OUT FOR BLOOD

The first year of middle school continues for Tom, the Vam-Wolf-Zom.

Tom Marks has adjusted somewhat to being part vampire, part werewolf, part zombie, and all middle schooler since the first two installments of the series, Middle School Bites (2020) and Tom Bites Back (2020). He’s even been studying the old book A Vampiric Education. by Eustace Tibbitt to learn new skills like turning into smoke and hypnotizing people. Still charming, his cheeky, self-aware narration carries the episodic, sometimes-plodding plot and brings a matter-of-fact attitude to the fantasy elements that really sells them. While the threat looms of his werewolf sire trying to steal the vampire guide, Tom’s actually much more concerned about getting his friend Annie to talk to him again, keeping a valuable action figure out of the hands of a bully, getting his band back together, finally turning 12, and attending his first comic-book convention. Apart from a few heartwarming moments with friends and family, little is resolved, and the story ends on a cliffhanger. The narrative flirts with the darkness of Tom’s condition but ultimately plays it for laughs, like when he sprints away from a bloodmobile to get himself a thirst-quenching, nonhuman-liver smoothie. Goofy grayscale spot illustrations further lighten the tone, showing Tom’s scruffy hair and freckles along with his fangs. Tom reads as White; a few supporting characters have darker skin, and two are coded as Latinx.

Another amusing entry.