If there’s one thing we’ve learned from Showtime at the Apollo, it’s that getting the hook is never pretty. For I, Vampire, the bell has tolled, and the title is being shuffled off-stage. The storytelling begins to fall apart in earnest in issue #18, with the accelerated timetable smushing plot points so close together that they’re hard to comprehend, much less enjoy.
The stakes (tee-hee!) are raised in this second-to-last issue of the series, and the cohesion of the band of heroes deteriorates beyond even its fragmented state in issue #17. Unfortunately, the everything-at-once manner in which this issue’s developments are presented sucks the joy out of the experience. Tig’s actions and motivations have been less convincing in the last few issues than they were in her earlier appearances, and her mood swings seem even less natural and logical here than even those recent issues.
Worse than that, characters begin popping up and disappearing from the narrative so quickly here, that it’s hard to make sense of it all. Non-stop action only works when the logical framework has been established beforehand, and it feels like we’re way too far out on the ledge here to find any contextual purchase for the book’s developments. As a result, the book’s progression ends up feeling like a string of non sequiturs.
The artwork provided by Fernando Blanco is very inconsistent. Images like the two-page splash at the beginning of the book are delightful, especially with Marcelo Maiolo’s vitalizing color choices. But, many of the panels depicting action look awkward or do not describe the action clearly. Some of Blanco’s faces are dead-on for the situation, sporting expressions that capture the characters’ moods excellently. Others are far less successful, with characters failing to look in the proper direction or having their faces inexplicably become unrecognizable.
This book’s story isn’t necessarily poor, it’s just poorly told. Given the power, I probably wouldn’t have chosen Blanco to handle the artwork for this book. Also, I might prefer that Joshua Hale Fialkov not try to jam all of his plot points into what issues remain of the series. As these are decisions that are handled by the same folks who decided to pull the plug on this title in the first place, I think we all know where the blame for this issue’s failures lies.
Poet Mase is a regular contributor to IGN. Follow Poet on Twitter @PoetMase, or post a message on his IGN profile PoetMase.
Source : ign[dot]com
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