That did not go as expected.
Creative Staff:
Story: Thomas Sniegoski
Art: Michael Sta. Maria
Colors: Omi Remalante Jr.
Letterer: Troy Peteri
What They Say:
Besieged on all sides, Vampirella and the remnants of the Danse Macabre have one final option to defeat Nyx and her army, but will their last hope become their ultimate destruction?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
The scale of the fight as it’s grown since Vampirella awakened in this time and place has been a lot of fun. Thomas Sniegoski has been a bit formulaic in some aspects of it but team building is required in order to deal with the opponents that are lined up here. And others have long waited for someone like her to arrive. It’s also made out well with Michael Sta. Maria’s artwork as there’s a lot to like in the designs from when Vampi goes wild or we see the cruelty in Nyx’s eyes as it plays out. The imposing scenes and the action scenes, everything has a good feeling to it that definitely keeps you engaged with what’s happening.
With the fight having gone as badly as it has so far, it makes a lot of sense to go for a power play early on in order to save, well, everything. The unleashing of the angel of apocalypse is definitely a huge risk considering that his design is to actually end the world itself. But what we see as he steps out to go up against Nyx is that there’s a real thrill in not giving into his worldending desire. It’s actually driving him to fight against Nyx more who in turn is definitely enjoying this fight as her being backed by the Lords of Chaos gives her an immense amount of power. With the angel denying to do the bidding of the Lords of Order in destroying everything, however, he’s actually in a position to be weaker than usual and unable to easily defeat her as he thought he would. While it’s a thrill to watch him just tear through the dragon at first, he’s facing a true challenge here and it has him questioning everything.
While that plays out, we do get a lot of time with Vampi and the rest going up against the main crew that Nyx brought with her. With Nyx wanting Vampirella alive that means there’s going to be a slog in trying to get this done since they’re limited by this. Vampirella’s going all in and hitting some near-bloodlust levels to her and we even see her taking a sideswipe at Nyx herself in an effort to try and end things quickly as the angel is having problems. It’s a good mix of action and violence with some bodies dropping along the way, but the bigger stalemate is what’s keeping things from going to far and allowing the book to end on a quieter/surprise note with the appearance of an unexpected player in all of this.
In Summary:
Vengeance of Vampirella continues to be the book that gives me the Vampirella I enjoy, one that does change as the situations warrant it. I’m enjoying this timeline and the struggle that’s being faced here and how it’s drawing on some older players from years past in a pretty good way. Sniegoski’s script continues to move well in advancing things but not barreling through it while the artwork is just perfect for this book. Everything looks great and has a wonderful flow to it with the layouts that the action moves perfectly and with ease. I’m really curious to see what changes our new player will bring to the story at hand and more of what our angel of the apocalypse will be like now that he’s feeling abandoned.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: November 18th, 2020
MSRP: $3.99
