Review: The Vain by Eliot Rahal

Rating★★
Release Date: 6th April 2021
Genre(s): Horror Graphic Novel

Massive thank you to Oni Press and NetGalley for providing me with a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The Vain is a horror comic which follows 4 vampires: Lost, Fanny, North, and Marquis - collectively known as 'The Vain' - across several decades. They are constantly evading the capture of Felix Frankin, an FBI agent who is investigating the suspicious burglaries which only seem to steal blood (he begins to wonder whether this is a war offence... or perhaps something more sinister). It reads much like a typical American style crime TV show.

My favourite part of this was, without-a-doubt, the comic style illustrations (I thought this was a graphic novel going into it, but I was soon proven wrong) and I LOVE the cover, how stunning! But, please be aware this is an adult horror comic, therefore, there are some extremely gruesome scenes, with lots of gore and violent scenes.

I also did really enjoy the sapphic representation and the ending was bittersweet (very controversial, as I know a lot of people dislike the ending, and thought it was anti-climatic, but I personally thought it was fitting and a nice conclusion).

So the premise of this really did sound great, however I think the execution just fell a bit flat and I was constantly left wanting more. I think the main issue stems from the plot and timeline. The timeline itself was just too long, and the short length of the comic (and lack of words) unfortunately didn't do the plot any justice. It felt rushed and each time period was over in the blink of an eye - you just start to properly get into the time period (such as WW2 - so cool, wish it would have focused on this era more!) and then it abruptly moves on, which just left me feeling disappointed. In my opinion, this would have been better off as a series of comics, which each volume focusing on the time period.

Nevertheless, I would mostly recommend this to fans of horror comics and vampire lovers!

If you've read this, let me know what you think in the comments!

Books and bouquets. x

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