written by William Harms
illustrated by Matt Timson

Impaler was a pleasant surprise. In a world that seems overrun with the undead—in movies, books, TV, and comics—we’ve reached a state of vampire overkill. But the series, set in a post-apocalyptic world trying desperately to control the encroaching vampire threat, is action-packed and more intriguing than you would expect at first look.

To be fair: It pales in comparison to The Walking Dead. But also: These volumes collect single comic issues that were published a few years ago, so Impaler predates at least some of the undead, end-of-the-world craze that’s so prevalent right now.  And finally: While the books don’t exactly break new ground, they do rise to the levels of entertainment readers should expect from good horror comics.
 
Those caveats out of the way, here’s the plot: Vampires have invaded the United States after coming ashore via the cargo ship Demetrius. Millions of vampires now roam the Eastern Seaboard, and the United States, in an attempt to contain them, has nuked New York City, killing all the humans but doing no damage to the vampire population. The normal vampires-can’t-go-out-in-sunlight rules apply, but the vamps don’t sleep during the day: So if you go inside an unlit building during the day, watch out.
 
Into this devastation has come the one man—well, no longer a man, really—who has any hope of defeating the vampire menace: Vlad the Impaler. Vlad is now being eternally punished with never-ending life and the need to atone for his many sins by slaying the king of the vampires. He’s enlisted NYC cop Victor Dailey to help him, much to Victor’s dismay. And how he’s enlisted, and enabled Victor to survive the nuclear fallout, is perhaps worse than what the vampires are doing.
 
Meanwhile, the military is working to fight the vampires any way they can. An Army lieutenant tries to stay alive in D.C. while losing several of his men to the onslaught and trying to direct his wife and kids as they trek cross-country—possibly in vain, since nowhere seems to be safe.
 
The real standout in Impaler is the excellent artwork by Matt Timson. Timson details his process in the extras section of the book, which also includes a script, a cover gallery, and more bonus materials. It’s Timson’s art that really elevates the series and makes it captivating.
 
So far, two volumes of Impaler have been released, collecting the comic books. The first was published by Image, and the second comes from Top Cow. Hopefully, a third will follow soon to wrap up the series.
 
With lots of violence and even more instances of adult language, the series is best suited for adults or at least older teens.

-- John Hogan

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