'My Take' On: Jeromy Cox's VAMPYRATES Issue #1 From Bloodfire Studios -------------- Above Photo: Jeromy Cox Holding the 1st Issue of Vampyrates - the Regular Cover, at the Recent June 2010 San Diego Quarterly Comic Con. At the Left: The Creator of this Comic Book Series, With the Limited Edition Sketch Cover to the Series!

TODAY'S FEATURE - Blog #3182:

A little late this morning getting this blog posted for all to see...

That's because Tina and I were patriotic yesterday for July 4th, by going out and spending some money to help this economy revive!  We needed a new printer to share between us, and went with a wireless model, as xtra cords in the home office would likely 'trip' us up, (pun intended).

Then we went to Verizon to look at replacing our phones, as Tina needed a better plan & phone for the ever growing Business!  We ended up with two new Droids...And of course it was like 'Christmas In July' this morning, as I got up at an insane hour to download apps and get the photo progams downloaded in both laptops. 

Heck, the San Diego Comic Con is only 16 days away...gotta be ready and know how to use these 'smart' phones by then!

Talking about comic-cons, I recently attended the June 2010 San Diego Quarterly Comic Con, sponsored by Paul Martinez.

Above are two photos of Jeromy Cox, who had a couple of tables at this comic con to feature what he has been doing lately.

I talked with him about what I do, (blog about and sell comic books)and he invited me to take a look at his Vampyrates #1.  I have since read it, and am ready to blog about it today!

So what is this issue about? Here's what I found for the promo of this comic book on the publisher's web site:

Vampyrates

Story & Art- Jeromy Cox
Price: $3.95

Genre - Vampire, Sci Fi

"Doctor Kevin Ring is a man of science and reason. He believes in two things, his books and the love he has for his beautiful wife, Anne Marie. Kevin's father, Johnathan Ring, has depleted the family estate hunting mythical creatures and fairy tales. Henry Page, a ship merchant and good friend to the Ring family offers Kevin relief from his creditors. A

ll young Kevin must do is track down and stop a band of pirates that have plagued Page's ships. As if pirates weren't bad enough, Kevin, against his desires, must venture to uncharted waters to find pirates rumored to be demonic blood thirsty vampyres.

From the mind of 4 time Eisner nominee, Jeromy Cox, colorist of Promethea, Teen Titans and Rex Mundi. Featuring the 14 page full color Kindergoth story, "Cafeteria Havok" written by Lee Kohse and Drawn by Jeff Zugale. For more Vampyrates, be check out our Vampyrates gallery and visit www.vampyrates.com.  Comic book - 48 pages."

So what's 'My Take' on this first issue? 

Front Cover:  The Logo Design by Todd Klein is just right for this comic book. The closeup of the characters, with the red oooze coming down from the 'Vampyrates' title gives the casual browser what is is in store for them.  The character designs with the red eyes, also indicates what should be inside.  The banner at the top of the front cover definitely spells it out:  'Part One: Thicker Than Water'.

Inside Front Cover Page (AND 'Splash Page'): Okay...The storyline start right off, we knew already by the front cover it is a 'time' piece, and the medical discovery on these two pages forming the kick off to the storyline instead of an inside front cover and splash page, sets the stage for where the story goes next.

Not overly shocking for those that watch TV Shows like CSI, and Fringe, but not for the squeamish either!

Interior Pages:  The action continues, the cast is introduced, and what I noticed mostly was the beautiful coloring of the pages!  The characters are illustrated in a style that is enjoyable to view, and even though this genre is not one of my favorites, I found myself drawn to continue reading because of the art, colors, and storyline.

All too soon the story is 'finished', but on the last page of the story is the caption:  'The End?'.  I'm hoping not, as this was a good intro to the characters and setting.

But wait, there's more! 

There is a one page credits page, and a letter in manuscript form for the reader to see, about the background of the feature.

Plus this is one of those 'flip' comics.  By flipping the comic book over, there is another story, titled Kinder Goth- Cafeteria Havoc. Written and colored by Lee Kohse with art by Jeff Zugale.  However, I'm not going to review that here at this time...

So, after all of the above..What is 'My Take' on this comic book issue?

Well...First of all, I was pleased to see have seen the creator of this comic book at this smaller comic-con in San Diego.  It was my first 'real' introduction to Jeromy Cox and his works, even though I probably have read one of the other publications he has had a hand or two in.

I found that even though the genre was one that is not one of my personal favorites to read, Jeromy and the others involved in this publication made it an enjoyable read.  Enough for me to want to see an additional issue.

The storyline was Not over the Top, the dialogue was good for the period piece, the art was in a fun style, the inking by John Tighe and Mike S Miller was in keeping with the tone of the story. 

The coloring was outstanding, and also Not Over the Top, which I appreciated in this vampire / sci-fi genre of story.

The cover was by J.H. Williams III, I'm not for sure why, as I enjoyed the interior art as well.  But it made for a good front cover for someone at a LCBS want to pick up and browse through for a possible purchase.

The fact that there was an additional story added by the publishers of this publication could be considered a plus.  I found it to be cute, but whether or not it belong with the flip side could be asked, as it was a different type of tale with a different team of creators. 

I would grade this 1st issue of 'Vampyrates' with a 'Very Fine / Near Mint' (VF/NM) 9.0 out of the 10.0 Grading Scale. That's pretty darn good coming from me, who sees a LOT of vampires / werewolves / etc. stories coming in for possible review! 

So in the meantime, where can YOU pick up a copy? Here's what I found.  If you see Jeromy Cox in person at a con, he does have a few for sale, including the 'Limited Edition Sketch Cover' variant edition pictured at the top left of this blog.  If not, then check out the publisher's web site at: Bloodfire.com.

Additionally, since I am a BIG user of Facebook, I want to mention the Bloodfire Studios Facebook Fan Page that YOU can 'Like' and be interactive with the publisher and other fans.

AND for extra fun, here's the Vampyrates Facebook Fan Page just for this comic book creation! I have 'Liked' this one after reading the 1st Issue!

My thanks to Jeromy Cox for bringing this 1st issue to my attention!

AND My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now over the 3,180 total posts in number!

~ Michael D Hamersky @ ComicBookCollectorsBlog.com

Note: Our online comic book store carries many different genres of comics, magazines and graphic novels at:

http://www.comicbookscircus.com/

 

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