Katrina: The Teen Vampire is about Katrina: The Teenage Vampire. Ok, there might be a little more to it than that. Katrina: The Teenage Vampire is an American Manga created by artist Benito Llanos. The last time I read something by Llanos was his cute and funny Jellybean series-a comic strip that was made for kids of all ages. But from the minute I saw the front cover of this manga, I knew I was not even in the same ballpark. The cover of Katrina: The Teenage Vampire features Katrina in her underwear suggestively licking blood off of her index finger!
The story begins on the eve of Katrina's 18th birthday. She has been having creepy dreams about Dracula and is a little disturbed, so she calls her two best friends, Lisa and Cleo, to discuss her nightmares. During her conversation it is revealed that Katrina is a virgin, but she does not plan to be for long. On her 18th birthday, she plans to end her virginity streak with her boyfriend. Conveniently after she hangs up with her friends, a strange bat flies in to Katrina's window and tells her all about her ancestral connection to Dracula and how she will become a vampire upon turning 18. Being a vampire Katrina will not be able to walk out in sunlight and to boot she will become very horny-information I am sure will be used to make the next three books into pure porn. This of course did not surprise me, since the cover of the comic prepared me in advance and throughout the comic Katrina is prancing around in scanty lingerie.
Katrina: The Teenage Vampire was amazingly bad, but surprisingly this story did not disappoint me, because I did not expect much to begin with. While the art was quite engaging, the countless T&A shots were not because they were completely without reason. The character had no personality, and what little specks of personality were portrayed only served to make Katrina seem incredibly annoying. Katrina is not a character that I wish to follow through another four books.
Benito, however, did disappoint me, as his last work was a brilliant slice of life and Katrina was simply a tawdry mess. I am forced to question the point of this book even being created. I hope Volume 2 has more of a point, but I will not be there to find out.
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