American Vampire, Vol. 4

American Vampire, Vol. 4 (American Vampire #4; issues 19-27)

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4.11 of 5 stars 4.11  ·  rating details  ·  751 ratings  ·  72 reviews
AMERICAN VAMPIRE flashes back to two very distinct points in American history. The first tale comes from the early 1800's with the "The Beast in the Cave" featuring art by the legendary Jordi Bernet (Torpedo, JONAH HEX). Learn about the original American Vampire, Skinner Sweet, and his involvement in the brutal Indian Wars, and an ancient evil hidden in the heart of the Ol...more
Hardcover, 208 pages
Published October 2nd 2012 by Vertigo (first published November 2011)
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Community Reviews

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Kemper
While some people waste their time writing Twilight fan-fiction and then convert it into best selling mommy porn, I prefer to concentrate on my own brand of fan-fic in which American vampire Skinner Sweet messily murders every character that Stephenie Meyer ever created. I’m hoping to get that book deal any day now.

There are several different stories contained in this collection. A flashback to Skinner’s pre-vampire days as a cavalry officer fighting Indians shows that he may once have been huma...more
Dan Schwent
In order to fight the US soldiers encroaching on their territory, including Jim Book and Skinner Sweet, the Apaches awaken a legendary monster, the Mimteh. Greaser vampire hunter Travis Kidd is on the trail of a vampire that killed his family. Agent Poole is in the south and encounters both racism and another breed of vampire. All this and more in American Vampire Volume 4!

Here we are again, another entry in Scott Snyder's chronicles of vampires in America. At this point in the series, it's gett...more
Melissa
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
Ronyell
Vampire

5.5 stars!

Brief Introduction:

Wow! I had never seen a comic book series get better and better over time since Neil Gaiman’s “Sandman” series and Joss Whedon’s run on “Astonishing X-Men!” Scott Snyder continues to amaze me with his stellar storytelling in the “American Vampire” series and the fourth volume is definitely one of the best volumes I had read so far in this series! With brilliant writing from Scott Snyder along with fantastic artwork from Rafael Albuquerque, Jordi Bernet, Roger Cruz...more
Eric
AMERICAN VAMPIRE VOL. 4 isn’t the best in the series, but it gives fans plenty of meaty material to sink their teeth into (terrible pun completely intended). This volume of American Vampire is divided into two portions. The first takes place in the 1800s during the Indian Wars, and the second portion takes place during the 1950s. It’s a Skinner Sweet-heavy volume, which is great, because Skinner is such a fun character (and by fun, I mean evil and terrible. But the worst villains make the best c...more
ElphabaNewlin
This edition of AMERICAN VAMPIRE goes back in time a bit to give more backstory to Skinner Sweet (bleh) and Jim Book, who were foster brothers when they were children, as it turns out. Which makes my anger towards Skinner even more palpable, btu he's a bad dude, so there ya go. I was frustrated to see that he was back, btu then the story introduced another kickass female character, an American Indian vampire by the name of Mimiteh.

And then we got the story in the 1950s, where we meet a new vamp...more
Vincent
I don't remember the previous volumes well enough so I have to ask is Volume 4 the first time the vampires in American Vampire have a little "color" to them? The book begins with an American Indian vampire and concludes with an African American vampire. There is also an insinuation that there are East Asian vampires in the final story in the book (though there were Japanese vampires in Volume 3). Sandwiched between the ethnic vampires is the story of Travis Kidd. It's his story that is the most...more
Chris
This series continues to be hit or miss for me, as it seems to be--more and more--that one of the arcs in each volume is amazing, and the other(s) tend to be lackluster.

That's how it was for me. The main arc of "Death Race" was all sorts of good and fun. In fact, it's probably one of my favorites of the series so far. I think the writing was super tight, and Albequerque does some amazing art and layouts.

However, the other two arcs: The Beast in the Cave and The Nocturnes left me with a feeling o...more
Shannon Appelcline
The Beast in the Cave (19-21). This first story is terrific for its background on Sweet before he became a vampire and for its background on the American Vampires themselves. Its also got beautiful, genre-appropriate artwork that brings everything up to the next level [8/10].

Death Race (22-25). Unfortunately, a largely forgettable story. It’s further hampered by a very confusing use of multiple chronologies and the realization that the protagonist can’t win. There were some interesting surprises...more
Adriana
This series has been on my "must read" list for ages so I was doubly exited when I won a copy of volume 4 on "First Reads."
Volume 4 brings the series into the 1950s after a brief yet very interesting trip into the Indian Wars.
Of the three stories contained in the book, the Indian Wars story arc had the most character development and history. The characters were well rounded, even the ones that fell into stereotypical roles felt real enough to bring something into the story.
The middle story was,...more
Angela
"The Beast in the Cave," the first of three small arcs to make up this graphic novel, is my favorite since Snyder and Stephen King collaborated on the introductory story to the series. I've always had a soft spot for Book, and it was wonderful to see him front and center again, and to learn more about his past with Skinner.

"Death Race" was a decent tale, but Travis Kidd never really grew on me. The 50's James Dean/Danny Zuko macho kind of guy has never really done anything for me, so rather tha...more
Rob Pettinato
I will start off by saying didn't enjoy this as much as the previous three volumes, but I believe this collection still is completely strong enough to prove why American Vampire is one of the best comics out right now and why Scott Snyder is one of the best writers around. The story is constantly building upon itself and has always left me on the edge of my seat wanting more and more.

The artwork is always top-notch, but I feel as if the stories do tend to suffer some when Rafael Albuquerque isn'...more
Jim
This series is definitely one of my favorite going right now. The main story arc is consistently well written, suspenseful, and engaging. This volume is no exception and the two issue arc that follows the main arc is just as great. I love seeing new designs that Albuquerque comes up with for different types of vampires. His art is stunning.

The only thing that bugged me about this volume was the first arc in the book, which covers some Skinner Sweet back story. Its pace felt laborious partially d...more
Jenn
Actually 3 stars or even 2 to the "first" storyline, and my usual 4 to 5 stars to the "second" one (featured on the cover). The flashback storyline about the childhood of Skinner Sweet and Jim Book...well, it sucked. I felt like it was out-of-synch with the rest of the mythology created in volumes 1-3 and - sort of like the Star Wars universe - you find yourself explaining how the hell this fits together and trying to make excuses. Plus there's this weird Native American vampire angle which does...more
Jesse
Yeah. After this one I think I'm done with American Vampire. Rafael Albuquerque barely does any of the artwork anymore, and I don't like the other artists at all. In addition, Scott Snyder's writing is still pretty good, but it doesn't have any focus. The stories have stopped being about Skinner Sweet and Pearl, and those are the only characters I care about. They've become cameo characters in the best of these stories and caricatures of themselves in the worst of them. I don't care about Mornin...more
Bandit
One of the best graphic novel series out there currently and quite possibly the best vampire series presently continues with yet another kickass volume. In this one we learn about the origins or Skinner's and Book's relationship and witness a race to the death of a 1950s teenage vampire hunter and his prey. Also, the first story is pretty awesome, since it reveals that Skinner might not have been the first american vampire after all. As always strong writing by Scott Snyder and phenomenal covers...more
Shaun
A great addition to the American Vampire series. The reader doesn't get to see much of Henry and Pearl in this volume, I can't wait to see what will happen in the next one. I really enjoyed the first story about Sweet and Book's backstory, it really added an extra level of evil to Skinner's character. I wonder if Mimiteh still exists and is truly the first American vampire instead of Sweet. Travis was an awesome young hunter and I hope he returns in future volumes. Carter proves to be a strong n...more
Skinner
Another excellent addition to the series. While I felt that part 3 had a light edge on this one it's still a very easy decision to give it 5 stars as it's just way ahead of most of what's going on in the comic world.

In this addition we have two storylines. The first is back when Skinner was still human and fighting in the Indian wars alongside Jim Book of all people. We get a bit of back story on the two and also get to see the man Skinner was before becoming an outlaw or vampire. We also get to...more
Sara
Travis Kidd- how I enjoy you! He is after Skinner and just as ruthless. I'm excited to see how his storyline progresses because, first, he was betrayed, and second, he's now pissed!! Aw man, we have some good stuff coming up.

The first third of this volume revolved around a back story between Skinner and Book...very complex. I liked the idea of them as just a cop vs. an outlaw, but this history adds some extra dynamic to their relationship.

There are some serious cliffhangers at the conclusion of...more
Cale
Another very good collection of this series - I can't believe I missed out on how good this book became. There are three arcs here - a native american vampire story that puts a different spin on cowboys and indians, the cover's 50's era vampire hunter teen which is the central one, and a two-issue Nocturne, which I probably liked the best. All three stories are very strong, although the 50's era one does seem to leave a number of threads hanging loose. But that's just to pull you in to reading t...more
MissAnnThrope
11 March 2013

Every time I open a volume of American Vampire, I send Scott Snyder a silent thanks for saving vampires from the plague of abominable, amber-eyed, sparkly, distant cousins that have polluted this genre. Seeing Snyder's nasty vampires commit the most atrocious acts with raging bloodlust brings me oh so much joy. Scott Snyder, you are boss.

American Vampire, Volume 4 begins with some backstory on Skinner Sweet's history and his surprising relationship with Jim Book. It traverses Sweet'...more
Nash Bork
This is based on a Goodreads giveaway.

I had never read American Vampire before, but it was easy to figure out what was going on by just dropping into book four. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I had not read any Vertigo titles in a long time. This book reminded me why I used to love them so much. The story is quirky yet smart and the art work is fantastic. This volume contains four separate stories. This first, Beast in a Cave, is takes place in 1863 and is drawn by Jordi Bernet...more
Vanessa Torres
One of the main things I look at in Graphic Novels is the art, and I have to say, I really dig it. I'm very much into horror, gore, twisted, creepy stuff and this had some pretty great stuff! It was an interesting read. Always had me guessing and flipping pages. Surprised me often, which I think is a great compliment! Great story line all together. Meshed well, will definitely keep going with the series!!

I received the book for free through Goodreads First Reads. (Thanks so much!)

Tiffany
I'm officially done with this series now. It has gone way downhill. The quality of the artwork has greatly declined. The timeline in the story seemed schizophrenic and disjointed at times. The plot was minimal and dragged. The female characters were extremely flat and primarily existed to be objects under the male gaze. The only positive thing was additional information of Skinner's backstory. This series started strong and engaging, but I've really lost interest.
Caroline
Another entertaining volume, and I was happy to see some more of Skinner Sweet's history (and hope future volumes will fill in the gaps more). This goes into the history of how Sweet and Book first met, and gives a little idea of how Sweet became an Outlaw. Plus, it goes into the origin of a couple more American vampires, further expanding the species.

I enjoyed all the various storylines in here, and am definitely looking forward to more.
Chris Lemmerman
A varied but consistently excellent collection of tales that all contribute to the ever growing American Vampire universe. All three stories take place across different times, with different characters, yet all feel like important and unique adventures that will build to something even bigger and more connected soon. Excellent art as always, and I like how Snyder's dialogue and narration alters to suit each new time period.
Sesana
Another solid volume of American Vampire. This one has three entirely separate story lines. The first features a pre-vampire Skinner Sweet and is set during the Indian Wars. I think this was the longest storyline, and although there was an interesting story in there, I did feel like it got a touch repetitive. The second story provides the cover image: yes, it's a 50s greaser vampire hunter. Wildly entertaining stuff here, and I could do with seeing more of our vampire hunter. The last is set in...more
Zedsdead
Vol 4 contained three stories. In the first we get to see Skinner Sweet and Jim Book in their human days as adoptive brothers and Indian-fighters in the pre-Civil War army. The second introduces a new vampire hunter, a 50s greaser who tracks Sweet to a California suburb. Finally, Calvin--a black army-buddy of Henry's who was turned by Sweet--visits a bigoted Alabama town and discovers a cell of racist werewolf-vampires. Pearl makes only a brief appearance as she discovers her beloved husband Hen...more
Susannah
I really enjoyed this volume. I was not so crazy about the 3 volume, but this one was really good, with great use of different time periods, and 2 interesting new characters in Travis & Calvin. Judging by the cliffhanger it looks like Volume 5 will have some interesting developments concerning Pearl.
Morgan
Quick read. Wished to see more Skinner but I'll take what I can get. I'm looking forward to following Pearly story a little more in the next book. Pretty good story though I was hoping for something a little more dramatic and challenging. Ah well, a good book overall.
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American Vampire Volume 4. (Hardcover)
American Vampire Vol. 4 (Paperback)
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Scott Snyder is the Eisner and Harvey Award winning writer on DC Comics Batman, Swamp Thing, and his original series for Vertigo, American Vampire. He is also the author of the short story collection, Voodoo Heart, published by the Dial Press in 2006. The paperback version was published in the summer of 2007.
More about Scott Snyder...
American Vampire, Vol. 1 Batman, Vol. 1: The Court of Owls Batman: The Black Mirror American Vampire, Vol. 2 American Vampire, Vol. 3

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