Vampires versus Werewolves

The mythos for these two species, as well as the rivalries between them, have been hashed over and redone in any number of mentionable books, films or television series.  Personally I am a fan of the vampire over the werewolf, but that’s just me.  Be it the books of Anne Rice, Laura K. Hamilton, Stephanie Meyer; television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, True Blood, Lost Girl; or, the movies like Blade trilogy or Underworld trilogy: it struck me that most vampires are typically portrayed as the upper caste, the aristocracy, while werewolves are portrayed more so as ‘working class,’ in some cases the slaves of the vampires (Underworld in particular).  I’m not particularly against this, as it seems to reinforce the stereotypes and the people that prefer one to the other appear to support the current trends.  I suppose there is some element of the ‘humanity’ in appearance of the vampire versus the werewolf.

Art by Igor Kieryluk

 

The always elegant and aristocratic vampires

I cannot recalle any cases where the vampires and werewolves are on equal footing, either physically or intellectually, in particular with regard to social status.  Underworld gives us the caste system right up front, which eventually becomes part of the catalyst for the majority of the ensuing carnage.  I like this because they give enough reasoning behind the way things work; vampires are the aristocracy, werewolves their slave work force and protectors who try to control their riley subjects for fear of exposing them in the process of some ill-advised and uncontrolled rampage.

The powerful, pack led and brutish werewolf

I would find it interesting to see what a series would look like where the vampires are on equal footing or even under the duress of the werewolves.