Wednesday, August 04, 2021

30 Days of Night: The Beginning of the End Volume 1 – review


Author: Steve Niles

Artist: Sam Keith

First published: 2012

Contains spoilers

The Blurb: Fright-master Steve Niles returns to the creation that launched his career for an all-new 30 Days of Night series, with warped genius Sam Keith handling the art duties. Features an all-new cast of characters being introduced to the world of 30 Days of Night for the first time!

The review: Though it has flaws, the original 30 Days of Night spawned a remarkable universe that has, for the most part, been worthwhile. I had totally missed the release of this revisit until it was mentioned to me by Adrien.

Stepping back into the universe was fun, in a story that sees the old and new guard of the vampires at odds and the FBI actively hunting down vampires. Not all the characters are new, and Eden and Stella of course make an appearance.

What I wasn’t as sure about was the artwork. The Art Gallery at the end of the volume was excellent and some of the art worked, but at other times it became too simplistic, too child-like for my taste. Of course this is a personal taste thing and it wasn’t that the art would put me off picking up the other two volumes at some point – but I wouldn’t have chosen the style myself.

As a ‘season opener’ this set arcs in motion and it’ll be interesting to see where Niles took it – without the promise of further volumes, however, this would have felt a tad light. 6.5 out of 10.

In Paperback @ Amazon US

In Paperback @ Amazon UK

No comments: