USA Today: The Dreaded LMI Comic Book Prequel

[abner_mohl]

http://www.usatoday.com/life/comics/201 ... 7-ST_N.htm

'Let Me In' prequel adds to Dark Horse 'real' vampire title:

Dark Horse Comics senior managing editor Scott Allie is not a fan of "emo vamps" — a label that has become increasingly popular when describing the emotional, romantic and brooding vampires depicted in series such as Twilight and True Blood. "Vampires are terrifying monsters!" Allie insists. "I think it's a shame that they're being depicted as sexy beasts. I can't stand sparkly vampires." One of the company's recent promotional campaigns proclaims that "Dark Horse does vampires right" — alluding to the fact that most (if not all) of the vampire titles that they publish involve the über-scary variety of bloodsuckers. Their latest effort, Marc Andreyko's Let Me In: Crossroads, is a quietly eerie and suspenseful comic book prequel to the film that's currently out in theaters. There's certainly nothing sparkly about the story that's set to launch as a four-issue mini-series this December. Andreyko is also a firm believer that vampires are intended to be horrific creatures of the night. He's a huge fan of the original 2008 Swedish film Let the Right One In, and the writer's involvement in the American version's prequel began during a casual meal with members of the Dark Horse editorial team. "We were having lunch, and they said, 'Do you want to do something with Let Me In?' I had one of those movie moments when I dropped my fork dramatically and said 'Yes — absolutely!' "For me, it's a classic horror tale," Andreyko says of Let Me In. "It starts with the characters — they're so vividly written and presented in the film and in the script."

The comic prequel occurs three to four months earlier than the events depicted in the film. The main characters, Thomas and Abby, are living in rural Indiana, but their means of existence — hiding and hunting in the shadows — is becoming increasingly difficult. "One of the scariest aspects of Andreyko's prequel is the setting," Allie says. "The idea was to pick an equally distinctive locale as the film, but with just as much underlying fear in it. There is something scary and intimidating about the vastness of the Indiana landscape." Andreyko adds: "Basically, a lot of what we deal with in this story is how urban sprawl has affected these areas that used to be so alone and untouched by the outside world. As the world gets smaller, it makes it harder and harder for Thomas and Abby to hide." Also in the prequel, readers are given a more revealing look into Abby's character. Allie thinks readers will "see her a bit more as this awful feral creature who has learned to flash human emotion when it's necessary.

"Being a fan of old-school horror, as well as being so opposed to today's crop of romantic vampires, Allie concedes it took a little time for him to warm up to the Buffy series, in particular. "With Buffy, it's become more of an action-adventure story. We stress the action vs. the fact that a few of these main characters are vampires. The vampires become a secondary priority in what has evolved into a great adventure series. First-time readers are always surprised by the action tone of these books." Baltimore, by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden, is a title that includes vampires in their most monstrous form, something Allie truly enjoys. "I like scary stuff. I like really scary stuff and really human-driven stories. That's what we get with Baltimore. That's my sweet spot."

Eric Powell's The Goon is a supernatural horror phenomenon unto itself. It's best described as a rockabilly twist on Universal Studios classic monsters set in a strange Depression-era world. Allie says: "Eric's stuff runs the gamut of emotional range and artistic vision. Goon has this ability to go from heartbreakingly serious to over-the-top violent to unbelievably funny. And all of it's presented with Eric's one of a kind drawing ability." Needless to say, in the rough and tumble world of The Goon, the main characters have no patience with overemotional vampires.

From the dark shadows of Let Me In: Crossroads to the vicious brutality of Baltimore: The Plague Ships, Dark Horse Comics continues to be an industry leader in presenting smart and compelling horror content to readers. Although the popularity of more romantic vampire series continues to be backed by a legion of fans, it's always nice to be reminded that the original and gruesome creatures of the night continue to stalk the pages of comic books and graphic novels in today's modern era.

[DMt.]

Feh.

Bleah.

Phooey.

&c...

Now if it was Mr. Stout, say, or Covi, doing the art, and a decent writer, people with the love, that would be another thing entirely.

I believe Kenny is brewing something up along these lines...

[Struan]

Barf!

[DMt.]

Barf.

[sauvin]

If it is what this article says it is, I'll read it for the same reason I'll consume almost anything having to do with Eli or Abby, but given the slant described, I probably won't accept it as being at all canonical.

[Robin]

I read JAL was very much against this, i can't find the quote anywhere, but he says something like:

"can they do that? i hope not, and if they can i'll fight it."

[thestich]

I repeat what I said before about the comic:

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
THE STUPID.........IT BURNS!!!

No appropriate emoticon available except repeated

[CyberGhostface]

I'm getting tired of the Twilight "our vampires don't sparkle" bs that everyone seems to be using. Not because Twilight isn't bad--it's made a mockery of vampires. But it's such an easy target that it requires little effort and its become tired and cliche. Find some new material. It's as edgy as a butterknife. So many vampire films call themselves the "anti-Twilight". You know what? Most vampires are anti-Twilight just by existing because Twilight is the "anti-vampire".

I mean, for example...the 30 Days of Night sequel has on the cover "Makes Twilight look like nursery school". Is that supposed to impress me? It's like saying "Our monsters make Elmo look tame."

[TΛPETRVE]

No appropriate emoticon available except repeated

How about these?

[thestich]

How about these?

Almost there.

Needs more disgust!