some vampires (see 30 Days of Night: Dark Days). She says she can call him now, but Billy yells "I have to have blood!" and crashes through her window and out into the night.

Saxon.

She calls Saxon anyway and he believes her, he reassures her and says he'll come over as soon as he's put the phone down.  Then once he has he he starts talking sinisterly to himself:

Saxon: "I found one.  Soon their secrets will be ours, Stella. And then, at last, I will find you again.  And show you how much my love has grown since we met".

He calls in on a funeral home and tells the person there he'll give him $500 for a quart of blood drained from a corpse "and another $500 for your silence".

Billy is out hunting and catches and drains a cat.  OK fuck you Billy, kill all the people you like I don't care, but kill a cat?  You Monster.  He's hanging about the place where he died anyway, which isn't a great idea as the policeman has come to check it out.  He then has to contend with a vamped out Billy attacking him.  He shoots Billy and gets him to back off, Billy then comes too and when the policeman says he knows what he is, asks if he knows a way to cure him.

Brian the cop confronts Billy.

Maggie then appears as well and Billy scarpers.  The policeman introduces himself as Brian to her and when Maggie says Billy is ill, asks for confirmation that it's the kind of ill that has him wanting to drink other people's blood.  She evades the question and leaves and Brian calls into the precinct asking for her address.

Maggie walks back into the building and is stopped by an old woman asking if she has seen her pet dog "Mr. Wiggles".  Maggie says no, then enters her flat to find Billy feasting on Mr. Wiggles (seriously Billy, not making any friends here).  Unable to take much more of this, Maggie asks Billy to leave. Then Dr. Saxon knocks on the door, she lets him in and he tases her and fires a huge stun dart at Billy.  They both pass out.  Later Brian arrives at Maggie's address to find the door ajar and the room splattered with blood.

Brian calls a couple of mates in and tells them he's going to need some back-up, he pulled Maggie's phone records and found calls between her and Dr. Saxon so they are going to his place first. They go to his university office and poke around, they find a human skull with vampire teeth and the "30 Days Of Night" book open on the desk. 

The cops explore Saxon's office.

Brian and one of the other officers remember the ruckus caused by Stella's vampire lecture and how a strict gag order was placed on those involved in sorting it out.   The other cop demands to know if they mean there is a "goddamn Dracula loose in Los Angeles?"  Brian says he doesn't know, he just wants to find Maggie and make sure she's safe.

We then cut to Dr. Saxon, he has Billy strapped to a table keeping him paralysed by pumping "dead blood" into him, while Maggie is bound and gagged on a chair in the corner.  Saxon is rambling on about cancer and "immortal cells" being the key to vampirism.  Billy manages to say "let... her... go" but Saxon refuses saying his work is too important to let "a co-ed twit fuck it up".

Billy being vivisected.

He then starts slicing into Billy with a scalpel saying "I suspect you know less about what you are than I do".  He keeps up a running commentary as he cracks open Billy's ribcage, noting that the nervous system seems to slow down as the body absorbs the blood.  He wonders if he can use Billy to unlock the secrets of eternal life.

Saxon: "Can you imagine living a thousand centuries and never having to worry about the repercussions. Never having to meet your maker and pay for your supposed sins?  Can you?  I can."

Meanwhile, Brian and his two mates are sneaking up to Saxon's house as Saxon shows off his several people in cages who answered an advert he placed seeking vampires.  They weren't real vampires of course, but it didn't stop him injecting them with a concotion he had made him from samples from the vampire skull he retrieved after Stella's lecture.  That's when he had it confirmed, it was "in the blood".

Then he slits his throat and lets the blood splash into Billy's mouth.  Then he buries his head inside Billy's chest and then lies still.  The policemen burst in to be greeted with quite the grim tableau.  Brian goes to free Maggie, then Saxon rears up now a vampire saying this feels better than he ever imagined.

Saxon the vampire.

Maggie is freed and as the other cops struggle against Saxon, Maggie tells Brian to free Billy, he can deal with him.  As the pseudo-vampires take out one of the cops and Saxon the other, Billy his chest still open, his guts spilling out challenges Saxon asking "am I a success or a failure?" 

He tells Maggie and Brian to get out, or he'll kill them when he has finished off Saxon and they make their getaway.  Before they are fully out the door, Brian sees his mate half dead at the hands of the pseudo-vamps.  The man pleads "kill... me" so Brian does him that mercy, then he and Maggie are gone.

As Billy and Saxon fight, Saxon asks if he can feel all the other vampires around the world inside his mind? "Whatever we are, you and I are not the same" responds Billy.  He then snaps off one of his own ribs and stabs Saxon in the face with it.  Saxon collapses and Billy stamps on his head, crushing it, then he slaughters the pseudo-vampires.

Billy gets his revenge.

The other policeman is still barely alive, Billy says he doesn't know if he got infected by the vampires or not and uses his shotgun to blast the cop's head off with.  Then he sets the house on fire and takes his leave.  The story closes with his final thoughts:

Billy: "All of a sudden I felt okay about what I was...and really I looked forward to getting as faraway from my old life as possible. I no longer felt the maddening longing for Maggie or for any love.  I suppose if I had waited, none of this would have happened. But that's just me.  I could never live like people around me, and I can't even die like other folks. Maybe I'll have better luck being undead."

And so ends the story of Cat Murderer Billy. This is the first story not directly tied into the Barrow storyline though of course it gets plenty of nods.  And it's interesting getting a look at some of the aftermath of the anti-vampire lecture fiasco from Dark Days too. If I have one criticism it is that because this is much shorter than previous 30 Days Of Night stories the characters aren't as well explored as in prior stories.  Also the dialogue is quite sparse unlike the more verbose stories of the first omnibus, I could have done with a little more insight into Billy's feelings about what was happening to him or more conversations between him and Maggie, similar to those between good vampire Dane and Stella in Dark Days.  Of course the twist in this story is that it's a human who is the villain and a vampire the victim.  Saxon is truly monstrous, mutating deluded normal human beings and subjecting Billy to a live vivisection.  And I'm guessing Maggie wouldn't have lasted long if Brian and his mates hadn't turned up.  So Billy gets a happy ending of sorts, a misfit in life, maybe as he says he'll be better off Undead.  The art is..adequate.  I miss Ben Templesmith of course, who was illustrating "Juarez" in the same comic, but Chamberlain while not as good with the figurative illustrations, manages to match the moody quality that keep it the same tone as Templesmith's work.  So not a bad story all-in-all, it expands and builds on the vampire lore of this series nicely and tells a diverting story while doing so, it also appears to be creator Steve Niles's last story as sole writer of the series, from now on the 30 Days of Night franchise would also be in the hands of a variety of different writers as we'll see starting next month.

30 Days Of Night: Return to Barrow (#1-6)

"Some things can be lost and found again... but a thing like what happened in Barrow...you don't forget that" - Brian Kitka

The third 30 Days of Night miniseries, collected in the first omnibus sees the vampires return to target the Alaskan Town of Barrow which experiences the titular 30 Days of Night each winter.  In the original miniseries some vampires led by one called Marlow attack the town regarding it as prime feeding time.  However an elder vampire called Vicente arrives and kills Marlow for drawing attention to the existence of vampires.  He orders the human survivors killed and the town burned to cover it up.  Sheriff Eben Olemaun injects himself with vampire blood and keeps his mind long enough to kill Vincente.  He turns to ash as he sits with his wife Stella Olemaun as the sun rises after their month of hell.  In the second miniseries, Stella Olemaun has become quite the vampire hunter, researching and publishing a book on the events that saw the death of so many in Barrow.  But she is wounded and grieving her loss of Eben, and hooks up with a "good" vampire called Dane who was sired by Marlow but has kept his humanity.  Eben's ashes are stolen by a vampire working for Vincente's lover Lilith, and when Dane tells Stella his ashes might be able to revive Eben, Stella gladly trades all the proof she has of the existence of vampires for the ashes, although she blows Lilith and her minions the hell up afterwards.  Dane leaves her somewhat sadly and using her blood she mixes it with Eben's ashes and he revives.  The miniseries ended with her hugging him and him about to sink his teeth into her.  What happens next?  Find out in this mini, still written by Peter Niles and with Ben Templesmith still on art duties.

We begin with an introduction to our P.O.V character for this mini, a man called Brian Kitka who is the brother of William Kitka a Barrow resident who died in the vampire seige on the town, now three years in the past.  It seems the authorities have put out a story that implies the residents went mad, murdered each other and tried to cover it up with fire, as well as playing down the number of dead.  Brian knows his brother was no murderer and has come back to the town to take up the vacant post of Sheriff along with his young son.  Initially unsure if vampires were the reason things went down in Barrow, he gets a crash course in them during his first couple of days on the job as vampires from all over converge on the town out of a sense of revenge.  As they arrive at their new home, Brian thinks to himself:

Brian: "I am going to find out what happened. Clear his name, and bring some sanity back to Barrow."

His son Marcus is very excited by their new house which to him is huge.  Obviously property prices in Barrow are very low which is how Brian could afford it.  Then he reports to the Sheriff's Office in town, the deputy says she hadn't been informed of them getting a new sheriff, Brian is irrtated and yells at her.

Brian and his son Marcus.

His deputy scowls and says if Brian is going to be rude he'll need to find a new deputy.  Brian apologises saying he can't believe his transfer papers didn't come through yet. Then his deputy grins and says "I was just fucking with you. They came last week".  Brian smiles as well and they shake hands as she introduces herself as Donna Sikorski.  She says she knew his brother and his family and they were "good people."  Brian asks if she was here when "it" happened.  She says she was but folks have "learned to keep our mouths shut about it."  And she gently but firmly shuts down further probing of her from Brian about it.

Now in uniform and with his badge he goes outside and bumps into a hunter called John Ikos, who's brother Brian knew.  John reaffirms the view that Brian's brother was a good guy who sometimes came hunting with him. They are silent for a moment, then Brian asks him outright if "it" happened.  John replies, "Yes, it happened".  Then he calls out Donna and demands she hand over William Kitka's journal of the events of the vampire attack.  He tells Donna that Brian deserves to know the truth of what happened from his brother's own words.

John fills Brian in on their Sheriff woes.

As Brian goes off to read the journal alone, John comments to Donna that Brian needs to be prepared and informed.  He's already caught and killed a couple of advanced vampire scouts already.

John: "Let's hope the new sheriff plays ball... if he does, great.  If he doesn't.  Fuck him".

Then he tells Donna to lock her doors and windows but give him a call if she gets cold and lonely.   She gives him the finger affectionately.

Back with Marcus, a black cat appears in the house. It's a friendly kitty and leads Marcus upstairs and into a room where a bridal gown is one display.  There are assorted books of reports, Marcus hunts through them and finds a book of wedding photos.  He opens it to find a picture of the happy bride and groom, Stella and Eben Olemaun.  It's their house he and his dad are now living in.

Stella and Eben in happier, non-dead, times.

We cut to New Orleans.  Corrupt vampire FBI Agent Norris from the previous mini is calling upon a colleague of Judith, the woman who gathered video evidence of the attack on Barrow and whom he killed for it, but not before she had passed it onto Stella (who traded it for Eben's ashes anyway). Norris forces his way in, knocks out the man who is called George and who is a junkie then ties him up and waits for him to come to.

When George does so, Norris says he needs to know everything George knows about vampires. He wants to know how much humans know about them.  He threatens to destroy George's stash if he doesn't talk.

Norris: "I have all eternity George... how long do you think you'll last?"

Meanwhile in Barrow, Brian is reading his brother's chronicle of the events in Barrow.  It's heartbreaking stuff as it gets more and more apocalyptic and emotive, heavily implying he committed murder/suicide to prevent him and his family ending up as vampire chow, finally ending with the words to Brian, "if you come back to Barrow...know that there is evil in the darkness".

"Evil in the darkness" indeed.

As Brian finishes reading a figure approaches him.  Before he can register it as a threat it attacks, but John comes up behind it and headshots it saving Brian in the process. "You are having one shit-ass day aren't you?" John says sardonically.  He assumes now Brian knows the truth he'll be leaving.  Brian says he won't run.  They examine the corpse, Brian asks if it was really one of them.  John says it's hard to tell what with it missing a head and all.

Brian returns to his new home and speaks with Marcus who is excited and telling him the house belonged to the lady who wrote the book and her husband who died saving the town.  Brian still thinks it's probably "horseshit" and asks Marcus if he wants to leave.  He says the whole town feels "off" and they can be on a flight to Anchorage that evening.  Marcus decides he does want to go. But the last flight has gone so Brian and Marcus are stuck in Barrow now until the sun comes up.

Back in New Orleans, Norris is still questioning George who keeps pathetically begging for a fix.   Irritated beyond reason, Norris bites George and turns him into a vampire.  Then he questions him again.

George: "They have safe houses all over the world and a network connected by a common need to survive".

Norris asks him how he feels about these humans now, "I feel a common foe" says vampire George, "I feel them thinking about us."  Norris says it's time to silence the voices.  Do you feel the pull he asks George?  "Yesssss" George responds. "Looks like we have a long night ahead of us George" says Norris.

Agen Norris vamps George.

We then join a pair of vampires on their way up to Barrow, called Liam and Darcy.  Dane, the good vampire from the previous mini leaps out at them and introduces himself to them.  They ask if he is the same Dane who escaped the immolation of Lilith's group?  He affirms that he is, and the two vampires ask him if it was true that the lady who wrote the "30 Days of Night" book was responsible?  Dane says he saw no woman there, he lies and says it believes it was one clan of vampires who wanted to wipe out their elders. "To tell the truth I'm getting tired of all the killing" he tells them.

They ask if he is heading for "the feeding".  Dane is not, he doesn't even know what feeding they are talking about. When they say they are going to Barrow to destroy the town once and for all, Dane says the town should be left alone, "we failed once. Why try again?" Liam says it's a chance for redemption.

Dane: "How would another attack redeem us?  We should walk away and let the memories fade."

Liam offers him a cup of blood and says the memories don't fade. Humanity is fighting back thanks to the book and they are finding no place is safe for them now. "We all live in fear Dane" says Liam. Barrow has to pay with blood.

Dane hooks up with Liam and Darcy.

Back in Barrow it's special delivery time.  A man arrives with a car full of assault weaponry which causes Brian to freak out a little. John says he can feel free to arrest the whole town when the sun comes up and is disappointed that Brian still doesn't seem to realise the threat they are living under. Brian gets mad at him for sassing him in front of his son and pushes him up against the car, but deputy Donna intervenes saying she wants to show Brian their "winter security".  Then she introduces him and his son to the rest of the town gathered there, they all greet Brian and Marcus warmly.

The man who drove up introduces a girl called Iris, who excuses herself to find a ladies room.  But when he admits he only met her on the way up on his way back to Barrow the penny drops and Donna blows a whistle to alert the town they have a vampire in their midst.  They form smaller armed groups and go searching for her.  The winter floodlights are turned on as well, they broadcast UV light which hurts vampires badly.

The vampire girl sneaks around then suddenly a dark shape descends on her. As Brian's group search, John advises him to get Marcus into a safe room, the Olemaun place has a basement he should be safe in. Brian and John bond as John tells him the vampires appear this time every year, some people leave Barrow, most people stay and fight. Brian says John must have seen it all, John affirms he has.  Then they find the vampire girl's body, her head ripped clean off.  John remarks, "...this is new."

She has no head.

Agent Norris and George meet up with a group of vampires led by one called Werner who is directing the attack on Barrow. Werner welcomes Norris to "the war" when he realises how useful he can be. Werner says this year no one gets out of Barrow alive.  Then a vampire called Greta runs up to him telling him to come see something. They hurry over and find the corpses of Liam and Darcy with their heads and limbs ripped off and Dane slumped against a tree nearby. Dane mumbles that they didn't deserve to be killed.

Werner impatiently asks what happened and Dane says they were attacked. He didn't see who did it, just two blurs and then his travelling companions were dead. Dane doesn't know why he was spared.   Norris whispers in his ear, "I can smell the Olemaun woman on you."  Before things can escalate, Werner tells them both to stand down. Dane says he's told them everything he knows and Werner accepts this despite Norris's protests that Dane knows more than he is saying.  Werner initiates the attack on Barrow.

Inside Barrow which is defended by the UV lights and a fence all round it, guards are scanning for signs of attack.  Suddenly the vampires attack and this time they have guns as well and they collapse one of the light towers.  The vampires charge in and a firefight ensues between them and the townsfolk. "Hold the line!" yells John as they fire back.

The vampires go all out on Barrow.

Brian is securing Marcus in the Olemaun house basement, he tells Marcus to keep the door locked and only open it for him.  Then he leaves to go join the fight, "I'll be back. I promise" he tells his son. Brian goes and mans the ground mounted minigun and blows the frontline of the vampires to pieces, they retreat for the moment to regroup and try again.  Brian wonders why the residents of Barrow don't call for help.

John: "We call for help every year.  But help never comes. They don't believe us.  Shit would you?"

Well Brian is a believer now. John says he's sorry he's having such a baptism of fire especially as he has a young son.  But he's glad Brian is there to help them now.  Brian says they'll make it so the vampires wish they had never come to Barrow.

Back with the vampires, they consider the fact they took out one generator as indicative of a coming victory.  Norris whispers about Dane behind his back saying he gives him the creeps and he thinks he has something to do with his Sire Lilith's death.  George says Stella had a vampire accomplice who she took as her lover.  "What?" says Norris flatly.

Norris murders Dane.

He then goes and confronts Dane and demands to know what it was like to have a human woman. Dane denies knowing what he is talking about. Norris blasts his head off at point-blank range with his gun.  He says Dane was a "human sympathiser" and that something odd is going on right now.  Meanwhile Brian and John are hunkered down in a bunker discussing the situation:

Brian: "So you got any pearls of wisdom for me?"

John: "There's only one thing you gotta remember... nothing lives without a head."

The vampires stand some way away, Norris asks if he can make a suggestion to Werner.  We don't hear it as we return to Brian and John as John watches them through binoculars speculating they are coming up with a new plan of attack now their "weapon surprise" didn't overwhelm the town like they expected.

Defending the town.

Suddenly the whole group of vampires vanish, freaking John and Brian out who then retreat back into town.  Brian says he thinks the vampires are freaking out as much as they are and this calms John down.  Brian says they are trying to keep them off balance but obviously lack leadership.

Brian: "Let's make sure they get what they deserve when they get here... for our brothers".

John: "For our fallen brothers".

And they shake hands. They go to the boot of the car with the weapons and Brian takes out a grenade.  Two other residents go to the damaged light tower to see how repairs are coming along and then the vampires rush them. They manage to kill Greta much to the distress of Werner but are killed before back-up can arrive.  Werner picks up Kenny's (one of the dead men) radio and tells John over it that Kenny is dead.  John demands to know who he is speaking to:

Werner: "I am a friend of the many that you have murdered. And I will have my vengeance."

And he cuts John off in the middle of an expletive.  Two more residents guarding a generator are killed by vampires.  The vampires are attacking from all sides now.  Brian and John try to direct the defences where they will be most effective.  Brian says they are splitting into groups, putting holes in the perimetre and he's not sure they can hold them off now.  Brian, John and Donna man the mounted minigun and prepare to repel the horde as best they can.

Norris meanwhile is going solo with an attack on the Olemaun house.  As he steps inside, Brian, Donna and John keep blasting the crap out of the vampires.  Norris ventures further into the house, calling out to anyone there.  Marcus shivers in the basement and doesn't respond. 

He breaks into the basement and Marcus cowers in fear and then.. something happens to Norris.  Someone whispers in his ear "Hello agent Norris. Goodbye agent Norris" and all we see next is a close up of Marcus holding the black cat and watching the events unfold off-panel.

Marcus and Kitty witness the end of Norris.

As the vampires close in on Brian, John and Donna, Brian says Marcus's name and seems to resign himself to death.  Then there is a blur, and every vampire that was surrounding him has been reduced to bloody smears on the snow.  Too concerned with Marcus's situation, Brian just runs to the Olemaun house to check on him.  He finds Marcus, the cat and the remains of Norris, he hugs Marcus who is somewhat upbeat.

Marcus: "The lady helped us."

John: "Yeah? What lady?"

Marcus: "The lady in the picture we found in the attic."

STELLAAAA!  She survived her vamping by Eben it seems but what about him?  Anyway before that question is answered we return to John and Donna.  Donna is out of ammo as is John and she is wounded.  Werner approaches to kill them and John flings his hunting knife at him and impales Werner right through the skull, killing him a second time.  Donna gives him a kiss, "didn't see that coming" says a chuffed John.

The remaining townsfolk report that the vampires are fleeing, they are being torn apart by things that move so fast they are a blur.  Brian and Marcus arrive and so to does Stella and Eben, the two now vampire lovers united for all eternity. Stella simply says:

Stella: "No one will ever hurt this town again. We will always be watching over you".

And she and Eben fade back into the night, the vampire threat over and Barrow having gained immortal protection, and with that this miniseries comes to an end.

Protection from beyond the grave.

Another superb story from a great writer and man do I wanna squee about Ben Templesmith's art.  He definitely up there with my all time faves.  I love his use of delicate inks with colour washes and imbues his art with a lot of range of motion that can often be lost in more static painted artwork.  I'm glad Stella got her happily ever after with the resurrected Eben, the idea of them united forever watching over the town they guarded as sheriffs in life is very romantic.  There's a nice bit of foreshadowing that Stella might be the one responsible for murderising the vampires converging on Barrow when she spared Dane.  I was sad to see him taken out the way he was by the revolting Norris, but Eben proves you can't keep a good vamp down so maybe we'll see him again I don't know, I haven't read the next omnibus yet, but will be covering the stories within once I get it.  Brian and John make a fun bickering couple with John's explanations to Brian being a good way of filling in readers who might not have read or don't recall the events of the first attack on Barrow.  In fact my only complaint is to these middle aged eyes, some of the fonts used are bloody hard to read, maybe I need specs.  Anyway, expect more 30 Days of Night in the months to come, it's building up a nice mythology and set of characters and still has plenty of places it can still go.  In summary then, come for the art, stay for the great story and characterisation.

30 Days Of Night: Dark Days (#1-6)

"I was lucky before.  I was happy." - Stella Olemaun

After the surprise success of the Peter Niles penned and Ben Templesmith drawn 30 Days of Night three part miniseries, we get the first in a long list of follow-up stories charting the adventures of various characters as a secret war is waged between vampires and the believers in them.  I looked at 30 Days of Night last month, but in a nutshell it told the story of an Alaskan town called Barrow which experiences a thirty day period between November the 17th and December the 18th when the sun does not rise.  A group of vampires took advantage of this and nearly wiped out the whole town.  However the sheriff Eben Olemaun injected himself with vampire blood and using his enhanced strength managed to keep his right mind long enough to defeat their leader then let himself turn to ash when the sun rose, his wife Stella staying with him until the end.  A mysterious woman in New Orleans called Judith sent her son Taylor to film the vampires, he was killed but not before transmitting video images of them to her.  This six issue miniseries picks up a year or so later (it was first published in 2003) and follows Stella Olemaun now a veteran vampire killer, promoting her book "30 Days of Night" which is an account of the incident at Barrow that has just been released to the general public.  Niles and Templesmith are both still on writing and art respectively so let's begin.

Stella (middle) and her crew.

It starts with a recap of Eben's death at sunrise, leaving Stella all alone. Then fast-forwards sixteen months to her saying good bye to his grave in Barrow, she's leaving to begin her book and lecture tour in LA promoting 30 Day's of Night.  She's found some true believers to act as body guards, Mike, Peter, David and Tina and once in LA before the first lecture is to take place she visits a weapon manufacturer who has made some sticky explosives to her exact specifications.  While Stella gives her guards a crash course in how to kill a vampire, one arrives on the scene having just killed the weapons dealer.

Vampire: "How about a personal demonstration bitch?  I heard what you did.  You think you can kill me?"

Stella tells her guards to be calm and work like the drills, "Stand your guard.  Back me up and don't talk to it."  She sticks a bomb to the vampire and blows it practically in half then finishes it off with a shotgun blast to the head.

Stella is NOT to be fucked with!

Later at her first lecture she tells the audience that the attackers that took out Barrow were vampires.  When there is laughter, she says she expected that reaction but she knows that vampires won't have been able to resist coming tonight.  Around the hall are UV lights they use in Barrow to replace the vitamin D they lose when there is no sunlight. 

These lights are harmful to vampires, so please could any in the audience make themselves known. Slowly several vampires stand up and bare their fangs.

Stella: "Looks like we got a better turnout than we planned.  Hit the lights".

Up in Barrow a female vampire called Yuki is on the phone to one called Dane.  She says she has a boxful of something he wants and she'll be travelling back down to LA asap. 

Vampires storm the lecture hall.

In the lecture hall, Dane is watching from the sidelines and says over the phone he found the Barrow woman and that she is antagonising the vampires.  If she wants a fight he'll give her one and they clash.  The lecture hall turns into chaos until the police arrive and break it up.

At the station Stella sticks to her story that it was vampires she was fighting.  The cops say it was a publicity stunt albeit one with bullets and explosives, though one of the cops is more inclined to believe her the other says going along with Stella's story would make them laughing stocks.  No one in the audience wants to press charges so they let Stella and the others go.

They return to the hotel but get some bad news.  Stella has been sent a copy of 30 Days of Night and to her distress it's been labeled "fiction".  This throws her into despair, compounded when a TV news report on the kerfuffle at the lecture hall doesn't mention vampires.  Her team try and comfort Stella saying at least the story is out there and the vampires know it.

Then Judith knocks on the door.  They let her in and she introduces herself as the mother of the man who died in the helicopter recording film footage of the vampire attack on Barrow.  Stella says there was nothing they could do to help him then they both embrace.

Judith and Stella meet for the first time.

Stella and Judith talk.  Judith says she has spent a quarter of her life gathering information on the vampires.  Stella says if they can get the world's governements or even law enforcement agencies to believe them they could "wipe them out in no time."

Judith asks why write the book.  Stella says she was impatient and fed up about not being believed about what happened in Barrow.  What they need now is solid proof.  Judith says she has that proof and shows her a disc with the video footage her son filmed on it.  She says Stella and her friends need to stop baiting the vampires. Then someone calls Stella and tells her Ebens grave was vanadalised.  Stella says she expected something like that.  As she and Judtih talk they are being monitored by an FBI agent through infra red binoculars.

Lilith.

We then cut to Norway, a female elder vampire is being shown a copy of the 30 Days of Night book.  She says so this is the wife of the man who killed her husband, "and is spreading terror throughout the ranks of the undead?"  She then says it is time to get her revenge for Vicente's (the vampire Eben killed in the first story) death.

Stella wakes from a nightmare and has another chat with Judith who notes she doesn't seem very comfortable with herself.  Judith says she can be happy again.  They are out on the balcony and Stella tells Judith to slowly look round, a vampire is watching them. "Never seen one before have you?" says Stella.  Judith replies "no".  Stella gives the vampire the finger and it scuttles off.

Stella: "It helps if you think about how sad they really are.  Believe me, they want to be dead."

Dane's friend Yuki arrives by plane from Alaska.  At the same airport a bunch of walking corpses come out of a plane arrived from Norway.  Yuki hears a voice in her head asking her what she is carrying, but she flees.

Liltih minndscrews Yuki.

Stella meanwhile has been told her lecture tour has been cancelled.  She is gutted, "everything is ruined... all our plans.. ruined."  Judith says they can still take her evidence to the authorities.  Stella says she needs time to think and sends the others apart from Judith back to the hotel.

Dane starts following them, Stella demands he turn and face them.  He attacks and she blows his hand off with a sticky bomb.  Before she can finish him off he says "Marlow..."  She demands to know what he means.

Dane: "You killed Marlow... He was my friend... he made me... he took care of me."

Stella says he has his information wrong, Marlow was killed by Vincente.  Realising he's been looking for revenge against the wrong person Dane says if she kills him she'll never know why her husband's grave was vandalised.

Stella lowers her gun and Dane continues.  He says there is a legend that vampires never truly die.  That with the ashes and the addition of some blood they can rise again.  When Stella realises this means she can get Eben back she allows Dane to leave when he says he'll get his ashes for her.

Judith and Stella out for a pleasant stroll.

Judith asks what the hell she is thinking, but Stella says if she could get her son back, "what would you have done?"  She leaves Judith alone and then the FBI man appears and introduces himself to Judith as agent Norris.

The elder vampire has a mental hold on Yuki.  She tells her that the plan was to revive Eben using his ashes and kill him again in front of Stella.  The elder vampire kills Yuki and keeps the ashes for herself to add to her revenge.

Norris is back with Judith in he hotel room.  He says there are parts of the FBI who deal with supernatural investigations and with proof they could mobilize against the creatures.  He asks for the evidence disc but Judith realises there is something "off" about him and picks up her gun saying "I'm afraid there's been a change of plan".  Then Norris shoots her in the head, takes the disc and flees, killing Peter as he goes.

Norris kills Judith.

The others give chase, and go after him in a car.  They run him off the road, and Stella gets the disc back from him and says to the elder vampire working through him:

Stella: "Your plan didn't work.  I have the proof.  I have everything I need to light the fuse that will lead to the systematic extinction of your entire bloodsucking race!"

The rest of the team are somewhat freaked out and when Dane arrives, Tina shoots him.  But when Stella tells them to stop attacking him, he has something they need, Mike and Tina quit.  Dane says Eben's ashes are with whoever killed him frind Yuki.

Dane: "The killer is one of the oldest vampires walking the earth and she is after you Stella Olemaun.  It was Vicente's wife Lilith".

Dane.

Tina and Mike are both attacked by vampires, meanwhile Dane watches Stella sleep and David watches him.  He goes to patrol the perimeter and Stella wakes up, she and Dane chat.  She ask how he can control his thirst, "why are you different?"

Dane: "It changes you but you don't have to give in to everything. There are still choices to be made."

Stella apologies for blowing his hand off and asks if it hurt? He says of course it did, "I may not be the same man I was before I die and changed.  But I am still flesh and blood".  Stella asks if he is thinking of kissing her, he says he is  She takes her top off and says to him "come here."

Tina! Mike! Wise Fwom Your Gwave!

David stands guards while Stella and Dane go at it.  Then he is attacked by the newly vamped Tina and Mike and killed.  In their heads Lilith commands them to wreak mayhem on their reurn to her, "and bring fear back to the hearts of the living".  After their time together Stella is despairing again:

Stella: "How come my husband couldn't fight it?!  How come you're so fucking nice and all the others are like rabid dogs?! I just don't get it!  It doesn't make any fucking sense at all!"

Dane calms her down saying Eben did what he did to protect her.  She feels lost and doesn't know what to do next.  Dane says they still have the evidence disc they can put it in the right hands.  Stella is unsure why he'd want people to know vampires existed, he says maybe "the herd needs thinning."

Then a walking corpse thrall who used to be David appears and through him Lilith tells Stella to meet her at a nearby graveyard.  "But the traitor does not come" as David points at Dane.  Stella agrees and Lilith lets David go and Stella and Dane kill him for good.

And David is gone too.

Dane asks her how important it is she recover Eben's ashes.  She says "if what you told me is true.  Very."  Dane admits that he has never seen the resurrection tried, it's just an undead legend.  He tells Stella Lilith will kill her, Stella says she is still going and invites Dane to come along.

She arrives at the cemetary with Dane and Lilith's voice in her said says he was not to come.  She tells her to show themselves and they are suddenly surrounded by vampires who Stella and Dane easily dispatch.  They press on unil they find an old house on a hill, Lilith is waiting inside.  There are vampires all over, but do not attack:

Dane: "Your reputation preceedes you Stella Olemaun.  They are frightened of you.."

Stella: "They fucking better be."

She and Lilith come face-to-face.  Stella says she's not in the mood for that "B-grade gothic banter".  They do what they have come to do then go their seperate ways.

Lilith does a deal with Stella.

Lilith says she has the ashes of her husband but can Stella return Vicente to her.  Stella says even if she could, she wouldn't, "your husband was a murderer.  Eben was a hero".  Liltih then orders Dane be taken away and some vampire drag him off. 

More vampires approach Stella but she shows them her jacket is full of explosives she isn't afraid to use and they back off.

Lilith: "My husband Vicente was one of the oldest of the undead to have ever existed and his wisdom equalled his age."

Stella responds that her husband sacrificed his life to save innocent people her husband would have slaughtered.  Lilith says she begged Vicente not to go to Barrow, but he wanted to take the vampire youth a lesson:

Lilith: "Humans are a precious resource and not to be fed upon wholesale as humans feed on their prey."

"How fucking noble" says Stella.  Then they get down to business.  Stella hands over the evidence disc and promises to end her crusade on the undead in return for Eben's ashes.  Once this is done, she leaves and finds an unharmed Dane outside.  He asks her where her jacket is and she just smiles as the house and those inside are consumed in a massive explosion

Let me repeat, don't FUCK with Stella!

Dane asks if she wants to stay with him.  But she says she has to try and bring Eben back.  Dane says she doesn't know what will happen and she may find herself wishing he was there.  She thanks him for everything and as he walks off he says:

Dane: "I think I was falling in love with you, can you imagine that?"

She goes to a shady motel and takes out Eben's ashes and using a razor cuts her arms to drip blood onto them.  And it works.  Eben is resurrected.

Stella: "Let me look at you.  Let me look at your beautiful face.  I bought you back.  I bought you back."

She holds him repeating over and over that she loves him and he replies, "I love you too Stella and I always will" and the story comes to a close with his mouth gaping wide open ready to take a bite out of her neck...

Eben is back, but is he a baddy now?  To Be Continued...

This is an excellent follow-up to the original story, this time giving us a very female orientated narrative. Stella the vampire hunter with her team of protectors, combat tactics and psychological warfare is a cool way to reintroduce her in her doomed crusade to prove vampires exist.  She's obviously still very messed up and suffering from PTSD from the original Barrow attack and as her plans fall apart and she finds solace in a "good" vampire some shades of grey are given to her opponents who might not all be the evil she sees them as. Having the promise of getting Eben back dangled in front of her if she gives up her vampire hunting also shows how she has never really got over her loss of him if she is willing to have him back even as a vampire, but has she made a dreadful mistake?  You'll have to wait a month to find out in 30 Days Of Night: Return to Barrow.  Dane, the good vampire is very much in the vein of Angel from Buffy although he's more someone fighting a constant battle with himself than suffering the imposition of a guilty soul. It's a shame Judith was killed off, but with the way Stella's story was going it is hard to see how she'd go along with it all.  And Norris the FBI Agent shows us in this world vampires are everywhere even in law enforcement.  It goes without saying I love the Templesmith art, it's moody, gruesome and expressive and in tandem with Nile's tight scripting gives us a taunt vampire tale of love and loss and things blowing up real good.