#CBR6 Review #22: American Vampire, vol. 3 by Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque

I have this problem where I always say I’m going to read the next volume or book in a series as soon as I can, but since I always have so many series on the go, it ends up being far too long before I actually get reading the next installment. In any case, it’s been a while since I’ve read any American Vampire, but fortunately I seemed to remember most of the characters and what-have-yous from the previous volumes when I picked up this third collection of issues #12-18.

Volume 3 is split into two major stories, both set within the timeframe of World War II. The first tale, “Ghost War” focuses on the vampire Pearl’s husband, Henry, as he goes on a mission to Japan in the hunt of a new breed of vampire, only to find an island with an infestation that is far more than he (and a tag-along Skinner Sweet) had bargained for. The second half focuses on a miniseries entitled “Survival of the Fittest,” with vampire hunters Felicia Book and Cash McCogan going to Nazi-occupied Romania in search of a cure for vampirism, that Felicia desperately wants in order to remove the non-manifested vampiric blood she has in her veins, while Cash wants to use the cure on his vampire son. But when they go, they find that perhaps their enemies at war are not necessarily searching for a cure, but to ally with the creatures of the night, while the doctor searching for the vampiric cure has other ideas in mind regarding the awakening of great vampires of ancient history.

As per usual, the action is fast-paced, and the story of the vampire bloodlines and evolution is very interesting as we continue our trek through history. The only thing that I was having trouble with was discerning certain character faces from one another at different times, particularly the soldiers while they were in Japan. But I don’t know, maybe that’s just me. In any case, this may not be my favourite comic-book series, but I still enjoy it quite a bit nonetheless.

[Be sure to visit the Cannonball Read main site!]

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