Summary: 30 Days of Night
“This is the world of which they have only dreamed. Endless night, and an endless supply of blood and meat. This is how it is meant to be: humans, like bottles, waiting for their caps to be popped.”
TITLE:
30 DAYS OF NIGHT
CREATORS:
by Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith
GENRE:
Horror Fiction, Graphic Novel (Collection), Adventure.
DESCRIPTORS:
Vampires, Monsters, Secret Societies, Isolated Towns, Survival, Sheriff and Deputy, Night, Predator, Prey, Winter, Alaska.
SERIES:
SUMMARY:
In Barrow Alaska, the sun sets on November 17, and is not seen again for thirty days. It’s a fact of life the residents live with. But for Marlow Roderick, a vampire leader, Barrow is a lure he cannot resist and he leads his pack to the town in anticipation of a month long feeding frenzy.
Eben and Stella Olemaun are both husband and wife and Sheriff and Deputy of Barrow. First they encounter a “renfield”, a human agent serving the vampires, who is stealing all of the cell phones and destroying other means of communication. The Olemauns capture him and learn a little about the impending invasion before he forces the bars of his cell apart and attacks them. Stella shoots him but it takes her entire clip to put him down. The damage, however, is done. The vampires arrive and the town is both isolated and defenseless.
The Olemauns are among the survivors when the long anticipated Vampire Lord, Vincente, arrives. How much longer can the last humans of Barrow hide before they are found and destroyed? Eben and Stella realize that time has run out and that only one last desperate action can save the few who remain. But, if it works, will the victory be worth the price?
APPEAL:
The pacing is quick although the story slowed down for me a couple of time when the dark illustrations got in the way, making it difficult to understand what I was seeing. However, Ben Templesmith’s illustrations are very stylish and evocative. By the time I was finished reading the graphic novel the first time, I felt like I could “read” the art work too.
The characterization was lean, dealing mostly with Eben and Stella, the protagonists in the story. It was interesting that Eben the sheriff, was reluctant to use force while Stella emptied her clip into the “renfield’s” head. It’s a contrast to the way they handle their last gambit against the vampires.
There were multiple view points, but the story always came back to Eben and Stella. The story was told in 3rd person past tense, limited view point with only a sprinkling of captions.
The story took place in Alaska, a bitter cold place at a time when the sun would not be seen for thirty days. I enjoyed the ceremonial observance of the final sunset between Stella and a reluctant Eben. We did not get to see much of how the people of Barrow lived but what we saw rang true. Ben Templesmith does a great job of artistically rendering the nearly claustrophobic isolation of the town when cut off and under attack.
READALIKES:
30 Days of Night is a dark, twisted and visually grotesque graphic novel. It has spawned several sequels which were also collected into graphic novels, a couple — so far — mass market paperback stories and now a movie..
(Based on a post originally published in . . . With Intent to Commit Horror)
