Complex, raw and as disturbing a utilization of the vampire myth as I've seen in a while this is exactly the kind of thing that could get made into a lame movie though what it deserves the arthouse treatment or a carefully mounted mini-series. Most of all it deserves to be read. On its own Vampire Boy is a sprawling story but it sprawls deeply rooting itself in the brokenness of modern society where sex is worshipped and people, are discarded like used condoms.
An egyptian boy, heir to Pharaoh finds that his feud with his father's favorite concubine is vastly more complicated after a mysterious plague wipes the whole of his society off the map and leaves him and the woman still alive, monsters, frozen in time living out their endless hatred of one another.
Writer Carlos Trillo and artist Eduardo Risso (100 Bullets) compliment each other perfectly here creating the exact tension the story needs. Any man would be subject to the sleazy charms of Ahmasi whose role in the modern world is the corruption of everything around her as she seeks to find and destroy the relatively helpless vampire boy. But the endless parade of clueless objectivists, desperately lonely losers, and others drawn to her are never less than in control of their own actions. Even when they are aware of her diabolical plans they willingly abet her. They would destroy every innocent thing in the world, including what little innocence they themselves possess simply to have her.
Conversely vampire boy is tortured by his condition, his need to feed, and the way his curse costs those around him so much. He is no simple revenger, driven by selfishness. The responsibility he feels to destroy Ahmasi is matched every bit by his desire to one day know the simple joy of aging, loving and even dying. He is an uber-innocent that even in his deepest flaws reminds us of ourselves and our need for others, for connection, to know our own humanity.
This is epic stuff in a well bound TPB format ticking in at more 460 pages. Make sure you have the time. In an age where we are beset with endless numbers of characters Vampire Boy manages to deliver something of the mythic. Not for the squeamish or those sensitive to the sensual this book is nonetheless one of the best graphic novels I've read all year.
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