Plot
The series explores notions of vampire evolution and traces the bloodline of a new kind of vampire, an American species, with new powers and characteristics, through various decades of American history. The first story arc (issues #1–5) features two story arcs. The first takes place in 1925 from the point of view of an aspiring actress in L.A. who becomes the second American Vampire and works to get her revenge on those who turned her. The second is of a writer at a book conference due to the reediting of his book, ''Bad Blood''. Here, the author claims that his work- which has been long considered a fictional western/terror story- is actually based on true events which he has either witnessed or has collected reliable information on.Publication history
This series publication began on March 17, 2010,{{cite web , first=Vaneta , last=Rogers , url=http://www.newsarama.com/comics/091026-american-vampire.html , title=STEPHEN KING Brings an ''American Vampire'' Tale to Vertigo , publisher=Issues
First Cycle
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" ! Issue ! Date ! Arc ! Story ! Art ! Color ! Cover , - , rowspan="2" , #1 , rowspan="2" , March 17, 2010 , Big Break , Scott Snyder , rowspan="10" , Rafael Albuquerque , rowspan="10" , Dave McCaig , rowspan="2" , Rafael Albuquerque Jim Lee (variant) , - , Bad Blood , Stephen King , - , rowspan="2" , #2 , rowspan="2" , April 21, 2010 , Morning Star , Scott Snyder , rowspan="2" , Rafael Albuquerque Bernie Wrightson & Dave McCaig (variant) , - , Deep Water , Stephen King , - , rowspan="2" , #3 , rowspan="2" , May 19, 2010 , Rough Cut , Scott Snyder , rowspan="2" , Rafael Albuquerque Andy Kubert & Brad Anderson (variant) , - , Blood Vengeance , Stephen King , - , rowspan="2" , #4 , rowspan="2" , June 23, 2010 , Double Exposure , Scott Snyder , rowspan="2" , Rafael Albuquerque J.H. Williams III (variant) , - , One Drop of Blood , Stephen King , - , rowspan="2" , #5 , rowspan="2" , July 28, 2010 , Curtain Call , Scott Snyder , rowspan="2" , Rafael Albuquerque Paul Pope (variant) , - , If Thy Right Hand Offend Thee, Cut It Off , Stephen King , - , #6 , September 9, 2010 , rowspan="4" , The Devil in the Sand , rowspan="4" , Scott Snyder , rowspan="3" , Rafael Albuquerque , rowspan="4" , Dave McCaig , Rafael Albuquerque Rafael Grampá (variant) , - , #7 , October 6, 2010 , rowspan="3" , Rafael Albuquerque , - , #8 , November 10, 2010 , - , #9 , December 2, 2010 , Rafael Albuquerque Mateus Santolouco , - , #10 , December 22, 2010 , rowspan="2" , The Way Out , rowspan="2" , Scott Snyder , rowspan="2" , Mateus Santolouco , rowspan="2" , Dave McCaig , rowspan="2" , Rafael Albuquerque , - , #11 , January 26, 2011 , - , #12 , February 23, 2011 , Strange Frontier , Scott Snyder , Danijel Zezelj , Dave McCaig , Rafael Albuquerque , - , #13 , March 30, 2011 , rowspan="6" , Ghost War , rowspan="6" , Scott Snyder , rowspan="6" , Rafael Albuquerque , rowspan="6" , Dave McCaig , Rafael Albuquerque Sean Gordon Murphy (variant) , - , #14 , April 27, 2011 , rowspan="5" , Rafael Albuquerque , - , #15 , May 25, 2011 , - , #16 , June 29, 2011 , - , #17 , July 27, 2011 , - , #18 , August 24, 2011 , - , #19 , September 28, 2011 , rowspan="3" , The Beast in the Cave , rowspan="3" , Scott Snyder , rowspan="3" , Jordi Bernet , rowspan="3" , Dave McCaig , rowspan="3" , Rafael Albuquerque , - , #20 , November 2, 2011 , - , #21 , December 14, 2011 , - , #22 , December 28, 2011 , rowspan="4" , Death Race , rowspan="4" , Scott Snyder , rowspan="4" , Rafael Albuquerque , rowspan="4" , Dave McCaig , rowspan="4" , Rafael Albuquerque , - , #23 , January 25, 2012 , - , #24 , February 22, 2012 , - , #25 , March 28, 2012 , - , #26 , April 25, 2012 , rowspan="2" , The Nocturnes , rowspan="2" , Scott Snyder , Roger Cruz , rowspan="2" , Dave McCaig , rowspan="2" , Rafael Albuquerque , - , #27 , May 30, 2012 , Riccardo Burchielli , - , #28 , June 27, 2012 , rowspan="6" , The Blacklist , rowspan="6" , Scott Snyder , rowspan="6" , Rafael Albuquerque , rowspan="6" , Dave McCaig , Rafael Albuquerque Greg Capullo & Fco Plascencia (variant) , - , #29 , July 25, 2012 , Rafael Albuquerque Dave Johnson (variant) , - , #30 , August 29, 2012 , Rafael Albuquerque Francesco Francavilla (variant) , - , #31 , September 26, 2012 , Rafael Albuquerque Jock (variant) , - , #32 , October 31, 2012 , Rafael Albuquerque Dustin Nguyen (variant) , - , #33 , November 28, 2012 , Rafael Albuquerque , - , #34 , January 2, 2013 , The Gray Trader , Scott Snyder , Rafael Albuquerque , Dave McCaig , Rafael AlbuquerqueSecond Cycle
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" !Issue !Date !Arc !Story !Art !Color !Cover , - , #1 , March 19, 2014 , rowspan="4", , rowspan="4", Scott Snyder , rowspan="4", Rafael Albuquerque , rowspan="4", Dave McCaig , Rafael Albuquerque Jae Lee (variant) , - , #2 , April 16, 2014 , rowspan="3", Rafael Albuquerque , - , #3 , May 21, 2014 , - , #4 , July 9, 2014 , - , #5 , October 1, 2014 , The Miner's Journal , Matias Bergara , Rafael Albuquerque , Dave McCaig , Rafael Albuquerque , - , #6 , February 4, 2015 , rowspan="6", Dark Moon , rowspan="6", Scott Snyder , rowspan="6", Rafael Albuquerque , rowspan="6", Dave McCaig , rowspan="6", Rafael Albuquerque , - , #7 , April 15, 2015 , - , #8 , July 1, 2015 , - , #9 , August 5, 2015 , - , #10 , September 30, 2015 , - , #11 , November 25, 2015Others
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" !Title !Issue !Date !colspan="2", Story !Art !Color !Cover , - , colspan="8" style=background:#4d4d4d, , - !rowspan="5", American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest , #1 , June 8, 2011 , rowspan="5" colspan="2", Scott Snyder , rowspan="5", Sean Murphy , rowspan="5", Dave Stewart , Sean Murphy & Dave Stewart Cliff Wu Chiang (variant) , - , #2 , July 13, 2011 , rowspan="4", Sean Murphy & Dave Stewart , - , #3 , August 10, 2011 , - , #4 , September 14, 2011 , - , #5 , October 12, 2011 , - , colspan="8" style=background:#4d4d4d, , - !rowspan="5", American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares , #1 , June 13, 2012 , rowspan="5" colspan="2", Scott Snyder , rowspan="5", Dustin Nguyen , rowspan="5", John Kalisz , rowspan="5", Dustin Nguyen , - , #2 , July 11, 2012 , - , #3 , August 8, 2012 , - , #4 , September 12, 2012 , - , #5 , October 17, 2012 , - , colspan="8" style=background:#4d4d4d, , - !American Vampire: The Long Road to Hell , #1 , June 12, 2013 , colspan="2", Scott Snyder Rafael Albuquerque , Rafael Albuquerque , Dave McCaig , Rafael Albuquerque Tony Moore (variant) , - , colspan="8" style=background:#4d4d4d, , - !rowspan="21", American Vampire Anthology , rowspan="10", #1 , rowspan="10", August 28, 2013 , The Man Comes Around, Part 1 , Scott Snyder , Rafael Albuquerque , Dave McCaig , rowspan="10", Rafael Albuquerque , - , Lost Colony , Jason Aaron , Declan Shalvey , Jordie Bellaire , - , Bleeding Kansas , Rafael Albuquerque , colspan="2", Ivo Milazzo , - , Canadian Vampire , Jeff Lemire , colspan="2", Ray Fawkes , - , Greed , colspan="2", Becky Cloonan , Jordie Bellaire , - , The Producers , colspan="3", Francesco Francavilla , - , Essence of Life , Gail Simone , colspan="2", Tula Lotay , - , Last Night , colspan="2", Fábio Moon Gabriel Bá , rowspan="3", Dave McCaig , - , Portland, 1940 , Greg Rucka , J.P. Leon , - , The Man Comes Around, Part 2 , Scott Snyder , Rafael Albuquerque , - , colspan="7" style=background:#4d4d4d, , - , rowspan="10", #2 , rowspan="10", September 7, 2016 , Opening Shot , Scott Snyder , Rafael Albuquerque , Dave McCaig , rowspan="10", Rafael Albuquerque , - , Teahouse , Joelle Jones , Cristopher Mitten , Quinton Winter , - , Bride , Marguerite Bennet , Mirka Andolfo , Arif Prianto , - , The Bleeding Nun , Clay McLeon Chapman , colspan="2", Richard Isanove , - , The Cut , Steve Orlando , Artyom Trakhanov , Veronica Gandini , - , Traveling Companion , Elliot Kalan , Andrea Mutti , Giulia Brusco , - , When The Cold Wind Blows , Shawn Aldridge , colspan="2", Szymon Kudranski , - , England’s Dreaming , Kieron Gillen , Leila del Duca , Trish Mulvihill , - , Devil’s Own Luck , Rafael Albuquerque , colspan="2", Renato Guedes , - , Brother’s Keeper , Scott Snyder , Afua Richardson , Antonio Fabela , - , colspan="8" style=background:#4d4d4d,Collected editions
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" !Volume !Published !Collects !Pages !ISBN , - , 1 , September 29, 2010 (HC) October 5, 2011 (TPB) , *''American Vampire'' #1–5 , 200 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781401228309 TPB: {{ISBNT, 9781401229740 , - , 2 , May 25, 2011 (HC) May 2, 2012 (TPB) , *''American Vampire'' #6–11 , 160 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781401230692 TPB: {{ISBNT, 9781401230708 , - , 3 , February 1, 2012 (HC) September 26, 2012 (TPB) , *''American Vampire'' #12–18 *''American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest'' #1–5 , 288 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781781160251 TPB: {{ISBNT, 9781401233341 , - , 4 , September 26, 2012 (HC) September 4, 2013 (TPB) , *''American Vampire'' #19–27 , 208 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781401237189 TPB: {{ISBNT, 9781401237196 , - , 5 , March 27, 2013 (HC) March 26, 2014 (TPB) , *''American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares'' #1–5 *''American Vampire'' #28–34 , 280 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781401237707 TPB: {{ISBNT, 9781401237714 , - , 6 , March 26, 2014 (HC) November 26, 2014 (TPB) , *''American Vampire: Long Road to Hell'' #1 *''American Vampire Anthology'' #1 , 144 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781401247089 TPB: {{ISBNT, 9781401249298 , - , 7 , January 14, 2015 (HC) November 11, 2015 (TPB) , *''American Vampire – Second Cycle'' #1–5 , 144 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781401248826 TPB: {{ISBNT, 9781401254322 , - , 8 , February 17, 2016 (HC) July 20, 2016 (TPB) , *''American Vampire – Second Cycle'' #6–11 , 144 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781401254339 TPB: {{ISBNT, 9781401262587 , - , 9 , November 2, 2021 , *''American Vampire: 1976'' #1–10 , 264 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781779512673Omnibus editions
{, class="wikitable" style="text-align: center" !Volume !Published !Collects !Pages !ISBN , - , 1 , October 31, 2018 (HC) , *''American Vampire'' #1–27 *''American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest'' #1–5 *''American Vampire: Lord of Nightmares'' #1–5 , 984 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781401284831 , - , 2 , October 11, 2022 (HC) , *''American Vampire'' #28–34 *''American Vampire: The Long Road to Hell'' #1 *''American Vampire: Anthology'' #1–2 *''American Vampire: Second Cycle #1–11'' *''American Vampire: 1976'' #1–10 , 928 , HC: {{ISBNT, 9781779516886Characters
* Skinner Sweet – An outlaw who lived in the Wild West. He was turned into a vampire when the blood from Percy, a vampire banker, fell into his eye during a fight while he was escaping from being hanged. After being trapped into a coffin sunken sixty-six feet under water, he escaped and hunted the vampires who tried to kill him. In 1936, Sweet has relocated to Las Vegas, where he opened a brothel, using the name Jim Smoke. Later Skinner finds himself swept up into WWII as he hunts down a threat to his possible (?) with Pearl. * Pearl Jones – An aspiring actress in the 1920s who was ambushed by a group of vampires led by a vampire director named B.D. Bloch during one of his parties. She was left for dead at a pit in the desert, but was saved by Sweet when he dropped his blood on her eye, turning her into a vampire. She has relocated to Arrowhead, California, using the surname of her husband, Henry Preston, while she is hiding from the other vampires. * Hattie Hargrove – Hattie is Pearl's ambitious and slightly put upon roommate in Hollywood, sharing an apartment with the main character before Pearl is murdered by vampires and transformed by Skinner Sweet. * Henry Preston – Pearl Jones' husband, a World War 1 veteran who works as a jazz musician who decided to help Pearl to enact her revenge against the vampires who almost killed her. Prior to arriving in Hollywood and working as a resident guitarist at a speak easy where Pearl worked, Henry was a journeymen Guitar player. He isn't intimidated by Pearl's vampirism, but sometimes he feels some sadness by the fact that while he's getting older, Pearl isn't. Henry later dies stopping Hattie. * Mr. B.D. Bloch – A European vampire masquerading as a Hollywood Mogul. * James "Jim" Book – A detective who worked for Pinkerton Agency, he hunted and arrested Skinner Sweet, who turned him into a vampire in retaliation. Before being consumed by his vampiric instincts, he extracts a promise from Abilena, she is to kill him in exchange for fathering her child that same night. * Abilena Camillo/Book – Daughter of Felix Camillo, her mother died at birth. She is James Book's god-daughter, though she professes an unrequited love for him once she grows up. After his death, she takes his surname and together with her daughter Felicia Book hunts Skinner Sweet for an organization called The Vassals of the Morning Star. *Felix Camillo – Father of Abilena Camillo/Book Deputy to James Book, and Grandfather of Felicia. *Will Bunting – the Writer of bad blood and witness to the birth of Skinner Sweet as the first documented American Vampire. *Percy – Leader of a cabal of vampires taking advantage of western expansion, and the maker of Skinner Sweet. *Finch – Human servant of Percy and the Vampire cabal and employer of James Book. *Mimiteh – A Young Shoshone woman who was the first actual American vampire though her exploits were lost to history. * Felicia Book – Fathered by James Book and his god-daughter Abilena on the night he dies. She is a member of The Vassals of the Morning Star, an organization which hunts vampires. She seems to have unique abilities due to her father's vampirism, though the extent of her abilities is yet to be seen. * Jack Straw – Another member of the Vassals of the Morning Star, Straw was partnered with Felicia Book while investigating vampire activity in Las Vegas. * Cashel "Cash" McCogan – As Chief of the Las Vegas Police Department, Cash became involved with Jack Straw and Felicia Book while investigating the grisly murders of several persons responsible for the construction of the Hoover Dam (then called the Boulder Dam). * Calvin Poole – a soldier in World War 2 who served with Henry Preston during the "Ghost War" story arc. He was accidentally turned into a vampire after a bottle of Pearl's Blood broke and infected him.Notes
{{ReflistReferences
* {{gcdb series, id=45315, title=American VampireExternal links
* {{comicbookdb, type=title, id=27257, title=American Vampire {{Vertigo Comics Ongoing Series {{Stephen King Comics by Stephen King DC Comics vampires Fantasy comics Eisner Award winners for Best New Series Comics by Scott Snyder