The exciting lives of human statues
American Vampire has the feeling of being set under a veil that covers our real world -- situations are only just slightly off, to the point where you can almost believe in them. Which is how horror scares young children, making them wary of the world outside the story.
Survival of the Fittest #4 starts with one of these horror ideas, which feels as ancient as the vampire myth: statues are sleeping monsters. It's mixed with a dash of pseudo-science and hints of the history of this race of vampire, opening possibilities for other stories in this universe. More immediately, though, Cash offers us some insight into his vampire-hunting partner Felicia's psyche, and the final page sets up what should be an exciting skirmish of vampires, Nazis, and Americans in the final issue.
David Stewart's use of blood reds to foreground Nazi banners and armbands, and vampires' glowing eyes is striking, but the fact that those are contrasted with a lot of gray and brown makes for drab, oppressive pages. That fits this issue's events, though, so shouldn't be counted against it.
One small niggle: "tooth", "shut", and "hop" aren't onomatopoeia. They're bizarrely literal, and unnecessary when Sean Murphy's expressive, detailed art clearly shows movement without them.
