Does the world really need another story about vampires?  There have been around 682,459 stories, give or take a few and while many of them are good (and quite a few that were bad), not too many of them bring anything new to the table.  At least half of what is out there is either a Dracula adaptation or a spin on the story featuring the fabled Count and the others are usually fairly generic.  While vampire fiction has always been popular, it has exploded in the last decade or so with many new stories and franchises making themselves known.  Twilight, True Blood, Vampire Academy, The Vampire Diaries, The Black Dagger Brotherhood and more have all made a place for themselves in a crowded marketplace and Anne Rice has even brought Lestat out of retirement for another round to show them all how it is done.  So what does Day Men offer that all of these other properties do not?  For one, it does not plant its focus squarely on the vampires.  Instead, it focuses upon their protectors, those men and women who are able to walk in the sun and give their loyalty to their vampire masters.

David Reid is one such man.  Chosen to be a Day Man, he has no family, no friends and no ties, thus making him the perfect candidate to take the role upon himself. By doing as such he not only gains an employer, but also a family of his own and he will do anything to protect them.  At times, his family, the Virgos, can be demanding, but he does everything asked of him without complaint, especially as he knows that it will benefit Azalea, the leader of the Virgos and a woman that he might just be in love with, though it is never revealed as such.  What David comes to realize is that he is only the latest in a long line of Day Men who have served the family, but he does not let that knowledge impact his performance in any way, and while some of the family members see him as weak, Kellen and Azalea do not.  They see something in the man and it is probably a good thing as he is what stands between them and those that would harm them during the daylight hours.

The book might focus on David more so than the rest of the cast, but it does look at the lives of the vampires that are featured within and their lore as it is tied to our protagonist.  There are fifty families all over the world and they have a set of laws that govern them so that they might all cohabitate peacefully, or at least as much as possible.  Every family has their own Day Men, as well as a network of human servants all over the world who take care of their business interests.  It is almost as if they were operating as crime families, and the book puts that twist forward, giving the book a little bit of a pulp feel in the process.  Matt Gagnon and Michael Alan Nelson do a great job of realizing this world and making it come to life.  In a genre filled to the brim, they bring something fresh and exciting to the market in Day Men.

Bringing this story to life upon the page is Brian Stelfreeze, who even after nearly thirty years in the business, proves that he still has what it takes to draw one mean-looking comic.  His work is just as fresh as it ever was and puts many newcomers to shame proving that just because you have had a long career does not necessarily mean that it is over.  Those pencils match up perfectly with this story of vampires and their protectors to create a tale that is completely riveting from the first page to the last.  It is wonderful to see that there are still ways to make something so tested and true, new and exciting.  There is suspense, horror and mystery aplenty within, with action, drama and intrigue to keep the book rolling along at a brisk pace and leaves little more to ask for.  So yes, this is another book featuring vampires, but it is one that adds to the ranks and the genre rather than taking away from it.

4.5 out of 5