30 Days of Night

30 Days of Night is an American horror comic-book miniseries written by Steve Niles and illustrated by Ben Templesmith. The series has received several sequels and in 2007, was adapted into a feature film of the same name.

Plot
Strange happenings occur in the town of Barrow, Alaska, one of the northernmost towns in the world that has a month-long period without sun every year. All the phones and computers in the town have been taken and destroyed for unknown reasons, all communication has been cut off, and brutal murders have started happening. Soon, as the night comes, they realize the reason why, when a vicious cabal of vampires invade the town, taking full advantage of the lack of sun to feed on the residents, unable to defend themselves.

Why It Rocks

 * 1) A very unique and well-made art style that gives detail when necessary but isn't afraid to add in it's own flare with plenty of interesting "rough" or "uncanny" artistic styles that work well in the series. This is a style common in many IDW series, which worked to the detriment of the Silent Hill series, but works to this series' benefit.
 * 2) An awesome horrific atmosphere helped by the artwork with a great deal of uncertainty in the story and much very intense build up, surprising given it's short length. It does a great job showing how the inhabitants of the town are pretty much defenseless against the vampires and how said vampires are also very inhumane and see no value in human life, therefore showing no pity or remorse for their victims or actions.
 * 3) A very creative concept that uses Polar Night, something that is very real, for it's story. Using this for vampires, creatures that are stronger, faster, and often more calculating than humans, makes the story all the more scary.
 * 4) It also adds in plenty of lore for vampires in it's short runtime, like how they function with a leader and without one, they're as aimless as zombies. There's also the fact that they're ironically unable to control themselves often due to the endless hunger they feel. The lore and history of the vampires is also explored in later sequels.
 * 5) Awesome pieces for cover art that use more detail than the comic itself and help to show the atmosphere of what you're about to read, with horrifying, unworldly sights.
 * 6) Plenty of likeable and surprisingly interesting characters, with the vampire's leader being an abhorrent yet believable character and the sheriff, Eben, and his wife, Stella, being very likeable and loving characters.
 * 7) The story is easy enough to follow along and gives a great sense of space in the world that you can even keep track of.
 * 8) An interesting sideplot involving a man from New Orleans sent by his psychic mother to prove that vampires are real and the insane lengths the vampires went in to "make themselves a myth" to humans for millenia.
 * 9) An interesting and believable design for the town of Barrow, with plenty of shops and restaurants shown (albeit briefly), giving it a feeling similar to early Silent Hill (albeit safe to live in before the events of the story). It also has some smaller details put in like that the town doesn't serve alcohol due to it's remoteness and small size, and how all technology needs to be imported from further into the state.
 * 10) A surprisingly satisfying yet saddening ending that gives the story a more horrific atmosphere as a result.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) The art style, while interesting, could still drive some people away.
 * 2) The short length of the series can make it somewhat unbelievable that 30 days have passed and can feel like it's only been a few or even one. As a result of this, some explored themes, like the vampire's inability to sense the humans due to the cold, are not explored enough.
 * 3) Aside from the aforementioned Eben, Stella, Vincente, and Marlowe, the other characters aren't given enough time and don't have any real importance to the story besides being some of the last townsfolk left.

Reception
The first sequel series, 30 Days of Night: Return to Barrow, has received three Eisner nominations for Best Limited Series, Best Writer (Steve Niles), and Best Painter/Multimedia Artist (Ben Templesmith). The original miniseries proved to be a breakout success for Niles and Templesmith, who's previous works had been largely ignored.