American Vampire- Long Road to Hell (Oneshot)
Writer-Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque
Artist- Rafael Albuquerque
Review by Ruben Mendoza
Scott Snyder and American Vampire return to give us a little taste of what’s to come in Long Road to Hell.
Rafael Albuquerque both writes and illustrates this book and does a fantastic job at both while Snyder provides support with the plot. This story focuses on a young couple (Billy Bob and Jo) who are looking to get married when they stumble into a terrible accident and become vampires. The story is full of blood and guts but at its core it is a love story, and a very moving one at that.
The cast in this book is amazing; our heroes are brave but flawed as they struggle with the very bad things that being a vampire make you do. The couple (called the Heartbreak Killers by the media) is in the process of traveling to Las Vegas where a supposed cure exists and stumble onto a young boy (named Jasper) who may or may not be able to tell if people are good or bad. Following the Heartbreak Killers is a group of Vampires that they robbed early in their journey, and rounding out the cast is a vampire killer named Travis Kidd. The advantage of being a one shot is that the story flows so well, we don’t get any padding in this book, just a great story with great characters and plenty of action. This very much feels like Near Dark (for you horror fans out there) and that is a good thing. Rafael does an incredible job with the art here, everything flows nicely and shades and colors of this book are something to see.
The only flaw to this book was that it had to end – really, it’s that good. I would love to have spent more time with these characters. A minor thing with me was that even though it was set in the 50s, the characters felt and talked like people from 2013. It kind of takes you out of the book (only a little) but again it’s a slight knock.
I’m new to American Vampire; this was my first issue actually. It’s safe to say that all the hype you seen around about this book may be true after all. American Vampire may very well be the best comic on newsstands. Although, it may not be the Superior comic on newsstands!
5/5
Ruben is a contributing writer for Drunk On Comics. You can follow him on Twitter at @RubenMendoza33.