So, what happens when you cross Kevin Smith's Clerks with vampires?  If your response is "total super coolness," then Life Sucks, written by Jessica Abel and Gabe Soria, illustrated by Warren Pleece, is the book you've been waiting for.  If not, bear with me.

Life Sucks follows the ups and downs of Dave Miller, average kid, gas station clerk at the Last Stop convenience store - and newly made vampire.  The writing is superb and surprisingly realistic and the characters are fully realized and believable.  From the beginning you get a low chuckle in your throat that, at times, becomes an out-and-out laugh.  You can't help but feel for poor Dave as he deals with teen angst and love as a creature of darkness. 

 The art is a bit cartoonish, but rather than hindering the look, it allows for greater freedom of expression and individuality among the players in the story.  All-in-all, I can't think of anything this book is truly lacking.  It could even become a classic (cult or otherwise), but hey - what better way to find out than to read it and love it for yourself?

-- David Fisher, DLair Austin