REVIEW: American Vampire 1976 #1 Brings Back the Blood and Fury – CBR – Comic Book Resources

Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque's American Vampire 1976 returns bringing the horror comic into a timely vision of the country at a crossroads.

It's been four years since Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque's American Vampire last hit the stands with an anthology special released back in October 2016. But now, that fan-favorite creative has reunited for a new volume, American Vampire 1976, as the horror title moves from its original home at Vertigo to fall under the DC Black Label banner. Despite the lengthy hiatus, Snyder and Albuquerque haven't missed a step, with the series' return feeling as timely as ever while delivering all the bloody thrills that have kept fans coming back for years as all the previous major plot threads appear poised for an epic collision course.

After exploring the rockabilly 1950s and the dawn of the Space Race, 1976 jumps forward to the United States' bicentennial and a lethargic Skinner Sweet still acclimating to being reverted into a human after decades of living as one of the undead. Now a death-defying daredevil who performs tricks at rundown carnivals, Skinner longs for the thrills and powers he had as a vampire while the world has moved on without him. Meanwhile, the rest of the cast must contend with new threats as an ancient evil resurfaces and begins to accumulate enough power to potentially plunge the world in darkness.

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With the possible exception of Batman, there is no character that Snyder has a firmer grasp on their voice than Skinner Sweet, even with the time away and drastic change in the original American vampire's status quo. Skinner here is the lowest he's ever been in the series and this change, along with the in-narrative time jump, certainly justifies a new first issue. While feeling like the start of a new story, this is a volume that rewards readers that are up to date on the title; there's enough exposition to refresh memories, but readers that have never read an issue of American Vampire before might be a bit lost. And Snyder weaves in enough social commentary to make the parallels between this era of American history feel as relevant as the current moment without coming off as preachy. While the book feels timely as all get out, this is a horror comic first and foremost, and the creative team is still focused on delivering entertaining, supernatural thrills.

Albuquerque similarly slides back into bringing the world of American Vampire back seamlessly, joined by colorist Dave McCaig. From seedy carnivals in the Southwest to a gritty vision of New York City in the midst of rampant crime and packed disco clubs,the art team breathes plenty of varied environments to visual life, while slightly reimagining the series' extensive cast as they adapt to the times. And there is plenty of supernatural action throughout the opening issue for Albuquerque to really cut loose; the menace and mayhem are all there but, as always, never unsavory enough to put off readers so much as grab readers and take them along for the nightmarish ride.

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American Vampire 1976 puts the pedal to the metal right from its opening pages, coming back with enough blood and fury to make it all worth the wait. Snyder and Albuquerque aren't playing with a slow burn this time around as much as they're immediately setting the houseablaze. With plot threads from the earliest issues of the series convergingto set up an epic climax, this issue truly makes it feel like the series is coming full circle while setting up its key players in unlikely team-ups and impending showdowns that will pay off on years of comic book storytelling. Snyder and Albuquerque are clearly having a blast back on the series that catapulted their careers into the stratosphere, and this sorely missed series picks back up without missing a beat,

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Sam Stone is a 10th level pop culture guru living just outside of Washington, DC who knows an unreasonable amount about The Beatles. You can read his work in the pages of Image+, follow him on Twitter @samstoneshow, and listen to his podcast Geek Out Show on iTunes and Google Play.

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REVIEW: American Vampire 1976 #1 Brings Back the Blood and Fury - CBR - Comic Book Resources