In this review of “30 Days of Night: Falling Sun”, we’re introduced to a handful of residents of Barrow, Alaska as they prepare for the next month of darkness. But it’s clear that others are also getting ready for that next 30 days…
30 Days of Night: Falling Sun #1
Plot: Steve Niles
Writer: Rodney Barnes
Art and Main Cover: Chris Shehan
Variant Covers: Damien Worm, Malachi Ward, Chris Shehan
Page Count: 48 pages
Release Date: October 15, 2025
This review contains spoilers
30 Days of Night: Falling Sun #1 start off with Jalen as he heads into the small, isolated town of Barrow. He’s from LA, and talks about needing a miracle.
In Romania, meanwhile, we see Vladimir (brother of Viciente) being brought back from the dead (thanks to the restorative power of infant blood). The guy that revived him offers his own blood as a sacrifice, before Vlad goes ahead and starts resurrecting his followers.
Back in Barrow, the Sheriff and his Lt. (Ernie) are talking about what had happened 20 or so years prior, we get a short flashback to the vampire attack…
Jalen, at that point, is getting moved in with his Uncle Calvin, and they talk about how they’re both there to get away from something painful. Calvin mentions that talking to someone helps and brings Jalen into town.
As the vampires are making their way closer to Barrow, Vlad mentions that their blood is stored. That Barrow is the place to go for now. And that mixing his and his brother’s blood could yield some interesting results.
Next, we’re introduced to Ava, the apparent town thereapist, as a few residents discuss preparations for the next 30 days. One woman, Bobby-Jo, is dealing with some level of Survivor’s Guilt. When the meeting’s done, Calvin and Jalen show up, with Ava leading them to her office.
During the trip over, Vlad and his group take over a boat, feeding on those aboard.
During a chat with Ava, Jalen talks about his life in LA, but doesn’t mention any of the shadier aspects just yet. She heads off, and we catch up with the Sheriff and Ernie. He’s implied to have seen what happened during the attacks.
We cut to the vampires feeding on unlucky humans, and then move on to Ernie getting home to her mom. Her mother’s getting ready to pray for protection, remembering how things went so horribly wrong all those years ago.
30 Days of Night: Falling Sun #1 ends with the vampires approaching the town’s limits.
So, going into 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun #1, I was already familiar with the basic “30 Days of Night” concept: an isolated small town that’s far enough north to get a prolonged period of sunlight followed by a prolonged period of pure darkness, that eventually gets invaded by vampires. Carnage ensues. I’ve finally gotten around to reading some of the prior material in the series, as well.
So, some slight familiarity, but just getting into this universe. That said, the less-initiated shouldn’t have too much difficulty figuring out what’s going on. That makes it a decent enough starting point for a newcomer.
The pacing in 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun #1 is fairly slow, but the scenes where we catch up to the vampires are packed with enough blood to satisfy the gorehounds. When it cuts to the humans preparing, it’s not like they know for sure what’s going to be coming their way. But those that were around the last time are still haunted by the carnage. Somewhere in the back of their minds, even if they don’t acknowledge it, there’s that little seed of worry that it might happen again.
The slow burn of this issue definitely helps that dread sink in. And knowing what’s coming (vampire invasion) sort of puts part of Jalen’s narration from the beginning, with his grandmother describing the story of Lazarus and his resurrection as a miracle, in a rather different light.
Meeting some of the denizens of Barrow was fairly interesting. Some of them have a bit of familiarity with what happened last time the vampires showed up. Some (like Ernie’s mom) turn to religion for protection (or at least peace of mind). Most are just trying to forget about the trauma. Odds are, in a small enough town, there’s got to be at least one survivor that’s taken on a Crazy Survivalist mindset and is ready to fight back. But even if such a person is lurking around Barrow, they’d still be outnumbered.
The artwork in 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun #1 works really well for the title, I think, with a nice painterly style for the colors. In the scenes of Barrow, with just the humans, the color palette is peaceful, the lighting fairly soft. It pushes that idea that we’re in that calm before the storm. Then switching to the vampire scenes, the colors and lighting get harsher. It’s mostly monochrome (or close to it) save for the orange/red sections that represent blood. The fact that the vampires’ lettering is rendered as white text in a black box with a red border is a perfect way to denote that, yep, this is Vlad speaking/thinking.
Final Thoughts
If you’re new to 30 Days of Night, 30 Days of Night: Falling Sun #1 is a good place to start. If you’re already familiar, then by all means, welcome back to Barrow (and watch out for the vampires). Either way, there’s plenty of dread to go around.
