Bleed Them Dry #1: Has the Whole World Gone Blind?

It’s time to dig into a vampire mystery filled with ninjas, detectives and more with Bleed Them Dry #1, a new series from Vault that finds a unique approach to the bloodsucking creatures to tell a story that finds real strength in its character work and a truly lived-in world.

Futuristic vampires in a Japanese-engineered mega-city called Asylum feels like something pulled from some of my favorite anime series, but this team shows that a story this wild can be told just as successfully in comics. Bleed Them Dry #1 is a book that will surprise many readers with its strong sense of world-building and narrative pacing, but it’s the characters that will keep you coming back for more.

I’m an admitted fan of just about anything that involves vampires. Add in ninjas and I’m 100% sold. However, I was a bit surprised to see just how much the story leaned into the mystery elements. This isn’t a book with dozens of ninjas on every panel slicing and dicing their way through vampires in a tech-filled futuristic vision. It’s a carefully plotted issue with a strong character foundation. Detective Halloway is easy to root for and her partner Atticus has all the brooding “man of intrigue” aura you could ask for. There isn’t a total void of sword slinging and blood spilling though, what we do find is well placed and adds to the story overall.

Where this issue lacks in action, it more than makes up for it in the extensive lore that we find in just the first issue. The Immortals and their tense relationships with humans, confronting persecution, as well as personal bias all help to shape a world that we can still relate to even though it’s far into the future and filled with vampires. This helps to give the story weight and not feel like just another haphazard mystery comic. It’s a living (partially, at least), breathing world that you can’t wait to sink your teeth into.

Vault has definitely made waves in the industry with quite a few hits already, and even after just one issue, I’m willing to go ahead and say they’ve done it again with Bleed Them Dry #1. It’s got a lot of familiar elements, which may lead you to believe you know where the story is going, but let me tell you now, this story is unpredictable. The cyberpunk flair gives the artwork a refreshing twist, but Ruan and Muerto really shine in using every panel to add depth to the story. While the text balloons from Andworld can sometimes lose a bit of clarity in the heavier discussions, the layout punctuates all the right points of the story.

For vampire fans, and even ninja fans, Bleed Them Dry #1 is must read material. It’s the type of book that can exceed expectations with surprising depth. The last few pages really kick things up a notch and set up the second issue quite well, so I know I’ll be coming back for more!