Hellsing: Volume 1

by Kohta Hirano, 204 pages

When vampires, ghouls, and the like run amok on English soil, the ill-equipped authorities call the experts. And then, if they're smart, they get out of the way, as the experts' pistol-wielding secret weapon has as sharp a tongue as he does teeth and, as a general rule, doesn't hesitate to use either.

Ten years ago, Sir Integra inherited the leadership of the Hellsing organization from her father. She also inherited Alucard (look at that name--now look at it backwards...), the ultimate vampire hunter, product of generations of development, sworn to serve and protect his master, who is in turn sworn to protect crown and country from the denizens of darkness. And there have been an awful lot of them popping up lately.

Alucard is a great anti-hero. He's witty. He's got mad skillz. And he's kinda evil. All of which come in handy when he's taking on the unruly undead and other interfering agents. Sardonic Integra, naive Police Girl (she has a name, Alucard just chooses not to use it), scary Father Anderson, and the rest of the cast are equally good fits (though Anderson's heavy Irish dialect can be a little difficult to follow--reading it out loud helps!). The art is also ideal for the plot and personalities, steeped as they are in darkness, action, and irreverence--as well as a good deal of blood (we are talking about vampires here, after all). So, if you're not too squeamish and like your vampires darkly insane rather than sparkly romantic, you might consider giving Alucard a look...from a safe distance.