Dark Ivory #2 (of 4) (Image – Linsner / Hopkins)
Ivory gets in over her head as she explores the underbelly of New York City nightclub life: the secret world of the bloodsuckers. Hidden doors are suddenly opened, and clandestine societies are revealed. Ivory’s new ‘friends’ are out to show her that blood really is thicker than water…
Dark Ivory is one of those books that if you take it at face value, you will actually get a lot out of it. Try to read deeper or expect a tale for the ages and you might be left wanting. This book is exactly what is seems to be… a teenage romantic gothic horror story. Ivory is a high school girl who has gone through her own secret journeys and gotten over her own roadblocks (partially anyways) to become a semi-well adjusted teen living with one foot in Goth culture and another one in a dysfunctional family. Ivory gets an invite to an exclusive club, gets involved with her new friend Xander and makes her move from being in the Anne Rice fan club to being friends with Lestat himself… in a matter of speaking.
As far as the story goes, it’s not exactly slow-paced, but there is quite a bit of emphasis from this issue and issue #1 on who Ivory is, characteristics, background, etc. Just sort of setting the stage for what is to come. This normally would not be a deal at all, except we are now two issues into a four issue series and the action has just started. But then again, long winded introductions are a very “classic literature” way to go. This ish has a weird dream sequence that is something right out of a Wes Craven nightmare (for horror fans, that is a good thing) and an end scene (not going to give it away) that does make you twitch. If I had just read issue #1, I might not have gone on. But issue #2 makes the it seem like the ride is worth it. The writing team of Eva Hopkins and Joe Linsner is unique in what they produce, in all the right ways.
While I don’t have any Dawn sketchbooks around the house, I have been a long time work of Linsner’s gorgeous gals. And while I really did dig the whole teen vampire story that is happening in Dark Ivory, one the best things I can appreciate about this book is Linsner draws beautiful women of all shapes, sizes and ages in this book, furthering my personal belief that you can be a drop-dead hottie without being a size 1. It helps the protagonist seem like someone who could be in your math class, not coming out of a Vogue ad.
Grade: B+
Pullbox Warning: due to the graphic nature (vampire / horroresque) of some scenes, while the main character is a teenage girl, this may not be the book for pre-teens.
