The Last Blood
As I sit here to write this, it is a Thursday. I picked this graphic novel up a Sunday, and I have read it 3 times already. I can’t seem to put it down. The book is The Last Blood and it is written by Bobby Crosby and draw by Owen Gieni. And, it is that damn good.
It was put in my hands by Bobby himself. He asked me to read it and review it and casually gave it to me gratis. I don’t know if he was being cocky or confident or hopeful that I would like it. Honestly I don’t care at this point because as I said before, it’s that damn good.
The Last Blood is a story whose tagline reads “After Zombies take over the Earth, Vampires must protect the last surviving humans so they can live off their blood.” It takes place in a small town full of survivors. As the survivors get prepared to fight off an onslaught of Zombies they are met by 2 strangers. The strangers swoop in and eradicate the threat and manage to look cool while doing it. Then they casually walk up to the townsfolk and say basically, “We are here to help you survive. But we are Vampires so all we ask is for your blood.” Without giving away to much of the story, the book goes on from there and details how it all happened and what’s going to happen next.
To say that I enjoyed this book would be an understatement. I loved this book. The writing is intelligent and imaginative and keeps you wanting more. It makes readers and writers (such as myself) smack themselves in the forehead thinking “Holy Crap that makes so much sense,” and “Why the hell didn’t I think of that?” The art is done in black and white and in my opinion should stay that way. It’s very detailed and helps drive the story home. The action sequences are amazing and disappointing that you are left wanting more. The characters seem to have a life of their own in that they are written in a matter that helps emphasize their individuality. Furthermore, it was a joy to discover that all of the Vampires seem to have special abilities that sets them apart from the rest of their kind.
This is one of those books that is a rare find. I am amazed to have found it in such a small environment as the L.A. Comic Con. If feels that it should be in comic stores everywhere being mass produced. But at the same time, it’s nice that it isn’t so that it doesn’t get lost in the pile of genre books that seem to be flooding the market at this time. I too am guilty in the fact that my friends and I are writing a Zombie book as well. But this book is set apart from the others and thus is able to shine brilliantly. The only complaint I have about this book is that I don’t know of anyone else who has read it and thus I cannot geek out over it with anyone. All I can do it hope that everyone will read this review and pick up their own copy. That way I will be able to share it’s stories with others and won’t feel like the last human survivor in a world full of Zombies and Vampires.
The Last Blood can be found, along with Bobby’s other works, atwww.blatantcomics.com. It is run as a weekly webcomic and this was Volume 1 in what I hope is to be a long running series.
You can hear our interview with Bobby Crosby here as well as hear our review of it here. If you have any questions or comment you can email me at aj@forbiddenpanel.com