REVIEW: The Strain, Volume Two

PLOT: A vast conspiracy has made it nearly impossible for the CDC's Dr. Ephraim Goodweather to convince the world that there's a vampiric epidemic spreading across Manhattan. His only hope is to go head-to-head with the ancient evil responsible for the wave of bloodthirsty vamps set to drown the Big Apple... but can the strain be stopped?!

REVIEW: Again my reviews of this graphic novel series may be a little biased because they're based off of one of my favorite books, but I enjoyed the second volume of The Strain. The only problems for me is that two things that were big to me in the book, are lost in translation here in this comic book interpretation. The fact that the recently turned seek out their loved ones is not even explained really and just assumed, when in the book it's a very big part of the story and finding Eph's son Zack. I wish it would have been touched on a little more for those who haven't read the book, because it was part of what made the story different. The other thing I disliked but sort of liked at the same time is that The Master was finally given a face, and a look. In the book he is vaguely described enough to let your imagination fill in the blanks and it's a very terrifying image. In the comic he's pretty much drawn out to be about as evil a vampire as you can get, and while it's cool to see how scary he was supposed to look, your imagination can almost always think of something more terrifying. The art is pretty much the same as the first go around, at times kind of cartoon-looking for the story but I can tolerate it because it still looks good. Both of these volumes of The Strain have read fairly fast too, so I know there's a lot missing from the books but it's a very good adaptation and easy to read.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )
ARTWORK : ( 5 / 10 )
STORY : ( 7 / 10 )
COVERS : ( 8 / 10 )
FINAL RATING : ( 7 / 10 )

REVIEW: The Strain, Volume One

PLOT: When a Boeing 777 lands at JFK International Airport and goes dark on the runway, the Centers for Disease Control, fearing a terrorist attack, calls in Dr. Ephraim Goodweather and his team of expert biological-threat first responders. Only an elderly pawnbroker from Spanish Harlem suspects a darker purpose behind the event - an ancient threat intent on covering mankind in darkness! Adapting the first novel from Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Strain, this horrifying first chapter deals with an outbreak of diabolical proportions that puts a terrifying twist on the vampire genre.

REVIEW: Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan's The Strain is easily one of my favorite books of all-time, and had it not been for that book I probably wouldn't be back into reading as much as I am now. I always wanted to read vampire fiction when I was a teenager but I couldn't ever find something that appealed to me as a boy, or as a younger reader. I'm not a fan of fancy language, nor romances, so it's hard to find something like that in the vampire genre. I read the book merely based off the fact that it was co-written by my favorite film director of all-time, who has had one of the best vampire films made in Blade II. I find that The Strain furthers his vampire lore on its own new world, and it was part of the reason I especially liked it. The book is written much in the form a film would unravel and that was a big reason as well that I really liked it. But considering I love the actual book, of course my opinion will be a little biased. I'm not all that impressed by the art in this book, and I don't find the illustration of the vampire's stingers anywhere near what I saw in my imagination when reading the book. It's a very cartoonish way to illustrate something I saw as very dark and serious, but it works all the same I suppose because it is a comic. The story is just about the same, and I can't see that the adapting authors have taken any liberties with the story, which is always a plus. I'd definitely recommend this to horror fans, and considering this is a graphic representation of the book, it can be quite graphic. This graphic novel is definitely for adults, vampire fans, and fans of the book alike.

WRITING : ( 7 / 10 )

ARTWORK : ( 5 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVERS : ( 9 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 8 / 10 )

FINAL RATING : ( 8 / 10 )