DAY MEN review

(Reviewed by Melody Werner)
Day Men is an 8 issue series published by BOOM! Studios between 2013 and 2015. It's co-written by Matt Gagnon and Michael Alan Nelson, illustrated by the lovely and stand-up Brian Stelfreeze. Day Men is an urban fantasy series about a human who is the "Day Man" (or "sundog") for a family of vampires; essentially their dude who does tasks for them while they're asleep. But the protagonist basically walks into a full scale war between his family and another, and he has to try and survive despite being a normal dude amongst super fast, super strong, super durable vamps. Now I didn't really know much about Day Men going in, but it piqued my interest and I gave it a bash. Having finished it, I really am glad I did--because Day Men is a pretty damn good, narratively driven series set in an interesting world.

The art of Day Men is solid. It works well, but isn't something most people familiar with the Big Two would ogle over. It isn't on that upper echelon of superb like something from Rob Guillory, David Finch, Greg Capullo, or Clayton Crain, but still looks neat. The color work by Darrin Moore makes Day Men vibrant, and thankfully isn't very anemic (haha, Dan). The panel-to-panel flow is quite smooth with not much hitching or anything of the sort, everything is placed in a common sense manner which is an often mistake even from larger press studios. So good on the creative team for not falling into that. The covers are all pretty nice. Simple, but they're good pin-ups.

Day Men's world is immaculate in both its uniqueness and complexity. It's a very intriguing setting with a lot of depth to it, as well as a lot of history and things which augment how compelling the story itself is. The pacing is extremely snappy, with every issue having a lot happening but not so much that it feels rushed or just like it's too much. The narrative itself is edge of your seat kinda stuff with a lot of tension and back-stabbing, as well as revelations which make it change its course. It's not very predictable, and that spontaneity is appreciated. The dialogue is pretty snappy and clever, and comes across naturally.

A gripe I do have is that the characters aren't very well fleshed out or engaging, so a lot of the plot points don't have the impact that they should. And while these plot points don't necessitate you to be into the characters for the most part and it isn't as pretentious as something like Rai in this regard, there are definitely moments where this lack of cohesion with the characters leads to things being less satisfying. Even more-so, the finale does feel like it leaves off with not enough payoff, and while the resolution has some cool things going for it in terms of writing, some things just feel dropped and it isn't a great wrapping up of things.

In the afterword of the final issue, Matt Gagnon stated that there might be some sort of follow-up to Day Men, but they can't guarantee it or even say if it will be a comic. Personally, I would like to see more stories in this setting--whether prequels, midquels, sequels, adaptations, or otherwise. It's a really cool premise and they did a good job with it, plus even if there is nothing beyond this, Day Men is a pretty kickass, conclusive story which is definitely worth reading. Day Men gets an 8.5/10.

Great

Summary:
With its excellent setting, buttery smooth pacing, great narrative and unpredictability, above average visuals, strong dialogue, and lovely deceptions, Day Men is an edge of your seat kind of read. Where it falters are its characters and its mostly unsatisfying ending, which leave a bit more to be desired.

(originally posted: 7/14/2017)