Answers are just the start of Veronica’s problems as a vampire.
Creative Staff:
Story: Frank Tieri, Michael Moreci
Art: Audrey Mok
Colors: Matt Herms
Letterer: Jack Morelli
What They Say:
BRAND NEW SERIES! Riverdale’s own bombshell bloodsucker is back! Following the events of the Jughead the Hunger vs. Vampironica crossover, Veronica returns to her own universe, still a vampire. She’s not the same, and she knows it. And now she needs answers. But she may not be ready for what she’s about to discover!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
Having really enjoyed the first Vampironica series, I had missed out on the team-up with Jughead the Hunger. But I’m back for more of this even if it’s by a different team from what started it all for me. Frank Tieri and Michael Moreci are handling the scripting for this series and both are strong talents to be sure. That they’ve got Audrey Mok on board for the artwork has me all the more excited about it because they’re definitely a great talent, especially under the right colorist. There’s obviously differences between artists but the book looks great and captures a lot of what Greg Smallwood started with while making it their own.
Veronica’s return to this world is one that’s definitely welcome for her even if she was just unceremoniously dumped in Riverdale. She’d been away fighting a larger battle in another world against a race of werewolves, one where Jughead was one and she was incredibly worn over it but also confused. Confused because she ended up realizing she had a thing for the werewolf version of Jughead that existed over there. Trying to reconcile that with her existing relationship with the Jughead of this world and with Archi isn’t the easiest thing in the world. Just trying to get back into normal living isn’t easy in this place to begin with. She has to keep so much of this a secret as well but she does have a few confidants she can talk to along the way that helps.
At the same time, a new arrival has come to town named Fangs Fogarty and he’s shaking things up quickly, notably by going after Sheriff Keller. His run-in with the sheriff doesn’t get any answers but we get to see how Fangs operates and the kind of pushback he gets for the accusations – and how that pushes the Kellers more into the open. There’s a good foundation of things to work with and seeing how Fangs reveals himself in full to others and what his arrival shakes loose, such as the younger Keller looking to connect with his school friends to try and answer a few things. The reality is that this might be war 2.0 for Vampironica as there are a lot that don’t like her presence here and how it reshapes things.
In Summary:
There are a lot of things introduced in this issue that can be explored going forward that will likely bounce and crash into each other. Veronica getting a bit of the family history – mostly from Dilton of all people – makes it clear that she won’t live like they did and will be forging her own path. I like the way the ramifications of her time with the other Jughead are impacting her here in how she looks at him but I suspect that’ll be a low-level plot as everything else rises up. Tieri and Moreci keep things moving here really well without too much in the way of a break. But it works because she’s dealing with a whirlwind of ideas. Add in what Audrey Mok brings to the table with some great designs and so much more to explore in this interpretation of the cast and I can’t wait for more.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Archie Comics
Release Date: December 4th, 2019
MSRP: $3.99
