American Vampire Reading Order

In 2010, before becoming very well-known by working on the Batman series at DC Comics, Scott Snyder teamed up with artist Rafael Albuquerque to launch the ongoing series American Vampire at Vertigo. A title that gained a lot of attention at first with Stephen King writing a storyline.

King only put his name on the first 5 issues (backstories only), the story went on for a few years after that. In fact, it concluded in October 2021. That said, we didn’t get a decade’s worth of American Vampire stories as it was divided into three cycles published non-continuously. The first series lasted 34 issues, from 2010 to 2013; the second series was called “American Vampire: Second Cycle,” and lasted 11 issues, from 2014–2015; and the third series, called “American Vampire: 1976“, lasted 10 issues, from 2020 to 2021.

But what is American Vampire about? Vampire in America, of course! In a way, it’s about the story of America. It’s about Skinner Sweet, a violent outlaw who lived in the Wild West. He was going to be killed for his crimes, but an accident led him to be turned into a vampire, the first one to be made in America. He was of a new breed, one that doesn’t suffer from the same limitations as the vampires from the old continent—he is impervious to sunlight, but also faster and stronger.

Skinner Sweet is at the heart of the story, but he is not alone. In fact, American Vampire is more about one of his victims, Pearl Jones. The first book opened in July 1925. Pearl was then an aspiring actress going to a party that led her to a violent death. But Skinner “saved” her by turning her into a vampire. He didn’t care about Pearl, he needed her for his plan.

Pearl survived and try for a time to live like a normal person with the love of her life, Henry Preston, a war veteran, and a musician who got older while Pearl stayed young.

There are not a lot of American Vampires, but there are a lot of other vampires, and not only those who look like they were inspired by Dracula. One of the clear ambitions of Scott Snyder was, at a time when the vampire was mostly popular for his modern YA romanticization iteration, to reconnect with the darkness and violence of the myth.

This was done by exploring the recent history of America—also marked by its violence—from the wild west to the trip to the Moon. American Vampire is filled with interesting characters interwoven in a rich mythology that included a secret governmental agency dedicated to hunting vampires, legends from the old continent, cultural landmarks, and family dramas. In a way, it’s about the traumas that made America, generational conflicts, and the horror of vampires!

As the story progressed, years passed and more characters joined Pearl and Skinner. More vampires, more vampire hunters, and more victims helped build an intriguing and thrilling epic that culminated in an explosive finale.