Dynamite Entertainment 2017
Written by Paul Cornell
Illustrated by Jimmy Broxton
Lettered by Travis Lanham
Awoken from a crypt deep underground with no idea how she got there, Vampirella discovered herself some thousand years in the future. The only clues lay in the past—a massive tome detailing her conflicting origins and history, but yielding more questions than answers (not the least of which is why blood is now black). Now, with a growing sense that existence itself has been fundamentally altered in some dark way, Vampirella slowly works her way to the surface…
I don’t read a lot of Vampirella it seems I pick and choose through her adventures based on the names I see. Thankfully they tend to be some of the more unusual and interesting adventures around. I love when she’s placed into situations that are so far out of her purview because it makes things more fun to see. This time around that she finds civilisation so different than when she left it and has to figure what the hell is going on well I have to admit Paul has me hook, line and sinker with this.
I love the opening because it gives us a chance to see the fringes of the world when she is now. Jimmy’s work helps immensely when we see a monument and in those whom she first encounters. This gives us a chance to not only see what she’s capable of but we also get a chance to see her thinking and working out what’s going on and that is something we don’t get to see much of. The character’s thought process that is.
When we get to what would be modern day Los Angeles it’s a bright shiny futuristic setting. It is kind of exactly what you’d think it should be visually as it has all these elements for say Buck Rogers to the Jetsons going on. I love the interiors here and how they vary depending on what we’re seeing. The use of the page layouts through angles, perspective and the utilisation of the backgrounds really bring this to life in a way to get the reader involved. Plus the new outfit is amazing!
Well I will say I was a little taken that there was so much censored stuff I mean wow okay then again if this is the way society is depicted then show it all. Of course it’s also a very different kind of future than I was expecting and that we know, thanks to Vamiprella’s narrative, that something is incredibly wrong and off about this era. What it is and how it affects people is something we’ll learn throughout the story but for now it’s one of the mysteries that will keep us coming back.
To bring us a future that we can see where it’s neither a utopian or a devastated version but something of a mix between the two makes what Paul does here so original. I love that the people act the way they do and how Vampirella is reacting to all this so far. Her characterisation is phenomenal and the story development so far is magnificent. This is how to snag new readers and keep them coming back for more.