CVO: Covert Vampiric Operations—Artifact

    (IDW, 2003)
™ and © Idea + Design Works LLC

The back cover boasts that this is “a fresh new approach that will forever alter your view of vampires.” Wow. Quite a gutsy but odd claim, considering that it comes from the same company responsible for one of the freshest takes ever on comic-book vampires in the form of last year’s 30 Days of Night mini-series.

It’s like gushing about how great this morning’s Egg McMuffin tastes after an exquisite seven-course feast the night before. The truth is, while there’s nothing substantially bad about or wrong with the story, it’s little more than a standard tale about a covert-ops team that happens to be a trio of vampires. It differs little from the kind of thing that Garner and other writers have done in series like Gen13.

But, while lack of creativity might not be a virtue, it’s no great sin, either. Garner’s adequate story fulfills its expository role by establishing the characters’ origins and team dynamic, clearing the way for the upcoming mini-series. And, with little flash or pizzazz, Lee’s pencils, likewise, adequately chronicle Garner’s introductory tale.

This somehow manages to stand up on its own; it just looks a little pale in the glow of respected IDW publications like 30DoN or PopBot. It’s enjoyable enough and it won’t bite; bite is one thing that this vampire book is missing.

— Jim Johnson
Jump to issue:
  NotesWriterArtist