In the first issue of Dusk, it describes the story of a young girl called Eve who works for vampires. Her master is Ash, an old vampire lord who agrees to let the human Eve serve him since she is willing to do so despite the risks. Eve has found out the whereabouts of a human who has been cruelly turned into a vampire unknowingly, and she has to stop him from killing her wife when he gives into his newfound cravings for blood. This leads to a dramatic and short-fused situation which unfortunately ends in tragedy. Shaken and emotionally affected by the events, Eve lets herself be caught by the police and lands in jail for the night until Ash bails her out.
From the very beginning, I was captivated by Eve's plight. Eve is a normal human being who wants to stay with Ash even though she owes him nothing, and already it's obvious the life she lives now is a high-risk one so it's a difficult decision to understand. By the end of the issue, the reasons for her choice become clear as crystal. She's a tough girl, but her strength and speed is increased by drinking vampire blood which makes her more than capable of tackling vampires. Ash allows Eve to take vampire blood because it's the only way he can ensure Eve will be able to take care of herself since she insists on being in his service.
The entire story is in a pulpy black and white manga style. It's created an atmosphere that suits the nature of the story, so you immediately feel drawn into this dark and seedy underground environment. Each page is bold and dynamic with a stark simplicity to the art. It also has an almost cartoony quality to it that not everyone might find suited for a vampire tale but I think it allows the artist Maki Naro to express the personality of the characters in an entertaining and light-hearted way.
It's dark, thrilling and most of all, it has a solid story with real emotional depth. What makes this particular story stand out is that shows the world of vampires from a human perspective and it's very touching at times as Eve has to live seeing horrific and unimaginative things that disturb her deeply. It still doesn't stop her from continuing to carry out missions for Ash. This is one book I seriously think is worth reading for the characters and the fascinating and dangerous world Eve lives in now.
Find out more about this comic can be found at the creator David Doub's ComicSpace account, and be sure to check out the Dusk short story while you're there, it's a fascinating read too. The first chapter of "Dusk" can also be ordered from Amazon too. |
