Comic Info
Comic Name: I, Vampire
Publisher: DC Comics
Writer: Joshua Hale Fialkov
Artist: Andrea Sorrentino
# of Issues: 6
Release Date: 2012
I, Vampire #4
Reprints I, Vampire #1-6 (November 2011-April 2012). Andrew Bennett has created a problem. He was born hundreds of years ago and is a vampire. He has learned to live his life without succumbing to the hunger for blood. A vampire he created and once loved does not share his feelings toward humans. Mary Seward (also known as Mary, Queen of Blood) is creating an army of vampires and is about to take her vampire war public. Only Bennett can stop Mary with his allies John and Tig.
Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov, I, Vampire represents a darker side of the New 52 with nice illustrations by Andrea Sorrentino. I, Vampire was well received upon its release but found smaller sale numbers when compared to bigger books of the New 52.
I actually really like I, Vampire. Andrew Bennett was a lesser known character who first appeared in House of Mystery (1) #290 (called I…Vampire at that time). He was the lead of that series from House of Mystery (1) #290 to House of Mystery (1) #319. After that series, Bennett was generally relegated to back-ups and cameos. The New 52 took a lot of chances with their first line-up and I, Vampire is one of those chances and also firmly establishes Andrew in the DC Universe.
I, Vampire #5
It hasn’t become a large part of the story as of yet, but it is this deep integration of the vampires into the DC Universe that is interesting. Vampires versus super-heroes is similar to Marvel Zombies versus super-heroes, but DC seems to be taking a less aggressive approach. It is less humorous and seems more real-world than the over-the-top zombies. It will be interesting when this starts to really happen. Here we see Andrew with John Constantine and the obligatory Batman appearance, but still it is interesting.
In this collection, Mary kicks off her war with Andrew opposing it. Tig is introduced and Tig’s storyline starts a course that leads into the next storyline of Rise of the Vampires (which crosses over with another “fringe” title Justice League Dark). That means this story feels like a lot of building, but I like the art and like Andrea Sorrentino’s style also. It has a very wispy feel while at the same time creating a real feel.
I, Vampire is one of those books I recommend, but I also fear for it. It is very fringe and almost has an Image or independent feel to it. I don’t know how I, Vampire will hang with the other members of the New 52, but do hope that DC gives it a chance to develop itself. I also worry that the show could be a bit too non-directional and might end up boring people if more storylines are not developed and solved. I, Vampire 1: Tainted Love is followed by I, Vampire 2: Rise of the Vampires which includes the crossover with Justice League Dark.
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