When people think of vampires they think of lineage, big castles, cool accents and being totally awesome with super powers. Well being a vamp isn’t all sparkling and banging Sarah Michelle Gellar. Even as an undead creature of the night, life can still suck.

Dave Miller just wanted a job so he could pay for community college but he didn’t need one THIS bad. When he goes into a convenience store to apply as a counter jockey, the owner Radu hires him on the spot, but there’s a catch. Radu turns Dave into his vampire slave. Now Dave has to do anything Radu says including manage the night shift for all eternity for minimum wage. With the help of his vamp best friend Jerome and his non-vamp roommate Carl, Dave is determined to woo the goth-princess he’s been staring at creepily every night as she comes in for a slushie but of course, one obstacle stands in his way. When it looks like she’s fallen to the charming wiles of big, dumb surfer vamp Wes, Dave evokes an ancient vampire challenge to bet Wes that he could win her heart before him without using any vampire powers… of which he has none because of his all plasma diet.

Abel and Soria give a very refreshing take on vampires and their lore that I really needed in this post-Twilight world. I really didn’t expect to like this book. After the cultural saturation in vampire stuff that’s mostly crap I really didn’t want another book on the pile but I really dug it. Unlike most vampire fiction the story is very dialogue driven. The dialogue is quick, snappy and hilarious which will draw further Kevin Smith comparisons. The writers have taken the vampire hierarchy and moved it from Transylvania to California in an amusing way that we get little glimpses of through character dialogue and interactions as most of the vampire stuff works as more of a backdrop for the characters to play off of. Dave is likeable enough but makes some incredibly dumb decisions and you will find yourself yelling at him many times throughout the story. This also goes for the female lead Rosa who is as dumb as… well most goth chicks you probably know.

Pleece’s art does the job without being too flashy or distracting. He draws it like he’s drawing real people and not monsters in a crazy comic book world. It’s very still and placid and doesn’t bring attention to itself reflecting the boring monotony of life even as a vampire. It’s still very impressive for his first graphic novel.

All in all I’d say it’s worth the read. It moves quickly, gives a fresh take on vampires and their lore and is very funny. Think Clerks with vampires.

7/10 – Pretty good. Worth a read.

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