The second story is more of an ensemble piece, far more reflective than the comedy of the first, and makes a greater exploration of the supernatural world while introducing the idea that women find the awkward Ferdinand irresistible. Vampire Loves combines the first four volumes of a series that ran to six books in the original French editions, and each book channels a different mood, while Ferdinand’s character remains essentially the same. Sfar is a very relaxed and unconfined storyteller. There’s a sense that he’s plotting as he goes along, as there’s a jerkiness to transitions, but the compensation is the constant freshness supplied by the frequent introduction of new personalities and situations. There’s an element of that at the beginning, but Sfar rapidly pulls away from the familiar to introduce some wonder, while not quite aimed at an all-ages audience due to the sophisticated humour. It seems as if Joann Sfar is updating the old Hollywood idea of a shy person coaxed out of their shell via a series of wild and unpredictable events initiated by a riotous companion who throws caution to the wind.
That hand takes a wild and unpredictable turn when he meets Aspirine, who takes an unaccountable fancy to the vampire so cautious he only sucks the blood of humans via a single tooth, so that when they wake it seems to be a mosquito bite. Sure, it would be preferable if Lani, the girlfriend who cheated on him, would see the error of her ways, but he’ll live with the hand he’s dealt. He just wants a quiet life in his remote castle with his cat. As vampires go, Ferdinand is about the most timid of them all.
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