Review — ‘Operation Sunshine’ #1 Makes Vampires A Vibe Again!

Welcome to the table,

Vampires have always fascinated me. As a kid, I would always find myself reading the various books on folklore and mythology that lined the shelves of the library. Vampires seem to exist in all cultures. While they come in all shapes, sizes, and sensibilities, it was the tales of the more monstrous vampires that I enjoyed the most.

Operation Sunshine from Dark Horse Comics is the kind of vampire story that, at least from the first issue, is going to be a favorite of mine for years to come.

Written by Henry Zebrowki and Marcus Parks, Operation Sunshine feels lived in from the first-page turn and does some really fun world-building without sacrificing fun dialog moments or bogging down the flow of the story with wordy exposition. Issue #1 comes in around 25 pages but is paced so well that it feels like a graphic novel.

David Rubín‘s art, paired with K.J. Diaz‘s colors, gives the whole thing an after-dark, but brightly colored vibe that feels dirty and strange while still showcasing how halftones and light can be used to really set a mood in the best possible way. This is a horror story about monsters who drink blood and lurk in the shadows, but it has a lot of humor tossed in. The twisted art style carries the narrative in such a perfect way that I could not imagine any other team lending their lines to the written word now that I have seen this.

The whole book is a vibe and it works cover to cover.

Issue one follows two young vampires known as “bugs.” Bugs are people who were turned while OV, or Original Vampires, are those who were born Vampiric. As the story progresses we get a glimpse into the lives of Hex and Steve as they stumble into each other’s lives.

It’s not a meet-cute, though. It’s not enemies to lovers or anything so trope-y. This book feels like the kind of stuff that happened to me in college when I would randomly make friends and they would randomly just live on my couch for a few weeks before some insane adventure took place. It all feels very authentic and kinda unhinged, and that sells this book so hard for me.

The monsters and supernatural bits work really well, but in the same way, Hellboy feels like moody storytelling that could happen in the real world. Operation Sunshine feels like the kind of crap that could be going down at the apartment complex down the road.

It’s great in the moment where vampires talk about grand schemes, but it really shines when it shows people, like the office jerk Zak, just being themselves that the overall story feels much larger than what is being shown between the covers.

This is the kind of comic that comes along once in a long while. Within the first few pages, I know it’s going to be something special. The art is a beautiful juxtaposition between horror and humor with a story that is grounded but lays the foundation for a much larger mythology.

Most importantly, though, from cover to cover, Operation Sunshine is a monster-fighting, dialog-driven romp that puts a fun new spin on a folklore creature I thought had long been bled dry. This book makes vampires a vibe again and I’m here for it!

Until next time, Go find issue one at your LCS or order it from your favorite digital comic retailer. Horror fans are really going to enjoy this one so don’t sleep on it and miss out.