Ferdinand is the vampire equivalent of Seymour as played by Steve Buscemi in the film version of Ghost World.īut Ferdinand, unlike Seymour, is able to attract at least a couple members of the opposite sex. Instead, he’s Joe Music Nerd, the guy that trolled the halls of high school clutching old recordings of folk and the like as he longingly wishes for the return of his ex-girlfriend. No, Ferdinand isn’t the typical literary vampire. He bites necks with one tooth to give the impression that they were bitten by a mosquito - plus he never kills anyone, just quench his hunger - and he’s chummy with many humans including two on the police force.

He’s not even a threat to the people of his village. But Ferdinand in Vampire Loves is no Lestat, and he’s certainly not Angel. Sure, thanks to Anne Rice, Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, and later Angel, the vampire has taken on a brooding self-awareness all but missing prior to the end of the 20th century. From village folklore hundreds of years ago to movies and television today, the vampire has always been, simply, bad. But the originality arrives in Sfar’s ability - and willingness - to impart the hapless lovelorn loser motif on a character type, the vampire, which is almost always vilified as the worst kind of evil. Sfar’s Ferdinand, a Lithuanian vampire, experiences the pitfalls of love and life in a world that seemingly doesn’t understand, just as do the characters of Daniel Clowes, Harvey Pekar, and David B., among others. Joann Sfar’s Vampire Loves is as noteworthy for its good-natured enjoyment as it is for its ability to take ideas and plot elements which have been fodder for graphic novels for years and construct them into a wholly original tale.

“All it takes is one nutcase who starts chopping up women in the middle of the night and who gets blamed? The vampire! Isn’t that convenient?”

Joann sfar vampire loves