Originally published at Fangoria.com on June 12, 2011
Highly recommended for horror fans, do not miss out on 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: NIGHT, AGAIN #2 (IDW Publishing). Created by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith, this comic takes the 30 DAYS franchise to a completely new and insane direction.
Another bloodsucking infestation has taken over the cold landscape of Alaska. From the creative minds of author Joe R. Lansdale (BUBBA HO-TEP) and legendary artist Sam Kieth (THE MAXX), this is the perfect blend of storytelling and art. In the previous issue, Trudy and the last remaining survivors were wandering across a snowfield. After escaping from a vicious vampire pack, Trudy has to protect her people from an unstoppable and deadly force. Armed only with a gun and a few bullets, she has to lead the survivors to a town 100 miles away from Barrow. With no cell service, no Internet and a rough terrain up ahead, Trudy and her clan must find the single road that leads to a nearby town, and finally find salvation.
Exhausted and starving from the mind-numbing travel, Trudy unexpectedly meets Maddy and her research team. When Maddy and the others hear about Trudy’s tale of survival and cannibalism, they’re immediately suspicious of their new visitors—and then Trudy removes a human head from her bag… With guns pointed at each other, no one is really interested in hearing about vampires.
As the sun sets and nightfall begins, a group of bloodsuckers wakes up hungry and excited from their deep slumber. They’ve hung their screaming victims upside-down and bled them out dry, and now the female leader of this monstrous pack will stop at nothing to find Trudy and her tribe. All she truly wants is for the remaining survivors to hurt a lot before they die.
Always sharp and snappy, Lansdale’s dialogue brings out lively characters with personality and attitude. The author also cleverly adds a socio-political subtext about the environment and climate change. Through the vampire genre, Lansdale speaks about timely issues and successfully gets his message across in just a few words. The shocking cliffhanger will definitely leave readers guessing about what is going to happen in the next installment.
Kieth’s artwork is excellent, and Trudy’s cartoony flashback sequence will surprise readers, while enhancing the quirky humor of Lansdale’s storytelling. And the colors by Kieth and Jay Fotos (‘68) capture the different facets and atmosphere of the icy scenery. You should be going to your local store now and getting your hands on DAYS OF NIGHT: NIGHT, AGAIN. With the knockout combo of Lansdale’s snappy dialogue and Kieth’s superb artwork, readers are going to be entertained nonstop. This second issue proves Kieth and Lansdale have something really special for comic book fans! Click here to read Jorge’s review of issue #1
