Bite Club

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BY COLIN ENQUIST

Vampire fiction is nothing new. Many writers attempt to reinvent the genre with a bold new take on the mythical creatures every year. Howard Chaykin (American Flagg!) and David Tischman (Greatest Hits) filled that role in 2004 with their 6 issue mini series, Bite Club, from DC Comics Vertigo imprint. Art duties were handed to Vertigo alum David Hahn, who has worked on Fables and Lucifer, two well respected series in the Vertigo library. The stunning series covers come from the frequent Grant Morrison collaborator Frank Quitely. If you are reading this in the $9.99 trade paper back, don’t worry, Quitely’s covers are in the back!

At first glance, it seems Bite Club is just another attempt to modernize the vampire genre. This could not be more wrong. Yes Chaykin and Tischman use vampires throughout the entire body of the book but the blood of the story is about the Del Toro crime family and the many troubles following its dysfunctional members after their patriarch Eduardo Del Toro is gunned down.

The backstabbing siblings Leto, Risa and Eduardo Jr. all have a stake at becoming the new leader. Not to mention their cousin Victor who feels he is entitled to become the new patriarch of the Del Toro family. Everything starts getting out of hand when the will of Eduardo Sr. is read, naming Leto as his successor.

Chaykin and Tischman create a story that is solely focused on the Del Toro’s. The subtle use of vampire lore just adds a dimension to the book that may not have even been required. If you pick this up to read about vampires, you may be disappointed.

David Hahn’s art is not superb. Many times a page will show up with characters faces looking very similar. Hahn must know that this is a weakness in his ability though because he covers it up well with different hair styles, glasses or hats to distinguish each character when needed. Any aspiring artist should look at this book for Hahn’s simple yet beautiful layouts. The lack of full page spreads in the book (most pages are 5-10 panels) really hits home the emotion you should feel about that specific moment.

Bite Club is coloured by Brian Miller. The colouring of this book was fantastic. Each characters story being told in one book could have been confusing. Miller fixes that easily. Using a different colour tone for each time the story jumps from one characters story to the next. The green and blue pages really jump out at you. I am curious as to how this technique would transfer over to other books which require the reader to follow several characters at once.

Picking up this book, I was sold solely on the Quitely cover art of the trade and the fact that it was only $9.99. I was a little unsure of the book when I read the brief synopsis but Chaykin and Tischman deliver a good tale filled with deceit, death, vampires, discrimination, god, family and drugs. Mix in a little bit of The Sopranos and you got yourself Bite Club.

3 out of 5