Audiobook turned comic series Impact Winter is out this week from Image Comics, which aims to freshen up the field in vampire storytelling. Written by Travis Beacham and drawn by Stephen Green, the vampire series opens on a world where a comet has blotted out the sun and vampires roam the Earth. Considering Beacham is also the writer of Pacific Rim, we’re in for a treat of a story about characters trying to survive in a hopeless future.
And for the most part, Beacham does a great job with this book. The 40-page first issue focuses on a young woman named Darcy who is trying to survive in the British countryside. A select few including Darcy go out to scavenge for supplies all the while avoiding the demonic-looking vampires who prey on them.
Told heavily through captions, Beacham puts you in the head of Darcy who is trying to find some normalcy for herself and her young sister while also trying to keep her neck clean of any puncture wounds. Beacham does well to capture her natural voice and make you believe this woman has seen some stuff but is still as courageous as they come. It’s somewhat subtle, but there’s also a knighthood element to Darcy that’s compelling. Yeah, she carries a big sword, but her desire to protect and later to get a little justice is apparent.
As first issues go, the extra page count allows Beacham and Green to establish the world, and a few important relationships, and throw in a major near-death confrontation. One of the best scenes in the entire issue shows just how resourceful Darcy is under pressure and it’ll have you hooting and hollering for her character.
Kill it with fire!
Credit: Image
That extra page count also makes this issue feel a bit slippery with the plot. It takes its time in a sleepy sort of way with the story picking up in a training scene, then slowing down, and then picking back up with the major conflict in the last third of the book.
The art by Green, with colors by Matt Hollingsworth, is dark in tone in a way that conveys there could be a monster or two sitting in the shadows not too far off. It’s not overly dark, though, with good use of pinks and purples to convey an ominous tone as needed. The vampires are reminiscent of actual bats but with a demonic twist. You can see a fantasy element throughout the book as well, like when a black wolf stands amongst twisting trees, or how Darcy holds her sword.
One other thing that isn’t quite clear is how Darcy has an “inner light.” The concept makes sense and serves as a good element to make her a foil with the dark vampires, but visually there isn’t a marker of that. She’s positive and you root for her, but you have to take the character’s word for it that she has an inner light.
Impact Winter is shaping up to be an excellent new addition to your vampire library. The first issue expertly introduces Darcy, a broken world, and an unnerving enemy that surrounds the remaining humans. Ominous and creepy, Impact Winter will have you rooting for the end of vampires.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login