The core fight is shaping up a bit more.
Creative Staff:
Story: Thomas Sniegoski
Art: Roberto Castro
Colors: Omi Remalante Jr.
Letterer: Troy Peteri
What They Say:
Still recovering from her final battle with Hemorrhage, Vampirella realizes that there will be no rest for the wicked and begins the process of assembling a plan that will hopefully result in the liberation of the Earth from the clutches of Mistress Nyx, and the Chaos Lords. Step One—the creation of a new Danse Macabre!
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With the previous installment of the series being one that felt a little more like a standalone piece, getting into this issue was pretty easy as it comes across as the start of the second wave of the storyline. I’ve enjoyed what Thomas Sniegoski has been bringing to the book even if it took a couple of issues to really get into the groove of it and this issue helped to reinforce my enjoyment of it. It also doesn’t hurt that Robert Castro continues to put together some beautiful pages with the character designs and flow of the action, especially with Remalante’s color design work coming through so strikingly. It’s a great looking book that helps to tie everything together with the story itself so that it feels weighty and meaningful.
The book continues to work two storylines, both of which are definitely interesting. Vampirella’s struggling with still not feeling right since the resurrection as she’s fighting against the primal side more, and lashing out from a nightmare in a way that puts Pendragon through the first of several bad moments in this issue. What works well here is that with the world seeing light and humanity beginning to fight back is that she knows they need more hope and inspiration. And that means trying to revive the Danse Macabre organization again and rifling through Sabastian’s papers. This leads to an out of the way “secret” place that will provide for some new help by the end of it, I’m sure, but the pair have to face some serious challenges fist. I like the idea of reviving this and finding new people to populate it, fleshing out what Vampirella is able to do and delegate.
With Nyx, she’s still smarting a bit from the recent issues but you know she loves the challenge that Vampirella represents. Her problem is that the Lords of Chaos are getting bossy and she needs to deal with them, especially since they’re not trusting her and placing four demonic advisors by her side to try and ensure things go better. It’s a good idea and one that they beat her down with to their satisfaction, but there’s a real delight in seeing how Nyx is able to undermine them in a creative if somewhat obvious way in order to cement her own position more. They’ve been using her for some time but she’s had a couple of decades to be able to really win over the horde that roams over earth and bind them to her. And now that they’re feeling just a bit threatened by the hope that comes with the sun, they’re going to look to the leader that truly guided them all this time.
In Summary:
Vengeance of Vampirella has been building nicely and it hits a really good spot here with this installment. I like what Sniegoski brings to the story in working the two-track approach but digging into the past for a different potential kind of revival. Both of the storylines here work well as it shows the leads seeking what they need to execute their plans and achieve their goals and it doesn’t mean a constant crossing of each other but rather their own storylines. It’s blended well overall as it moves back between them and as you see everything settling into their paths. It’s a solid read with a great look that has me eager for more.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 27th, 2020
MSRP: $3.99
