Review – Luna The Vampire #1 (IDW Publishing)

Publisher: IDW Publishing
Writer/Artist: Yasmin Sheikh
Release Date: 13th January, 2016

Originally launched as a Kickstarter project by its creator, Yasmin Sheikh, the first issue of Luna The Vampire goes on worldwide release this week thanks to the fine folks at IDW Publishing, giving far more people an opportunity to experience the exploits of everyone’s favourite (probably?) grumpy space vampire.

We aren’t given much of an explanation for anything here before we find ourselves diving right into the first short story. We don’t really know why Luna’s a vampire, or why she lives in space, or what her story is, but y’know what? It’s probably not really necessary. She’s a little bit grumpy, a little bit gothy, she finds ugly little ‘fat worms’ adorable, and that’s pretty much all you need to know.

The stories here are undeniably basic, but fit the zany, cartoony approach perfectly. We have Luna trying to find something to wear for her Great Uncle’s zomibification, Luna struggling to lose weight to keep up with the latest fashion, Luna choosing a new pet… you get the idea. Shakespeare it ain’t, but Sheikh provides a steady stream of gags and slapstick moments that are bound to appeal to the younger comic readers out there.

It’s bright, it’s colourful, it’s silly, it’s… well… okay, it’s not for me personally, but I can guarantee that there’s going to be a huge market out there for these kind of offbeat shenanigans. There are definitely a few chuckles to be had here, even if the humour is a little more ‘miss’ than ‘hit’. I also can’t shake the feeling that the eye-catching character designs – Luna in particular – seem like they would be better suited to a brand of merchandise than an actual comicbook.

Don’t get me wrong though, this isn’t a bad comic, and what Sheikh does she does very well, with bright, lively colours and eye-catching characters; it’s just that there are a lot of other similar all-ages titles out there that are either sharper written or better illustrated (or both), and while Luna isn’t without her occasional moments of charm, there just doesn’t seem to be enough of a hook here to truly reel readers in.

Rating: 2.5/5.

PREVIEW ARTWORK
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