Review: Vampirella 50th #1
With her almost around in the public eye, be it cover hottie, horror heroine, space alien or a mix of both, Vampirella seems to have been around forever. This issue sees the 50th anniversary of Vampi, her first appearance being July 1969. From there, the vampire with the red swimsuit, bangs and fangs has been a fan favourite, despite the various reboots, re-images and, at times, movement away from who she was.
The premise of the book is quite simple; what if Vampi existed in the real world, not as a supernatural being, but as the space alien she was originally introduced as. In this comic world, there are parallels to our world in how she is treated by people and therapist alike. In this world, Vampi faces the onslaught of trying to fit in as the ultimate alien. This being comics, there are still shenanigans abound for Vampi to get involved in.
The book is written by comics and animation veteran Christopher Priest. Priest has worked with a range of characters, be it Red Robin, Deathstroke or Wolverine and the X-Men. At first glance the story may seem to be an odd mix of things with meanderings that may feel not quite connected. But sticking with it, this book is quite a slice of realism dressed in Vampi’s, by now, most famous of outfits. The dialogue helps the reader to make connections whilst also leaving a few questions left unanswered, driving you to pick up the next issue. One particular quirk of the book is that the panels follows the same design quirk as DC’s Deathstroke book, for obvious reasons.
The art is supplied by Ergun Gunduz, a Turkish artist who has been known for seductive stylings, which makes the actual art a tad confusing at times, for whilst there are the classic type of poses in play, the panel of Vampi with her wings spread is a great example; there is also a surprising amount of woodenness around faces. Somehow I expected more. European art can feel different to American art; maybe that is what Dynamite wanted; to that end they succeeded. Equally as surprising is how well articulated the therapist’s emotions are, which gives the art a disjointed feel from which, at this stage,it will need time to recover. Gunduz also supplies the colors for the book, imbuing this art with the required darkness. Letters are provided by Willie Schubert whose work doesn’t detract from the art or panels.
As this is a celebration, of sorts, there are a raft of covers to choose from. Looking over the range, all I can suggest is that you pick the one(s) you like; they are all spectacular! Dynamite have kept a lot of faith with Vampirella, trying this and that in order to fit some preconceived idea of who she should be in this Twitter controlled world. Thank the lords of Drakulon, that on her anniversary, we get the a Vampi that harks back to her original look and intention.
Writing – 4 Stars
Art – 3.5 Stars
Colors – 4.5 Stars
[yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]
Written by; Christopher Priest
Art & Colors by; Ergun Gunduz
Letters by; Willie Shubert
Published by; Dynamite Entertainment
Author Profile
- I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow
Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network
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