Dark Red #2: Flyover States

Chip has just fought off a home invasion by an interloping Vampire brood. Resigned to the fact he needs to uproot and start over elsewhere. Kamille is an outcast vampire princess who urges Chip to face his true nature, stop hiding and claim what’s in his powers to take. Evie is a human with a blood disease who needs Chip to turn her and for Cam and Stu to leave her alone. Cam and Stu? They’re local yokels too stupid to stay out of trouble.

All of this is visually captured with pure class and high-end visual talent by Corin Howell (Bat-Mite, X-Files: Origins). Howell knows how to use excellent expression work to tell the story of each character reacting as the weirdness grows. Her character designs are equal-parts recognizable archetypes and fresh-feeling single formed people. She dances so well between the matter-of-fact conversations of the vampires, the sometimes sitcom like interactions of the whole cast, and an underlying ‘80s horror feel that evokes Fright Night and other genre standouts of the era.

Tim Seeley writes complicated layers and subtext without ever filling the readers head with a complicated read. This is clear, moves with purpose and direction through its own ideas, and above all is entertaining from cover to cover.

In some appropriate blue-collar fashion, the creative team work their asses off to give you well-earned surprises and characters with such an air of truth and so multi-dimensional you’ll be looking for Falls End on a real road map.