So this book caught my attention mainly because of the cover! And I've seen this going around on my Bookstagram a lot.
This is a very intriguing book.
It's more a gory read.
Very different from what I like to read!
It wasn't my favorite book. But it was defiantly worth the read!

Thank You NetGalley & Publisher for this read!

I am really glad this was a one-shot because none of it made any damn sense. I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that the author theme is French, but trying to tell a very American story. As a result, they end up framing a piece of Native American mythology in a supremeley problematic and racist way: they turn a group of Native Americans in LITERAL bloodthirsty savages by making them vampires. It's disturbing to read. Also, the art is awful and also makes little sense, since the lead characters are at MOST a couple years into college studies and yet look about 50. It's all just an ugly mess.

This book was not my cup of tea, I did not enjoy the plot as much as I thought I would. I felt like the tropes of the story have been used and recycled. That being said THE ART WORK WAS AMAZING! I only got halfway through reading the book and the rest of the time I was looking at the art work. I wanted this to be soo good.

It was somewhat entertaining, but I don't know why it fell so short. I think the characters could have been more developed. Although I believe this is the first book in the series, more backstory on the vampires themselves would have been fun to read about.
The artwork was pretty great - very gory, but I have to appreciate how beautiful it was.

First published in France in 2019, Vampire State Building collects the 4 issue comic book mini-series written by French writers Ange (Anne and Gerard Guéuro) and Patrick Renault, illustrated by Charlie Adlard, co-creator of The Walking Dead.

The story follows Terry Fisher, a young man who decides to leave college, his girlfriend, and his friends behind to enlist in the United States military. Before his impending deployment to Afghanistan, his friends plan a goodbye party for him atop the Empire State Building in New York City. Unbeknownst to them, a strange discovery found by the building’s restoration committee on the 75th floor, accidentally triggers a legion of vampires to descend upon them, ultimately trapping the group of friends as well as various other tourists within the 102-floor structure.

Charlie Adlard has again created some of the best artwork in the medium. Everything from the characters, to the backgrounds, to the crowds and the cityscapes is incredibly detailed and aesthetically pleasing. The way panels are drawn using wider framing give them a more cinematic feel which lends itself well to the story at hand. While reading the graphic novel, it is easy to imagine the story being adapted as a television mini-series on one of the major primetime networks.

Vampire State Building ultimately boils down to an interesting cross between 30 Days of Night and Die Hard; it is like Die Hard in the sense that the story is about a group of terrorists taking over an enormous building as people try to figure out ways to survive the onslaught, while the parallels to 30 Days of Night are a bit more obvious (both stories dealing with a large vampire attack within a confined area).

A few panels directly reference the sources of inspiration mentioned above, with scenes being directly lifted from Die Hard, and lines reminiscent of other creature horror films such as the Alien and Predator franchises. Another small and slightly subtler reference to the genre, that a few other reviewers happened to notice as well, was a potential cameo appearance of the Cigarette Smoking Man from The X-Files television series. Interestingly enough, it’s fairly easy to imagine the plot of this story being an episode for the aforementioned show and given The X-Files lengthy run which amounted to abundance of character building, could have perhaps alleviated some of the pacing issues seen throughout comic book series.

While Vampire State Building is a fun, gory, and fast-paced tale, it at times relies too heavily on character archetypes and the stereotypical storytelling associated with the genre to relay its narrative. From the stereotypical main character who attempts to join the army to run away from his traumatic past, to the love interest with the overprotective and wealthy father, to their friend group who consist of a nerd, a jock, and his cheerleader-esque girlfriend; each character fits neatly into the role carved out for them, and never tries to be more than the stereotypical position within the genre’s narrative that each character continuously perpetuates.

As with most graphic novels, the backpages of the book give the reader a gallery of cover art used throughout the comic’s print run, as well as some of Adlard’s conceptual sketches and character designs.

Overall, I would highly recommend the series to any lovers of horror, but would advise them not to go into the story looking for anything truly genre-defining.

Thanks to Ablaze Publishing, Diamond Books, and Netgalley for the review copy provided in exchange for this unbiased review.

I'll start by just coming out and saying that I really did not enjoy this. It didn't seem to have the faintest idea how to tell a story that was in any way believable.

It's a real shame as the concept is pretty damn cool. They just ruined it for me. Every decision taken seemed to be based of either no knowledge or the most randomly obscure knowledge that someone just happened to be an expert on at the time. Far too convenient.

The choices made by characters were laughable and the ending just sort of happened. I stopped reading it halfway through, which was a big mistake as I just totally struggled to pick it back up again. In the end I forced myself and am just glad to have finished it.

It's not all bad. The artwork is pretty decent and gives it a dark feel. Sadly, no matter how good the artwork may be, it just can't save this from feeling like a rushed job. The main reason I gave it a two rather than a one was for the artwork (and the gorgeous cover and decent concept). Beyond that, for me at least, I struggled to find much in the way of redeeming qualities. Unless you count the fact that it could be a pretty convincing B-movie as a redeeming quality.

Campy, bloody, and fun. I think they made this comic just because they came up with the cool name. It starts off foolish, it makes no sense. Stupid love relationship issues. No one is safe. But I actually found myself interested in the silly story.
Very creative art for the vampires even though the humans were a little flat and messed up artistically.
It was quick, it was fun, the monsters were interesting. Over all, much better than expected.

Vampire enthusiasts will want to add this to their collection!

I was hooked from the start. The graphics, characters, and plot were amazing! A great balance of speech and artwork. The colors enhance the storyline.

If you like vampires and horror, pick this up. You won't be disappointed.

I can't wait to get a hard copy of this for my collection!!

After discovering a hidden compartment in the Empire State Building, an uprising of vampires storms the Empire State Building, killing anyone in their way. When I read the description I was intrigued, but after reading it, I didn’t really enjoy it. The characters weren’t developed well and the whole vampire tribe wasn’t explained well enough for me. Even though this is the first book in a series, I would have wanted more of it explained. However, I did enjoy the art style and it was a fast read.

The Vampire State Building by Ange and Patrick Renault reminded me of an '80s movie bloodbath.

This graphic novel begins at the top of the Empire State Building with a going away get together for Terry Fisher. Terry is getting ready to leave for the military, so his cousin has invited the crew for a final send off.

Meanwhile, several floors below, two workmen have finally opened the door to a sealed room that does not appear on any of the building blueprints. IT has awoken.

Chaos ensues. The building is swarmed. People are running for their lives, being caught and torn apart, or brought to the Vampire God to feed. His name, U'tluntla. He had been sealed in the building during the initial construction. He is now released. Let the reign of terror begin. Terry, how much of a hero do you really want to be?

At times a bit campy, at time a bit over the top, the story-line is okay as long as you don't expect anything more than what it is. The best artwork was hidden at the very end with multiple versions of the cover art and characters.

Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and Ange, and Patrick Renault for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Ok so this one should definitely be a movie, it's art is very cinematographic. Nothing really original here but it's entertaining for sure. Some clichés here and there.

Thanks a lot to NetGalley and Diamond Book Distributors for this ARC 💙

Uma experiência surpreendente... A Hq foge do clichê das histórias de vampiros e apresenta uma narrativa instigante,complexa e única. A arte e o traço são lindíssimos e enchem os olhos...
Temos uma história de vampiros, oriundos de uma antiga lenda, que invadem o prédio mais icônico dos EUA para iniciarem seu ritual e despertar seu cruel lider. Em contrapartida, visitantes e funcionários ficam presos no prédio lutando para sobreviver.
Nada mais justo para uma boa história de vampiros que ter muito sangue derramado, e é exatamente isso o que temos aqui.

It has a great, eye-catching cover I couldn't resist. The story is interesting, although it tends to revel in the gore. It's over over-the-top but still too much for me. On the other hand, such an approach helps to build the tension - it makes it clear no one is safe. You start to like a character, and bam, they're gone.

The art is great and atmospheric.

Vampire State Building #1 is a strong debut issue that entertains and terrifies even though it doesn't break new ground.

The story isn't that good, but the art in this comic was well done and I enjoyed it.

I realize this isn't a novel or even a short story so there isn't a lot of space for story or character development, however I think there was definitely a huge lack of background on the characters and events in the comic.

It was a very fast paced storyline, but I found myself skimming what little was said about halfway through because I found it boring.

Art: ⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
Story: ⭐⭐/5

I had higher hopes for this story but it was beautiful and still interesting. I feel like it was a bit bland and predictable for a suspense/horror graphic novel, though the story was intriguing enough that I finished the book in one sitting. Overall, definitely not my favorite but worth reading, if only for the artwork.

I received a copy in exchange for an honest review.

The cover caught my attention, and the blurb - 'bloodthirsty vampire story' - did the rest. The art was pretty cool and 'graphic', especially the vampire scenes, and the background story of why there are suddenly vampires swarming the Empire State Building was intriguing - I could imagine another book with its focus on that history. There was also a nice bunch of cover varieties thrown in as a bonus. Overall, I enjoyed this one very much, though it was a pain to read on my tablet, as I always had to enlarge the pages to really get all the details and read the text - definitely prefer printed graphic novels.

This book was ok. I liked the idea of sleeper vampires and the “God” vampire was pretty awesome. It felt a little rushed though, I would’ve liked a little more about the lore of the vampires.

The Vampire King wakes up from his eternal sleep because of the noisy renovations at the Empire State Building. Several friends who decided to say goodbye at the top of the building are there when the Vampire King awakes and uses his wrath to unleash a vampire army on the city.




I loved the art in this graphic novel a little more than the story line. The story was a fast paced entertaining Graphic Novel from start to finish but the end was a bit predictable. The entire story revolved around two characters. There was definitely a lot action and tension building in the story.

We get a good introduction to the characters and have a good sense of who they are
in the beginning. I did love the way the artist portrayed the Vampire God. I also loved the way the vampire fed in the story and thought it was very unique. He was such a creepy character, however I would have liked to have seen more development in terms of the history of the Vampire God and his army.

Fast-paced, a ton of action, with loads of gore, blood and death. Pretty much everything you want from a vampire story. Artwork was great and I flew through this story. I just wished there was a bit more information on the vampires and background story.

The story seemed a bit disjointed to me, and there are several typos throughout that pulled me out of what I was reading. The art is done very well and, to me, is absolutely the selling point for this series. I also enjoyed the additional art included at the end, though that was a bit misleading to me as I thought there was another 15-20 pages of story left instead of pages of artwork. Not a terrible series, but I think it could've been handled a bit better, especially with someone proofreading the narrative and dialogue beforehand.

3.5 stars