I love being proved wrong. No really, sometimes it gives me thrills to say that I judge something so hard and then in turn I love it. V Wars is one of those comics that you may judge right away. I didn’t want to open this comic and see gross battle scenes, overdone blood splatter, and a story revolving around bloodsuckers. Now, I will say that the comic does have all of these things, but so much more to offer as well. Let’s start with the normal stuff I was expecting. Alan Robinson brings in some vicious art that is sure to make you cringe. You have to bring the gore if you are doing a vampire comic. Heads are torn off, blood is pouring out, and terror rings through people’s eyes. Usually I am not a big gore fan, but since the moment was right...I was ready. The first pages bring in that terror even to the readers’ eyes. So we get the backdrop set up right, but it is the story that takes the cake.
The first page shows a grieving father holding his daughter because she has changed. She can’t be more than 10 years old, but she is a full-fledged killer sucking the blood of any human she sees. It is actually quite heartbreaking. And sets up the story perfectly. You know exactly what is going on with the first four lines. That is how you set up a plot. Luther makes it is duty to be find a way for humans and vampires to live peacefully. What I love about this sroryline is that we could take any two people and have the same exact story. It just makes it more radical having vampires and humans. I think V Wars has a lot to say about the human condition. When you can intertwine any story happening today, it makes the story relatable. And that is how you enjoy anything, you relate to it and then it becomes real.
The war isn’t prevalent until the Speaker of the House is making a speech about peace among the groups. During the speech, a vampire kills the Speaker. Each side is outraged and the state becomes a madhouse. Vampires are running wild while humans are trying to survive day to day. One reporter gets all Lisa Ling on us and goes into the vampires homes to see their side of the story. Clearly everyone blames these monsters, but we soon find out with Luther that there is more to the story.
V Wars is that perfect human reflection story piece. I have been pretty tough on a lot of 1st issues lately. I sort of felt bad, but when you have something like this come out, you can’t help but wonder why they all can’t be this exciting. I hope that we can keep the momentum up for further issues. As this comic may have turned me into more of a gore fan than I thought I was.
By the way, let me make a shout out to Kevin Eastman’s variant cover on V Wars. Man I love that dude’s art.
Score: 5/5
Writer: Artist: Publisher: IDW Publishing Price: $3.99 Release Date: 4/30/14