Bottomfeeder

Trapped in a dead-end job, Philip finds his life taking a most unusual detour after he tangles with a vampire and finds himself trying to maintain some kind of normal life as his bloodlust drives him to hunt for prey, in a debut prose novel by the creator of the comic book series Minimum Wage. Original.

*Starred Review* Phil Merman hasn't looked a day over 27 for 27 years now, ever since somebody mugged him on a subway platform, after which he found he couldn't eat, or go out in the sun without catching fire. He's a vampire, though one whose conscience compels him to feed solely on society's dregs. The only friend he has is pathetic old college pal Shelley, who's never been the same since his family perished in a mysterious fire long before Phil's mugging. He'd drop Shelley, whose aging irksomely reminds Phil of his own despised perpetual youth, but the wraithlike man positively haunts him. Then while at a bar with Shelley, Phil meets another vampire who introduces him to more, including a circle prone to orgies. Phil almost overcomes his scruples as his new friend leads him into some harrowing adventures. Finally, he starts wondering, Why now, after 27 lonely years? The answer packs a punch that cracks the novel's exhilarating tough-guy facade. Previously a graphic novelist, Fingerman writes in a punchy, up-to-the-minute urban vernacular that, while it brims with abusive humor, squelches romanticism, provokes other-than-sexual interpretations of vampirism, and helps propel Bottomfeeder to the front ranks of its genre. Ray Olson
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