A fitting conclusion.
Creative Staff:
Story: Thomas Sniegoski
Art: Kewber Baal
Colors: Omi Remalante Jr.
Letterer: Troy Peteri
What They Say:
The end of Vengeance has arrived! Tom Sniegoski’s triumphant return to the pages of Vampirella comes to an apocalyptic conclusion!
In the walled city of The Preserve, Vampirella faces off against Mr. Sabastian and the renegade members of the Danse Macabre. When the smoke clears, justice in the monster city will have a new name.
And that name is Vampirella.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
With this being the final issue in Thomas Sniegoski’s run on this book but we launch into Vampirella Strikes, I’ve definitely enjoyed this run overall even if I would have done the structure a lot different than how it played out here. I really wanted to see it explore of the time gap period and establish the relationship between Jeanine and Vampirella but it is, instead, just a shorthand that’s key for the finale. Skipping ahead fifteen years wasn’t exactly something that I figured on them doing, but it does provide for a new dynamic to work with, even if it undercuts it by not showing us them getting there. Kewber Baal steps in for the artwork on this issue and as we’ve seen from past work on the series, it looks great and definitely handles the action well while also serving up plenty of good character moments.
With this being the final act, it does pretty much what you’d expect in being all about the action. We do get some good narration at the start that makes it clear how Vampirella was viewed as the light that would help to guide them in this new world, but the way Sabastain and the Danse Macabre was utilized in the years since has basically led them to a takeover. Now we have a situation where he’s finally got Vampirella back and intends to reclaim the spell and power that was used to resurrect her to resurrect himself instead as intended. The situation did work out well for him for all these years, however, as she was the one that was able to organize and deal with Nyx and set things in motion that has allowed the world to progress again. But in his incorporeal state, he’s ready to get back to being hands-on with things, having a body, and having real power at his command once more.
Vampirella does get to cut loose toward the end here as she deals with Sabastain as the spell is naturally interrupted along the way, but the real heroes of all of this are the humans and monsters that have worked to free her. We see how Jeanine is given the blade once more to get involved and others sacrifice along the way to free those that were captured, such as Pendragon who bonds with Jeanine along the way to ensure they get the job done. It unfolds pretty well in working through this, chaotic as it gets as time, and giving us the kind of hubris that is definitely part and parcel of who Sabastain is. I don’t think we get his end in quite the way that feels like a real triumph but just in seeing how the world pivots once he’s removed from the picture delivers the right feeling for the ending.
In Summary:
I’ve enjoyed this series overall even though there were some problems along the way and how it was executed. Sadly, modern comics just can’t do what used to be done with long-form storytelling anymore and I just need to accept that. Getting a twenty-five issue storyline in itself is fantastic and Sniegoski and the team of artists that he had working with him delivered a really good experience in showing us something different for Vampirella to engage with. The last few issues haven’t exactly felt tacked-on in a way but it just left me wishing it was able to deliver more of it before rolling into this finale as a big action piece. It delivers the goods overall and leaves you still wanting to see more of this version of Vampirella in the future.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 15+
Released By: Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: Decembe 29th, 2021
MSRP: $3.99
