30 Days of Night

Steve Niles and Ben Templesmith Offer a Stylish, Gory Vampire Tale

Sep 19, 2008 Lydia Ballard

• 30 Days of Night
• Available from IDW Publishing
• Writer: Steve Niles
• Art: Ben Templesmith
• Letters: Robbie Robbins

If you pulled a fanboy off the street and asked him to list a handful of the most talked about graphic novels since the year 2000, there's a very good chance the words '30 Days of Night' would escape his lips. For good reason, too. 30 Days stands as one of the most successful independent comics of the last decade, spawning numerous sequels and even a feature film adaptation.

Yet, 30 Days of Night is one of those cases where the hype is great but the product fails to live up to it. Well respected comic book magazines such as Wizard heralded 30 Days as the best thing to see print in ages when it first hit stands, but it's got more problems than you can shake a stick at.

A Period of Thirty Days Without the Sun...

The plot behind 30 Days of Night is an incredibly brilliant twist on the old vampire formula. Barrow, Alaska, a small town that has a period of thirty days of darkness is besieged by vampires who intend to turn it into their new feeding ground during the blackout. There must be a hundred different wannabe screenwriters smacking themselves and saying, "Why didn't I think of that?" because it's quite inspired. If vampires can't survive the sun, well, give them a venue in which there is none. There's nowhere to hide and no respite from the bloody attacks in the darkness.

The story centers on the police force of Barrow, their trials and tribulations as they try and survive the attack on their town while leading their friends and neighbors to as much safety as can possibly be found. At the heart of the book is the failed relationship of the town's sheriff and his estranged wife, but the characters are two dimensional and largely forgettable.

Tech Specs and Final Verdict

One of the things that wears on the nerves when it comes to 30 Days of Night is that it's a fantastic concept that's painfully hampered by some seriously poor execution. 30 Days stands as a shining example of just how many ways a good idea can go bad. While Ben Templesmith's art is chillingly beautiful--terrifying yet compelling--Steve Niles' writing is horribly lacking, especially in regard to character development.

The town of Barrow is being wiped off the face of the planet and we, the audience, aren't given any reason to care. The attempts at making us feel for the characters at the center of 30 Days of Night fall flat and the dialogue is unnaturally stiff. While the artwork is positively gorgeous and the storyline is intriguing, 30 Days has more flaws than its good qualities can hope to redeem.

If you have an eye for beautiful, gory comic book art without regard for an interesting story attached, 30 Days of Night will please you immensely. If, on the other hand, you like a solid story with sympathetic characters, you should probably avoid it.

Take heart, however: the sequels are far and away much better.