First off, it’s plum necessary to agree with the comments (and Mark Millar’s afterword) – this is a dense book.  You won’t find a lot of decompressed storytelling here – every page is full of text, be it in narrative voiceover or dialogue.  There are times when it’s a little overwhelming, and the book falls prey to the ‘show-don’t-tell’ trap.  There’s a lengthy sequence where the vampire brothers discuss their family history, their coming to America, and an as-yet-unrevealed prophecy that’s like an episode of This Is Your Life (not sure if that’s a format that ever made it across the pond to the States…).  It boils down to two characters explaining their history to each other for the audience’s benefit, a tactic I’ve never been fond of, in comics or the visual medium.  Use the pretty pictures – and pretty they are indeed.  I’m not Tommy Lee Edwards’ biggest fan – but his art is far more suited to this book than I thought it was for 1985. 

But foibles aside, I dug this book – certainly enough to stay onboard for a second issue.  Jonathan Ross seems to revel in the cliches – the hard-talking gangsters, the plucky heroine, the heavily-accented vamp clan – and that totally works for the book.  It’s genre B-movie fluff.  The inclusion of the intergalactic subplot gives it an extra kick, and it will be interesting to see how all of these plots come together.

Kudos to Mr Ross.