Dynamite Entertainment 2019
Written by Christopher Priest
Illustrated by Ergün Gündüz
Lettered by Willie Schubert
Vampirella's struggle to deal with the complex emotional consequences of a major disaster caused by her enemies is exacerbated by an unexpected visit from her mother, Lilith, with whom Vampi has a complicated relationship. But has the Mother of All Vampires come to help or destroy her daughter? And will Vampirella's hapless therapist survive the encounter?
I am really intrigued by this story so far. Now whoever got me hooked on Vampirella I either want to punch or make out with, full tongue too. I love the character and seeing her and her origin all centring around Draculon and not being an undead creature, at least not as we understand things. Seeing a shrink with her life as it is well that's something I never thought we'd see and the fact he thinks what he does about her makes this much more intriguing. I mean after all does he think that because his belief is she's crazy going to save him from being a snack? Who knows but I am sure at some point we'll see.
I am a huge fan of the way Christopher is telling this story and the way the book is structured. The opening here is sensational and the way we see it all unfold is even better. The second to last panel of the opening is something hysterical to see and unexpected from her and yet makes perfect sense. Also I love Grit and the fact that we see him (?) adds this dimension to this that makes the reader thing and go off script. Why?, because it does make the reader think about how Grit manages to be around her and I think that Christopher does this throughout the book as the reader becomes engaged time and time again.
Oh my when she meets her and we see what we do it's sensual and almost erotic without being tacky. I like that she meets her and in the course of their thing we also get to meet the Nuns. Now these folks are crazy and I love them! The way that we are introduced to new characters in all this is so well orchestrated and it doesn't feel convenient or forced, out of place it has thing ring of normalcy to it as they happen as they should.
Ergün does some astounding work on the interiors here. The innovation in how he creates the page layouts is utterly fantastic. The linework that we see is perfectly done as the various weights are utilised to bring out this amazing attention to detail. Then add in the colour work and well this is nearly a friggin masterpiece. That dress she wears to speed dating yeah that's beyond. Now that Private Party business I was disappointed that we see nothing I mean that was some creative use of hiding everything especially peen or the dangling bits. It's high time we didn't feel the need to do that. The way that we see the angles and perspective in the panels show a superb eye for storytelling. The creativity and imagination on display here is incredible and how it all comes together from the layout through the linework and finally this sensational utilisation of the colour work make this more exciting than anyone bargained for.
I love that this is a narrative as Vampi is telling all of this to her shrink, covered in doctor patient confidentiality and all that. I am not sure if she really needs this or if it's something else that's bothering her and needs someone to talk about it with. Why not this man who doesn't believe anything that comes out of her mouth? The dichotomy between these two is essentially what makes this story as perfectly told as it is. I love this, I cannot get enough of this and I look forward to being excited beyond expectation upon seeing the cover in my local store.