Day Men: The Complete Collection from BOOM! Studios collects issues 1-8 of Matt Gagnon and Michael Alan Nelson’s series of the same name, which ended in October 2015.
In this irony-riddled age, I’m a sucker for work that tries to be unapologetically cool. Matt Gagnon and Michael Alan Nelson’s Day Men is very much a vehicle for coolness. Characters wear suave suits and stunning, dramatic dresses, the color palette is chic, and the world feels just the right combination of fantastical and believable.
Despite the monster-centric plot, which revolves around a group of humans called Day Men employed by vampire families to do the dirty work the vamps can’t do at night, Day Men is certainly not a horror comic. Instead, it shimmers with the kind of sexy gloss of Tom King and Tim Seeley’s Grayson or FX’s Archer.
Writers Gagnon and Nelson’s sense of rhythm makes this volume hard to put down once you’ve picked it up. They slowly unravel the power dynamics of vampire family politics, while punctuating the dryer, but still engaging worldbuilding, with realistic character development. The book is also packed chock-full of entertaining fight scenes with fun set pieces that keep you in suspense.
It’s the kind of fun, confident storytelling that BOOM! Studios really excels at. Illustrator Brian Stelfreeze and colorist Darrin Moore are another virtuosic pairing, creating art that feels consistently dynamic and atmospheric. There’s a lot of contrast between bright, luxurious colors, and heavy black shadow in every panel that, while not scary, fits seamlessly with the vampiric focus.
As much as I love the cool, smooth spy aesthetic, I probably love vampires more, which means I’ve got some strong opinions about how to do them right. If you’re looking for a vampire-human romance story, or a Salem’s Lot bloodbath, you’re barking up the wrong tree. But if you want something that feels new, fresh, and generally unconcerned with all the baggage and rules that the vampire genre is often bogged down by, you’ll probably like this. Gagnon and Nelson take a liberal approach to fighting and killing vampires that I appreciate. It’s reminiscent of Buffy, in that, as long as you’re badass enough, you can probably take a vamp down.
It’s unfortunate that the series itself is over, since it set up a lot of engaging mysteries to develop in the next story arc, but The Complete Collection serves up a satisfying story to the reader, which is something that a lot of series that end before their time struggle to do. If you’re in the market for a fun weekend read, I would put Day Men: The Complete Collection high on the list.
Creative Team: Matt Gagnon and Michael Alan Nelson(writers), Brian Stelfreeze(illustrator), Darrin Moore(colorist), Ed Dukeshire(letterer)
Publisher: BOOM! Studios
Click here to purchase.
