I, Vampire 3: Wave of Mutilation

Comic Info

I, Vampire #14

Reprints I, Vampire #0, and #13-19 (June 2013-November 2012).  Andrew Bennett is now the only vampire on Earth and evil.  His former lover Mary finds herself in the unique position of being a hero and sets off with Andrew’s former allies John Troughton and Deborah Dancer to restore Andrew.  Andrew however has a plan and the gates to Hell might be opened once again…unfortunately, the original vampire Cain might have something to do about it if John Constantine can’t help stop him.

Written by Joshua Hale Fialkov, I, Vampire 3:  Wave of Mutilation is the third and final volume of the New 52 series.  Following I, Vampire 2:  Rise of the Vampires, the series found itself in a unique position due to high sales of trade paperbacks, but low issue sales which lead to DC ultimately cancelling the series.

I, Vampire was a great series when it kicked off and ended as vicious and dark as it started.  I enjoyed the idea of vampires in a superhero world as the series was originally portrayed, but the comic eventually just became a standard “dark” comic.  This wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the dynamics of the comic did change from the series’ onset.

I, Vampire #18

This volume of the comic does have some strong DC ties with John Constantine and the House of Mystery, but primarily it is a horror comic.  Though the series’ run was cut short, it doesn’t really feel incomplete due to the big battle and arch of the characters.  Here we see Bennett at his worst and are given a logical and timely redemption for both Bennett and Mary who sometimes feels like the real star of this series.  Both characters are fun and both deserve continued exploration (though in Mary’s case, it is better that she’s been laid to rest).

The art for the series also is strong.  Primarily illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino  and Fernando Blanco, multiple artists contributed to the collection.  I do like the art for the series and hope that both artists move on to bigger and better series with their unique style (with Blanco being the more traditional of the two).

I, Vampire was a surprise from the start as part of some of the daring choices of the New 52.  I never really expected the series to exist, much less live, in the competitive comic market, but it was nice of DC to give it a shot.  I like the Bennett character and the resolution, but I do hope that he occasionally pops up around DC’s world.

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I, Vampire 1:  Tainted Love

I, Vampire 2:  Rise of the Vampires