Brandon Borzelli's Geek Goggle Reviews
American Vampire #25
Vertigo Comics (DC)
Snyder & Albuquerque
The final showdown between Sweet and Travis ends with a fairly creative ending. This book continues to be a joy to read each and every month. As the series progresses it would appear to be tougher for a new reader to jump on board as Snyder continues to fold in new stories into previous ones. This comic book has plenty of action and leaves a few questions open for future plots. As if that isn't enough, the book ends with a terrific, but completely separate story, prologue that will hopefully be explored more in the future and will fold into this story. This is a great read.
The bulk of the issue is Sweet versus Travis. The fight shouldn't be a fair one. After all, Sweet is a powerful vampire and Travis is just a regular person, though a dangerous vampire killer. True to his reputation, Travis pulls out a couple of secret weapons to fight Sweet and it works to even the odds. While they battle we are treated to how Travis has come to hate Sweet so much. It's not quite what I expected but is still a terrific angle.
However, the big reveal isn't the origin story or the outcome of the fight. Instead, the big reveal is how Sweet survived his ordeal during World War II when he appeared to die on that vampire Island. We don't get the details, but we do get a major development that seems to change the equation irreversible.
The reason I loved this particular issue so much is because Snyder managed to surprise me at least four times throughout the issue. I loved the secret weapons that Travis pulls out during the fight as they are very creative and unique. It's a crisp read but the tension is very high throughout. The only oddity in the issue is how the girl seemed to survive the car going off the cliff. I'm not even sure where she was during the fight. She's seems to have been lost a little in the shuffle.
Albuquerque excels when Sweet goes all-out vampire. It's a brilliant take on a human turning into a vampire and I never get sick of it. He provides an excellent visual story with plenty of action and terrific reaction to the action and dialogue.
I felt this arc was too long while reading the first few issues and I stand by that feeling. However, the ending definitely delivers an excellent ending to the arc and bucks most of my assumptions about the characters and the storyline. This series is one of the very best I read month after month and this issue stands among the best of the entire run. I definitely recommend reading this issue.
5 out of 5 Geek Goggles
