The Vain follows a group of vampires throughout the 20th and 21st century as they try to live their life with stolen blood as the changing technology makes that harder and harder to do. The graphic novel focuses on different historical events, especially World War II where our group of vampires follow a secret mission.

I have to say I loved Lost and Fanny, the sapphic couple, and their dynamic. North and Marquis were also interesting, although Marquis almost felt like a side character, especially if you compare him to the detective. The story was well worked-out without getting confusing, a balance few graphic novels get right. I wish the pacing would have been handled a bit more clearly, but overall I'm very satisfied. There were quite a few pop culture references stylishly incorporated into the story. I liked the art style and it was just the right level of gorey for a vampire story.

I would definitely recommend this to anyone looking for a stylish vampire graphic novel through the ages, with a healthy balance of character and action paired with a beautiful sapphic couple.

I'd like to thank Oni Press for providing this copy via Netgalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Vampires VS Nazis.

The timeline of the story was hard to follow at times, and I didn't like the art style. The story was a bit boring. Actually, I'm not even so sure what the story was, to be honest.

This graphic novel follows a group of vampires known as the Vain, as well as a detective hell-bent on catching them. It spans through a couple of decades from World War II up to the present (?) and there are many events in history featured that the Vain were involved in. This premise was what really caught my attention (and the sapphic vampires!!!) and I ended up really having fun with this graphic novel. It's a very short read, which sadly makes it seem a little rushed. I wish it was a little bit longer and explored more parts of the story. Also I felt that sometimes the change of POVs felt a little abrupt and I got a little confused. The standout characters for me were Lost and Fanny. I loved their relationship and the ending for them was very bittersweet. Lost was such a fun character and her first scenes were memorable. I wanted to know more about the Marquis, but he sometimes felt like a background character even if he was part of the Vain. I also enjoyed the detective's storyline and wanted a bit more from it. What this graphic novel really accomplished was capturing the vampire and old time-y detective vibes. The art style was really great too. Would definitely recommend especially to the vampire stans!!

Elevator Pitch: The Vain follows the life of an FBI agent and the group of vampires whose existence he's trying to prove.

Review: Well firstly, there's a lesbian vampire couple so that's always a plus. The art is gorgeous and there are some fantastic (i.e. gruesome) depictions of body horror. The plot though is not all that interesting. Bank robbing vampires who kill Nazi's sounds great but the narrative device with Agent Franklin keeps taking away from the story you really want to be reading. I did think the ending was impactful and there were some truly enjoyable moments but overall the story is not all that strong.

A group of four vampires - Lost, Orphan, North, and Marquis - rob blood banks to feed themselves. In the 1940's, they approach the FBI and ask to be sent to Germany to kill Nazis. This is where Agent Felix Franklin encounters them. They kill a German scientist in front of him and say that no one will ever believe him. They are right. Franklin dedicates his life to finding and killing the vampires called the Vain. His investigation costs him his job, his marriage, his children, and his sanity. Will he ever catch them? He gets his chance when a young FBI agent discovers his files after a group of bikers is slain in a bar. Meanwhile, the Vain have struggled to survive and are becoming desperate.

A modern graphic novel about a group of “vampires” no-one wants to call out for who they are and what they need.
Initially we meet them as they come to the attention of the FBI in the bizarre robberies of banks. Not stealing cash or even raiding stores of alcohol but taking blood stocks.
Matters become confused during the 2nd world war and afterwards they face countless setbacks amid mass communication and the rise of digital technologies.
Nothing can heal their thirst for blood and despite innovative schemes they struggle to hide their true identities.
However, one man has maintained his own personal investigation and despite a history of denial by his peers, labelled insane for daring to name his quarry and sidelined, he is presented with one last chance to set the record right.
This is a clever up to date tale, well suited to a comic book presentation. Not as gory as you might have suspected but brilliantly subtle and under written with a red tint to the illustrations and a mix of narration and communication bubbles. Clearly presented, the characters are well defined and the story deep but easy to follow.
I particularly liked the development of the vampire group who struggle to come to terms with their own needs and a changing world. Survival requires a degree of secrecy but their bloodlust leaves clues a diligent investigation can follow. A tale of adaptation and evolution. A moral justification of amoral actions is part of that struggle to co-exist with those whose blood you need to survive.
Interesting and compelling read which steers clear of cliched echos and tries to tell us more about difference, ignorance and fear or things we don’t understand.
Could “vampires” live within a human domain? Or does any knowledge of their existence lead to their persecution and extinction. Not a parable or fable but written with thought and provocation to look beyond historical messages.
This is born out in the aftermath of World War II where political reality overcame justice and the rule of law. Clearly detailed in this story. Much to admire and reflect upon. Don’t miss the graphic covers and character drawings at the end of the story. The theme is maintained in the contributors bios and information conveyed in a drop of blood. Brilliant.

[2 Stars]

-- Thank you NetGalley and Oni Press for an eARC in an exchange for an honest review --

The concept of vampires who fight Nazi's and hold blood bank heists is really intriguing. And the art was quite beautiful and pleasant. However, I didn't find myself really pulled into the story. I also didn't really care for any of the characters or what happened to them.

Do you ever wish you could read about Bonnie and Clyde except as a bunch of gay vampires? Well this is the book for you then! The characters and their separate journeys overall seem a bit compressed, but the ending is what really nailed it for me! It bumped this from a 3-star to a 4-star!

The idea was fun and overall the story was fine. Plotting was a little all over the place but enjoyable enough

I liked the art. However, the plot was kind of all over the place. I did enjoy the characters and I love them.

I would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. The caption intrigued me, rogue vampires, including a lesbian couple roaming the world in the 1940s stealing blood abs wreaking havoc along the way. The story kept me interested and I enjoyed the art work of it.

This was okay. I felt that the plot was a little all over the place at times. It jumped from here to there and it was hard to care for the characters, especially the members of The Vain. I felt entirely disconnected to them. I really liked how the history was brought in, but it started to become unbelievable with where everyone was and how they were getting there, etc. I also didn't care much for the art style.

Overall, this was not the best thing I've read, but I can see how some people would like it.

A book that with the glamorising of the lead baddies, and the crisp style of the narration and dialogue, wants to be a classy vampire story. Unfortunately it kind of gets turned into a vampire Forrest Gump variant, as our four bloodsuckers stop holding up blood banks and instead get involved in first being secret agents against the Nazis, then getting Nazi scientists covertly to America, then causing the Cuban Missile Crisis, and so on. All the while a lowly FBI agent is on their tail, not to realise the abject danger that position holds. It certainly does something the normal vampire story doesn't, but it didn't quite convince – especially in the body-ripping-apart images – and despite it not being a large part of the text, the grousing and quibbling from the undead got on my nerves a bit. Three and a half stars for the novel approach and for trying its best to be understated when it could have gone full-on wacky.

What would you do if you were a vampire? The story follows the lives of four criminal vampires who rob, kill, and do everything in between over the courses of their lives. They’re stylish, sinful, and will do anything to stave off their boredom and get blood. As with the changing world, new challenges arise and getting blood just isn’t as easy as it use to be and committing crime will get harder to get away with especially when someone from their past is hellbent on capturing them. It was definitely an interesting and fun read! The artwork was really nice and the story was action packed!

*Thanks Netgalley and Oni Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

This comic has so much potential but I really think it needed to be planned out and organized more. I only started to like the story towards the end and I do hope that it continues because I am pretty interested to see if it continues as interesting as it started to get.

“Spanning nearly a century in time, The Vain chronicles the criminal lives of four sinful and stylish blood bank-robbing vampires.”

The Vain follows a group of four vampires who steal blood in order to survive. The FBI quickly catches on and one agent, Felix Franklin, makes it his life’s goal to catch them. As the years pass it becomes harder to access blood, making them more desperate and with the FBI inching closer, it’s only so long before they are caught.

It really captured the style of old detective dramas and I’m glad it came across so well in this format. Around ten pages in, I was gripped as we see the first of many gore scenes. Lost’s “scared yet?” moments after blowing her brains out is easily one of my favourite scenes from any graphic novel I’ve ever read.

The only issue I had was with the timing, fitting almost a century into 140 pages left the story feeling a little rushed at times. However it didn’t affect how much I enjoyed the story and the characters. And what an ending!!!

Thank you to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.

The story allows the writer to have the characters morph their approach over the years, which means as the story goes on you get several different kinds of vampire stories. We start with vampires doing black-ops missions to kill Nazi in a Captain America-style story, then we get vampires toying with hippies in 1970s California, and a grand finish that's reminiscent of 80s action films. A little something for everyone...

The cover and premise for this sounded badass and fun as hell, but the actual comic left something to be desired. It was, in many ways, slight and underwhelming--the character development was underwhelming, as was the plotting. A few of the setpieces were very fun and bloody, but they weren't enough to make up for everything else. Also, I felt like splitting time between the group of vampires and the FBI agent dragged the pacing down (and, well, I wasn't interested in the boring white man at all).

The Vain is a pop culture tour of America’s bloody history, using the backdrop of theft, serial killers, military conflict, cults, and conspiracies this short read is fun romp. There are more than a few cinematic nods that are executed stylishly on the page, with a number of sequences that I would recommend to students looking for examples of how to balance action and character.

As a fan of Vampire stories The Vain’s exploration of the ethics of trading human blood for immortality was expected but welcome. The rules it set out for it’s vampires were reminiscent of Being Human or American Horror Story. However it concerned itself less with the psychology of the vampire protagonists leaving some chapters feeling a little unsatisfied. I was though entirely gratified with the conclusive ending cementing the story as the self contained narrative it needed to be.

The Vain is crispy and colorfully drawn and takes the reader into a world that blends historical crime and supernatural elements. There is a level of violence in the book that feels like it aligns with the direction that the books goes in, and the author/illustrator team share a story in pictures and words that trades of suspense with enjoyable genre-blending.