Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter

First Death (Anita Blake Vampire Hunter (Marvel Hardcover))

By Laurell K. Hamilton, Jonathon Green, Wellington Alves (By (artist)), Brett Booth (By (artist))

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Average Rating: (See all reviews) Format: Hardcover, 128 pages Other Information: chiefly col. Illustrations Published In: United States, 27 February 2008 Other Editions: Hardcover, USA $37.99 $33.98 View Ships within 6-11 days Anita Blake's adventures began with the novel "Guilty Pleasures", where the vampires of the St. Louis area tried to recruit the veteran vampire hunter to help them solve a peculiar mystery. But there were many mysteries about Anita Blake's past that were left unanswered...until now. Laurell K. Hamilton and Jonathon Green have finally released the official prequel to the long-running novel series, written exclusively for comics, and featuring the adventures of a younger Anita Blake as she teams up with popular characters Edward and Jean-Claude for a vampire hunt fans will absolutely love sinking their teeth into. It's the perfect story for old and new fans alike! This title collects Laurell K. Hamilton's "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: The First Death" numbered 1-2, and "Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter: Guilty Pleasures Handbook". Publisher: Marvel Comics ISBN: 0785129413 EAN: 9780785129417 Dimensions: 26.0 x 171.0 x 1.0 centimeters

This is an extremely poor offering from the Anita Blake series both in terms of narrative and design. 'The First Death' is a prequel to Hamilton's Vampire Hunter series, finally bringing to light one of the murder cases mentioned in several of her later novels, as well as introducing us to a younger Anita and an earlier encounter with RPIT, Dolph, Storr and of course, the first meeting with Jean Claude.

The execution of this introduction is very disappointing; over all there is no information we have not already gleaned from subsequent novels, and more to the point, the character design is sketchy, relying on introductory quips and staple lines which are also lifted from the later books. There is no sense of newness here; the closest we approach to it is a five second scene with the Jean Claude, who as always has some innate sex appeal, but even so is disappointing in his first meeting with Anita. The two both fail to act either as attracted or repulsed as they should.

The narrative aside, the comic book itself is poorly done; artist Brett Booth, who illustrated the first Anita Blake: Guilty Pleasures volume is passed over for another artist who, though imitating his design sketches, fails to achieve either that sense of sex appeal and grotesque which Booth created in the earlier volume. Muscles and sharp angles are rejected in favour of a softer look for all the characters, which perhaps reflects Anita's state of innocence, but more often just makes what should be sexy curves look like a badly-drawn big arse. There is no finnesse in the illustrations and the entire novel fails to produce striking images that can stick with the reader.

If that isn't enough to put you off, I am disheartened by the fact that the cover artwork for this prequel IS done by Brett Booth; extremely misleading for the reader who purchases the text online. Booth is also credited on the likes of Amazon, so it is difficult to predict that his artwork does not take centre stage.

Finally, and worst of all, this hardcover is a poor investment as HALF of the book is taken over by an entirely redundant 'Guide to Guilty Pleasures'. That's right: half of this hardcover is filled with pages and pages of redundant explicating material and character sketches which is completely useless and superfluous to anyone who has read either the first comic volume or the novel. I doubt any of us need the confirmation provided in boring biographies of the main characters in a New York Times Bestselling series.

Not worth your time, though if you do buy it, the UK version is cheaper from fishpond than the US.

While this comic book 'background' story does provide more information about a situation mentioned several times in the Anita Blake novels it comes across somewhat empty, especially after reading the novels that the comics are based on. Kudos for the 'prettiness' of the the actual artwork, but part of the feel of the novels seems to be, in some respects, 'lost in translation'.

It is probably not something that you would give to a younger child to read as it does contain what could be considered some rather graphic violence. For a fan, however, it helps complete the collection for those who have stuck with the series from the beginning.

I really enjoyed the graphic novel "The First Death". This shows the first meeting between Anita and Jean-Claude - quick though it may be - and introduces you to the some of the main characters - Edward, Dolph, Zerbrowski, etc. I particularly like the graphic style of Brett Booth who also was the artist for the Gulity Pleasures (#1 and #2). This book also includes the "Guilty Pleasures Handbook" which is a description of characters and who they are to Anita. If you have difficulty imaging what the characters look like, this gives you a good insight. An excellent graphic novel!

This is an extremely poor offering from the Anita Blake series both in terms of narrative and design. 'The First Death' is a prequel to Hamilton's Vampire Hunter series, finally bringing to light one of the murder cases mentioned in several of her later novels, as well as introducing us to a younger Anita and an earlier encounter with RPIT, Dolph, Storr and of course, the first meeting with Jean Claude.

The execution of this introduction is very disappointing; over all there is no information we have not already gleaned from subsequent novels, and more to the point, the character design is sketchy, relying on introductory quips and staple lines which are also lifted from the later books. There is no sense of newness here; the closest we approach to it is a five second scene with the Jean Claude, who as always has some innate sex appeal, but even so is disappointing in his first meeting with Anita. The two both fail to act either as attracted or repulsed as they should.

The narrative aside, the comic book itself is poorly done; artist Brett Booth, who illustrated the first Anita Blake: Guilty Pleasures volume is passed over for another artist who, though imitating his design sketches, fails to achieve either that sense of sex appeal and grotesque which Booth created in the earlier volume. Muscles and sharp angles are rejected in favour of a softer look for all the characters, which perhaps reflects Anita's state of innocence, but more often just makes what should be sexy curves look like a badly-drawn big arse. There is no finnesse in the illustrations and the entire novel fails to produce striking images that can stick with the reader.

If that isn't enough to put you off, I am disheartened by the fact that the cover artwork for this prequel IS done by Brett Booth; extremely misleading for the reader who purchases the text online. Booth is also credited on the likes of Amazon, so it is difficult to predict that his artwork does not take centre stage.

Finally, and worst of all, this hardcover is a poor investment as HALF of the book is taken over by an entirely redundant 'Guide to Guilty Pleasures'. That's right: half of this hardcover is filled with pages and pages of redundant explicating material and character sketches which is completely useless and superfluous to anyone who has read either the first comic volume or the novel. I doubt any of us need the confirmation provided in boring biographies of the main characters in a New York Times Bestselling series.

Not worth your time, though if you do buy it, this US version is a more expensive copy of the same thing... The UK print is also available on fishpond for substantially less.