The passing of any great creator always prompts a revisiting of the works they leave behind. Upon hearing about the unexpected death of author and editor Brian Augustyn (the writer of the classic Gotham by Gaslight) at the age of 67, I was immediately reminded of one of the first series I ever followed as a kid: Crimson.
Crimson is a vampire book steeped in lore and guided by a deep love for the vamp movies and TV series of the late 1980s, The Lost Boys and Near Dark (both released in 1987) chief among them, along with a bit of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer (1997) and Kindred: The Embrace (1996) added for flavoring.
The series follows a newly turned vampire called Alex Elder as he learns to live as a new fanged creature while also struggling with the prospect of being some kind of chosen one. The first three issues run on pure vengeance and denial. Alex wants to find the vampires that killed his friends on the same night they also turned him against his will, but he goes about this resisting his new reality. After that matter is settled, though, the story veers into vampire politicians, a centuries old war between the original vampires and angels, and what it means to be a vampire in New York City.
Crimson ran from 1998 to 2001, with the first seven issues originally published by Image and the remaining 17 by DC/Wildstorm. The story concept was developed by Humberto Ramos, Oscar Pinto, and Francisco Haghenbeck. Ramos served as the series’ artist. Augustyn was brought in to script the story.
The comic is a visual marvel. Ramos illustrates a dangerous and unhinged version of New York governed by a laissez-faire attitude that still manages to capture the brightness of its nightlife and the seediness of its darkest corners. Knowing vampires roam the city at night serves to remind us of the amount of chaos each street can dole out at any given moment, and how deadly walking them at night could be.
Augustyn’s scripts made sure all that chaos had some well-developed characters at the center of it. Alex Elder starts out as an angsty teen that would’ve fit in perfectly in any Nirvana music video, but he’s never allowed to be static. Augustyn keeps his character in a constant state of evolution, forcing him to grow up fast without sacrificing any of the growing pains that come with the process.
Alex’s place in the coming struggle against all vampires moves at a breakneck pace as well. Once the doors to the world of undeath are opened, you’re not so much ushered in as you’re kicked in with the expectation you hit the ground running. This goes for the comic’s grand sense of mythology.
The very first issue of the series starts with an extensive and detailed explanation of the creation of humanity and how vampires came out of it in defiance of that process. It’s quite indulgent and does ask for a bit of patience in getting through the initial lore dump, but the narration is never dull and, once it wraps up, readers are left with a sense of big things to come. From that point on, Augustyn and Ramos flex their storytelling muscles in every way imaginable to produce a world that lives and breathes magic, culture, and violence.
While the story does possess many classic horror elements, the overall narrative finds a larger piece of its identity in the realm of fantasy. Augustyn’s approach to this sprawling world of magic and blood sucking creatures is more interested in how a potential war between different factions of vampire hunters, angelic forces, werewolves, and vamps will come about rather than staying on the more intimate aspects of the characters’ lives one expects from classic horror stories.
Augustyn’s character work shines in this regard, especially with Alex’s core unit: a Mexican Indian vampire called Joe who acts as his street mentor and guide, a vampire hunter called Scarlet, and an ancient vampire (who is also the source of all vampirism) called Ekimus. They each form a vital part of what can essentially be called of fellowship, complete with their own roles to play in the final confrontation.
Joe is a particularly well written character that helps readers understand the world and its rules. In a way, Joe is Sam to Alex’s Frodo, if Sam were wiser and with a more adventurous thirst for life. Their exchanges are a highlight and remain fresh throughout the series.
Having come across Crimson when I was kid, I can’t think of another vampire comic that pulled me into the medium as completely as this one did. Ramos’ art and Augustyn’s words were a perfect storm then and, upon rereading the series for this piece, they’re a perfect storm still.
I’d still recommend Crimson to anyone who asks what makes comics so special. Not many creators get to leave a book behind with such a strong gravitational pull. Brian Augustyn has Crimson, and now is as good a time as ever to give it a read.
