The quest for ancient blood continues.
Creative Staff:
Story: Nancy A. Collins
Art: Patrick Berkenkotter / Dennis Crisostomo
What They Say:
In a desperate attempt to fight Lady Umbra’s growing control over her mind and body, Vampirella and her unlikely new ally, Lord Drago, take a jaunt to the Mediterranean. There, on the Greek island of Lamos, famous for its unspoiled beaches and friendly natives, they search for the most ancient species of vampire in the world: the dreaded lamia of legend. But can Vampirella locate and slay the seductive half-serpent before her heart falls into shadow?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
A globe spanning road trip with Vampirella and Drago is pretty amusing when you think about it, but it makes for some interesting stories that lead towards the larger goal. Drago’s not exactly someone you trust completely, but for the purposes of trying to clear out the curse that Vampirella has, she doesn’t have many options beyond that. Seeing the two work together as they did in Laos was decently done and I like the expansion on some of the elder variants of the vampire race that’s out there since it can have some decent standalone stories that explores more of what makes up the supernatural world here. The goals may be the same each time, but the getting there is where the fun is, especially with someone like Vampirella.
This issue takes us to a Greek island known as Lamos where it’s managed to be mostly unspoiled by development and has been called a couples destination because of it. We see what kind of appealing place it is through Mitchell, a Londoner who has come here on a trip that was booked before his girlfriend dumped him. That makes him pretty susceptible to the ancient creature that lurks along the caves of one of the further off areas. It’s here that we get our first look at the Lamia, a creature said to be born of Lilith’s dalliance with the snake at the beginning of things. She’s a true rarity in the world these days and she may in fact be the last one that’s out there. Getting a look at how she traps her prey is certainly simple, but the simple things tend to stand the test of time. And that makes it easy to keep her fed and doing what she does there.
For Vampirella, Drago’s intent on her getting the blood of this Lamia since it will be a huge part of what she needs to deal with the curse. There’s some really fun banter between the two, including dealing with Coleridge a bit, and it also takes a comical turn when a local guide named Stavros arrives that Vampirella wanted to use to find the caves. It’s through these interactions that we learn about all of them more, including what will push Vampirella to use her powers on humans that she normally avoids doing. The story is a standalone one to be sure, but it has some nice twists along the way that does have you going back to reread parts to see how you missed aspects of it and the larger meaning. When you have an evil like this Lamia here for years upon years, you often find a way of working with it rather than against it. And that’s a situation whose results are one that both Vampirella and Drago are surprised to see come into focus.
In Summary:
The Lamia creature is one that certainly works well, especially after the creature we had the last time, as it presents something different and a little more involved with what it does and its origins. The acquiring of the blood and its effects are important parts of the larger storyline that’s going on and we get the expected advancement here that gets us to the next stage of what Drago is doing. But the real fun is in watching the kind of dynamic that’s growing around these three as they jet about the world in search of these ancient creatures. Drago’s one that is definitely not used to spending time with someone with a personality like Vampirella and she obviously gives as good as she takes. There’s a lot to like with the pair, and her observations about Coleridge that speaks of something else, and it left me wanting more of this to grow in the coming issues.
Grade: B
Age Rating: 17+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: August 6th, 2014
MSRP: $3.99
