Even the best of the best can end up in a compromising position.
Creative Staff:
Story: Nancy A. Collins
Art: Patrick Berkenkotter / Dennis Crisotomo
What They Say:
Vampirella is sent by the Vatican to investigate the kidnapping of a little girl by Ethan Shroud and the Chaos cultists, only to become the centerpiece of a ritual invoking Lady Umbra, the sister-bride of Chaos, that leaves her marked as a living sacrifice to the dark goddess who rules the shadows.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
While horror and the occult isn’t my normal area of interest. I did become interested in Nancy Collins about twenty years back or so when she took on Swamp Thing after some incredibly hard acts to follow. Anyone who tries it deserves a little bit of a nod and I partook of some of her other works and fairly well enjoyed them, but I never kept up on them. So when I saw that she was involved in the launch of a new Vampirella property as part of the 45th anniversary celebration, it definitely made sense to check it out. A classic character, a strong writer and some creepy ass material? Yeah, let’s do this.
Vampirella as a character isn’t delved into here much, but most folks that read heavily are used to being dropped in the middle of things. Here, we get to know the basics of Vampirella in that she walks both worlds but is definitely from the bad side of the tracks. She works with a religious based organization to help deal with the most disturbing of things from the dark side to ensure that the world doesn’t fall to ruin, and that keeps her fairly busy when these events happen. Her abilities, powers and skills aren’t really delved into here but we do get a nice bit of her being a classic detective as the monsignor she deals with has a new job that’s definitely up her alley as an old foe has resurfaced once again after having been thought to be fully dealt with in the past. A lengthy and storied past that we’ve seen across many other series before, though I have no idea how much “continuity” actually exists for this character.
The mystery that she has to deal with has its origins seemingly in a domestic problem but as we delve deeper into it she discovers that this normal family man, a good husband and father named Bill, had an interest in old books that lead him to acquiring a copy of the Crimson Chronicles, an ancient tome that consumed him over time and basically turned him into a gateway for the malevolent creature that is Ethan Shroud. So much so that Bill even changed his name to that and became a part of the Cult of Chaos, which strained the relationship with his family to be sure. But even more so now as the cult has kidnapped his young daughter to use as a part of a feast ritual that’s about to happen, which sets Vampirella on his trail to stop him.
The opening issue of the series works a fairly supernatural style procedural of sorts that works well and sets the tone, but it’s more of a couple of opening paragraphs than an opening chapter as the tone shifts and the real story kicks in during the final pages. That alone isn’t an entirely unexpected twist, but it changes the narrative here from something that was working a kind of single issue story to something larger. Collins keeps things moving well here, but there isn’t a lot of meaty material to really sink your teeth into. The family situation is nicely covered and we get a couple of tangents for Vampirella herself, but part of me wishes this was a bit more accessible to new readers to try and hook them. It hits up the supernatural side well enough, and goes surprisingly big when you get down to it in scale, but the hook with the lead is what feels like it’s missing. Collins writing is definitely paired well with Patrick Berkenkotter’s artwork as he avoids going for the pure pose oriented fanservice layouts and designs while still sticking to her usual costumes in the second half. There’s a bit more respect, I guess you’d say, for her design early on as it’s not designed to titillate as opposed to being sensibly stylish and functional. With the rest of the book he hits some good marks, servicing the material well and giving it enough life while also at times really feeling like it’s keeping in the style with the horror comics of the 70’s with its colors and earthy tone.
In Summary:
I’ve always wanted to be into Vampirella more than I’ve been able to. There’s a great kind of beauty to it with the way the character is designed, the settings she generally thrives in and the overall nature of the material. But the stories I end up trying usually come across as not quite as deep and rich as they should be in my mind, making me wish she was more of a novel character rather than comics. With Nancy A. Collins at the helm, we get the start of something that could be fun and interesting with the right kind of hooks, but it’s still missing a certain something to really draw me, a long time comics reader, into the character. And it’s even harder I suspect for a new reader. But there are some great bits to the first issue here that has me curious to see where it’s going to go as the character feels like with a few issues under the belt, she’ll be in good hands with Collins and Berkenkotter.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: June 4th, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
