Review: Elvira - Mistress of the Dark #3

In my opinion, Elvira stands alongside Vampirella as the queens of the horror-comedy genre.Â While The Crypt Keeper may want to rule alongside them, he has neither the reach or lasting power of those two.Â It’s no wonder then that this month, Elvira finds herself in yet another new location in her time-hopping tet-a-tet with the notorious Dracula

Elvira:Â Mistress of the Dark #3 opens with our titular character in the presence of Bram Stoker (author of Dracula) and his wife.Â In her usual sardonic and sexually suggestive style, Elvira beats back accusations that she is Bram’s harlot.Â (She is however quite careful not to rule out harlotry in general)Â Vlad Tepes’ time travel vehicle, a coffin, then chooses to make its appearance and Elvira endeavors to keep Dracula trapped inside of it.Â Failing, Dracula emerges and seeks to punish Elvira for her insolence while seducing the wife of Stoker.Â Each step of the way The Mistress of the Dark is there to rebuff Dracula with sass and satire.Â She also utilizes stereotypical anti-vampire attacks to no effect.Â Â Eventually she hits upon a plan to stop Dracula, and by extension herself, from gallivanting around time; iconic horror moment to iconic horror moment.Â While she manages to solve this problem yet another arises.Â This new problem is personified in the form of a new foe, the true progenitor of her troubles over the course of this story arc.Â This new foe disposes of Dracula and transports Elvira once more through time.

The issue ends with her in yet another iconic horror moment, setting the stage for issue 4.Â This story line is fun though it is not truly memorable or significant to the book as a whole.Â The true entertainment value for this book, and Elvira as a whole, can be found in the situations Elvira invariably finds herself in and the dialogue she wields.Â This issue of Elvira does not disappoint in that regard and Elvira’s usual blend of sex, sarcasm and witty rejoinders are on full display.Â The book is well drawn and while the dialogue is often comedic the artwork stays true to its horror roots.Â The colors are wonderful and bring the book to life.Â If you are a fan of Elvira, Vampirella or even Deadpool there is a lot to enjoy in this book and it is definitely worth picking up.

Writing – 3.5 of 5 Stars
Art – 4 of 5 Stars

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Writer – David Avallone
Artist – Dave Acosta
Color – Andrew Covalt
Letters – Taylor Esposito

Author Profile

Nemesis

Nemesis is a poet, writer and author of the upcoming novel The Long Game. He is a writer of science fiction and supernatural thrillers. Besides novels and short stories he writes for UK based ASAP Comics developing new stories for Level 8 and OPSEC. Nem is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and tries to bring those experiences into his writing.

He lives and works out of his home in Riverside, California with his wife and three children. When not writing he enjoys reviewing comic books and graphic novels for ComicCrusaders.com and living the Southern California life with his family.