Broken Frontier

I'm going to start here by saying I've never read an issue of American Vampire before, and that this review may reflect that to some degree. Let me also say outright that after reading this issue, I am definitely interested in reading the ongoing series. American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest is written by the ongoing series writer Scott Snyder, and drawn by Sean Murphy (Joe the Barbarian), and tells a story following Agent Felicia Book.

The book starts off with a hook, an incredibly tense scene with Book dealing with a vampire who had infiltrated a local newspaper. Murphy's art is a perfect fit here, his harsh use of lines creating a sense of gritty, kinetic action. The book carries a sort of noir feel that is not unlike BPRD, with Book serving as part of an elite organization (The Vassals of the Morning Star) to hunt vampires. Book's character is defined well here if you haven't read the series. This issue runs you through her origin, her mission, and her motivation.

While the issue does touch on quite a few things that clearly happen in the ongoing series, it creates a strong case for being a standalone story. Agent Book's mission here is a personal one, and while it may be touched upon later in the series (or already has been), it doesn't seem like it will be necessary read one or the other. That being said, if this is your first issue of American Vampire, you will probably be picking up the recent hardcover volumes to find out more about this compelling battle, and the character Skinner Sweet.

Survival of the Fittest serves as a nice beginning to a compelling story, with characters being fleshed out quickly as strong and interesting. I appreciated small things in this issue, like a group of female employees in Book's organization admiring her from the background. Moments like this give you the sense of who Book is, in this case, a sort of high level badass who is held on a pedestal due to her unique abilities. Some comparisons to the movie Blade could be drawn here, but her origin goes quite bit further than movie Blade's. Also introduced is Agent McCogan, a man on the brink of sanity due to the loss of his son to vampirism.

If you're a fan of the American Vampire series, Survival of the Fittest is an excellent way to squeeze more goodness out of the universe. If you're interested but have never read an issue, this is by no means a bad place to start, as it lays out some groundwork for you right here in the first issue that you would otherwise not have, and looks to be a compelling series on its own.