A look along the timelines.
Creative Staff:
Story: Jeannin Acheson, Thomas Sniegoski
Art: Marcos Ramos
Colors: Dinei Ribeiro
Letterer: Taylor Eseposito
What They Say:
In a terrifying alternate reality, Dracula and Vampirella have wed and the world has been plunged into darkness. Humanity has become little more than cattle and Vampirella has sworn a sacred oath to her Husband and King not to fight against Vampire supremacy . . . but a rebellion is brewing in the shadows. Who is the mysterious rebel Bloodwing, and why does Dracula, and the vampire race, fear her so?
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
I’ve had quite an affection for the character of Vampirella over the past decade of reading the stories that Dynamite has brought out for her. While not everything works, I liked the way things shifted along the way to make it so that all versions exist and the exploration of alternate realities through miniseries and one-offs are done. This one brings Jeannin Acheson and Thomas Sniegoski together to craft a tale with Dracula that lead to a very different earth. Illustrated by Marcos Ramos, it has a great look that lends itself well to the script as it has some solid settings, good characters focused mostly on the core, and a lot of really engaging action to enjoy that lets Vampirella cut loose.
The premise for this one taking place in a different time features a different fight between Vampirella and Dracula where things went in the direction of him winning. In order to save humanity, Vampirella agreed to be his queen if he engaged with some leniency when it came to people. Instead of just using them all as blood banks for his people, only the firstborn of a family upon the age of ten would be taken so that there’d been a healthy mix of people out there to replenish things. Vampirella has lived with this knowing their fate otherwise and in the time since winning, Dracula has brought peace to the world at large. And they do this while being out of sight during the day since that still applies. It’s a pretty good setup and you’re not surprised when you find out that Vampirella is playing a double role here as Bloodwing, the ancient vampiric legendary goddess who is now aiding humanity in a small-scale series of rebellious acts.
The book focuses well on the way the world is and how Dracula runs it as there are a lot of dark and oppressive moments. We see how he has Vampirella beaten down while also showing us where she fights back in secret, allowing her to manage both sides as well as she can. I do like that she becomes something far more as time goes on and she’s discovered, only to be saved by Pendragon and Adam Van Helsing and turned into something more to help save humanity. Mankind is always at the edge of being killed off in these kinds of books but the team puts it together in a way that definitely works here and lets Vampirella stand out by showing a very different alternate history that you’d want to read more about.
In Summary:
As a slightly longer one-shot, the Vampirella special does a good job of giving us an alternate timeline story to enjoy that isn’t a crossover with another property. Here, we get big action, a twisted love, and humanity at the brink in the hands of Dracula and a beaten-down Vampirella. The writing is spot-on for it so that it flows well and is engaging both in dialogue and narration while the artwork from Ramos delivers a really great look throughout where nothing is ever in question. It’s definitely a fun standalone piece to sink your teeth into.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: February 3rd, 2021
MSRP: $4.99
