30 Days of Night by Steve Niles, Ben Templesmith Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of 30 Days of Night
Book Review: Frigid negativity
Summary: 5 Stars
I implore anyone who has listen to these so called "reviewers" that have disrespected this graphic novel to ignore these reviews. They are indignant and just plain ignorant. Steve Niles has explored the overdone world of vampires and has brought a new vision that is new and refreshing. Believe me, I have read this graphic novel and enjoy it. A great addition to my limited collection. The whole concept of 30 days of night is amazing and crafty. It is a very innovative and has great imagination. And quite frankly the story is very well written and executed. The presentation draws you in and chills you to the bone. Please don't listen to these people who can't really grasp the material. I personally think that they should stop reviewing because they ruin your exploration into another art form. Give this graphic novel a whirl and you will thirst for more. And trust me you will read it more than once. Don't be lied to by these unfair reviews, trust your instincts and purchase this graphic novel. You won't regret, I assure you.Book Review: Good art, interesting story, but poor value and plot holes
Summary: 3 Stars
*** Spoilers!!***
Nicely done artwork, refreshingly unromaticized vampires, and some engaging characters. Plot is clever in concept, but there are some credibility issues. The idea that someone could steal hundreds of cellphones from the townspeople without assaulting and / or alarming any of them is pretty ludicrous. And then all you need to screw the vampire master plan up is a single unaccounted-for cell phone.
Also, the initial killing of a Renfield-like surrogate with some vampiric super-powers by gunfire was very confusing. For the rest of the book I was wondering why the heavily armed townsfolk didn't just "shoot em in the head", and it was only the bonus storyboard script notes at the end that explained the reason why that one apparent vampire could be killed by a bullet in the head.
Next, the "voodoo documentarian" subplot made little sense and was a complete throwaway with little overall relevance that wasted time and pages in an already bare bones storyline.
Finally, at the end, the newly turned Sheriff beating the master vampire is already quite a stretch, but the idea that the other 18 vampires didn't just mob the town's champion and kill him either before or after he killed the eldest leader is just silly. I guess these are Bushido vampires who follow a code of honor in their personal fisticuffs despite being brutally evil in all other aspects of their behavior...
Anyway, all these logic gaps and plotting quirks aside, this would have been a more forgiveable purchase if this 50 page comic listed for maybe ten bucks. The idea of paying close to twenty clams (less with Amazon's pricing) for a story that can be read in a half hour is ludicrous. Please, publishers, either bundle these skimpy "graphic short stories" together in a combo volume if you want to charge a DVD level price, or just charge (much!) less for the little teeny versions.
Book Review: Good idea, poorly executed
Summary: 2 Stars
Don't believe the hype. This is possibly one of the most overrated comic stories I've ever read. Like a lot of other reviewers, I too felt ripped off after reading what I'd just bought. A great concept -- vampires go where the sun don't shine, by which I mean Alaska in winter -- is trashed by mediocre writing and artwork that's often indecipherable.
Sure, there are some good parts in the story. I thought the opening scenes of a town basically getting ready to hibernate established the mood and setting pretty well (in terms of writing, not art), and the ending was pretty original and quite poignant. My problem was in the pacing of the story. For a story entitled "30 days of night" I expected the events to take place over the course of a whole month. Maybe they did, but this isn't apparent from either the script (no captions indicating "day 15" for instance) or the artwork (no beard growth on the male characters or signs of them getting more haggard from stress and lack of sleep). The story actually seems to take place in just one night, with the characters running from one hideout to the next until finally .... well, I won't spoil it. In any case, I think the story would have benefitted from a few more "catch your breath" moments. Giving us more of these would have made room for more conversation between the characters, allowing us to get to know them more and care about what eventually happens to them, and the action scenes would have seemed even more dynamic by contrast. Instead, the story feels like one "aaah! run!" moment after another.
The art is even worse than the story, and I came to this conclusion after reading the original script pages in the back of my copy of the trade. There is so much detail (in terms of setting/environment, facial expressions and costume details) that Niles, to his credit, put into the script, which for some reason (vanity? laziness? ineptitude?) Templesmith just left out! The backgrounds are mostly non-existent, with washes of muddy color taking their place most of the time in what I guess is supposed to be an attempt to evoke mood. The characters are poorly rendered, and it's hard to tell who's who a lot of the time, at least amongst the non-vampires. Upon reading the script pages, I found myself thinking "oh, THAT'S what's supposed to be happening, okay...." This shouldn't happen if the artist has done his job.
If you really have to read this, to see what all the fuss is about, or whatever, then I'd advise borrowing it or buying it used. For a good horror comic I must recommend Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead". This is an ongoing comic, but has been collected into four trade paperback collections so far. They're all great, but this is a serialized story, so start with the first collection. You won't regret it.
Book Review: Good story, good art to match
Summary: 4 Stars
Not great, maybe, but good.
The theme is vampire - the creatures that feed by night on their human cattle. But what if the night goes on and on?
Good suspense, good characters and development, and an artistic style that carries the mood. It's a nightmarish visual style and a limited palette (black, white, and blood red), but it works. Recommended.
//wiredweird
Book Review: Good, but not up to the hype...
Summary: 3 Stars
People have been paying a lot of money to pick this story up on Ebay. It's a fantastically original concept that, unfortunately doesn't quite live up to the hype (not that anything could). The art is fine, surreal and spooky, but the story is reminiscent of Stephen King's X-Files episode: a wonderful, spooky start, but it can't sustain the pace. It's worth reading, though - especially the very moving last page.