Vampire Hunter D Volume 3 manga cover image is courtesy of barnesandnoble.com.

Sci-Fi/Horror; Rated “YA” for “Young Adults 16+”

For the past few years, Digital Manga Publishing has been producing manga adaptations of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s Vampire Hunter D novels.  Creator Saiko Takaki is adapting and illustrating the Vampire Hunter D manga, with the first volume appearing in 2007.

A futuristic, supernatural mix of the knight-errant, the wandering swordsman, and the American cowboy, “D” is a dhampir (half-human/half-vampire) that hunts vampires called the Nobility, as he travels by (cybernetic) horse circa 13,000 A.D.  By the time of the story, however, the Nobility have been in decline and are practically extinct – except for the legacy of their nefarious designs and technology.

In Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 3, D arrives in Vishnu Village where the village Elder offers D a bounty to retrieve his daughter, who was kidnapped by the vampire Noble, Baron Mayerling.  Another group of vampire hunters, the Marcus clan, have also decided to butt in on the bounty.  Led by their ruthless brother, Borgoff Marcus, these notorious mercenaries not only take on a mission of pursuit and retrieval, but they also embark on a rampage leaving a wide path of destruction.

Not all is what it seems, however.  Mayerling heads for a secret destination, a place he hopes will help him make the ultimate escape.  To slow his pursuers, Mayerling seeks safe haven in the village of Barbarois, the home of mutants and monsters that possess incredible supernatural powers of their own.  Is Mayerling’s quest really an abduction, or is it something else?  And which is worse – Mayerling or the Marcus clan?  D will uncover the truth.

[This volume also includes a 15-page preview of the upcoming North American edition of Hideyuki Kikuchi’s novel, Yashakiden – The Demon Princess.]

THE LOWDOWN:  Like the stories in the previous volumes, the plot of Vampire Hunter D, Vol. 3 is filled with complicated alliances and shocking plot twists.  Like the others, this story also hinges on a doomed romance.  Vol. 3 is also an improvement on Vol. 2, having a more streamlined narrative and clearer conflicts.

As usual, the art steals the show.  Vampire Hunter D is certainly one of those comics in which the graphics are the story, rather than having art that merely illustrates the writer’s script.  Surely, manga-ka Saiko Takaki must have several assistants, because it must take a lot of work to create the art’s symphonic kaleidoscope of inking, toning, and tonal effects.  This attention to detail in the art is crucial in creating this series’ sparkling midnight mood.  The manga is a fever dream full of dread and dreadful phantoms.  As this vampire hunter named “D” travels a gloomy and sinister post, post-apocalyptic land of treacherous humanity, malformed creatures, and dying vampires, he reveals not the heart of darkness in man, but that the world is now a heart of darkness.  Here, love may not be tragedy, but it may be tragic to fall in love.  Vampire Hunter D offers a world in which one’s love may be a monster, but it makes for a great comic book.

POSSIBLE AUDIENCE:  Readers looking for a horror comic book with pitch perfect art and graphics will find it in Vampire Hunter D.

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